Equifax cybersecurity breach potentially impacted 143 million Americans

Hackers exploited an Equifax website vulnerability that may impact 143 million U.S. customers–nearly two-thirds of the adult U.S. population–the company disclosed late Thursday. Shares are down more than 5% after-hours. The intruders gained entrance to the company’s data from May until July of this year, and were able to retrieve Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and credit card numbers, among other data. According to the company about 209,000 credit card numbers were exposed as well as “dispute documents with personal identifying information” for 182,000 Americans, according to Equifax. The company has not found evidence core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases were hacked. In addition to the U.S. data, criminals accessed data for Canadian and U.K. residents. Equifax detected the breach on July 29 and hired an unnamed cybersecurity firm to determine what specific data the hackers accessed. Chief Executive Richard Smith apologized to Equifax’s customers in prepared remarks, and the company has set up a website that will determine if customers have been affected. It will also mail notices to customers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents were accessed.

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From:: Stock Market News

Equifax reports massive data breach that could impact 143 million consumers

Equifax, one of the nation’s three largest credit reporting agencies, revealed Thursday that it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident” that potentially impacts as many as 143 million U.S. consumers. The company said that “criminals” had access to the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers, of approximately 143 million consumers. Click the headline to read more. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

Tintri plunges after first post-IPO earnings report

Tintri Inc. dropped more than 9% in late trading Thursday after the company’s first earnings report since its initial public offering. The flash-storage company reported a second-quarter net loss of $51.7 million, or $2.05 a share, on revenue of $34.9 million, an improvement from losses of $7.53 a share a year ago on sales of $27.6 million. After adjusting for stock-based compensation, the company claimed a loss of 91 cents a share, up from a loss of $1.03 a share a year ago. Analysts on average expected adjusted losses of 98 cents a share on sales of $35.7 million, according to FactSet. After missing sales expectations, Tintri also disappointed with its forecast, guiding for third-quarter revenue of $36 million to $37 million as analysts were projecting revenue of $42.8 million on average. Tintri, which cut its targeted price and share count ahead of its IPO before pricing shares at the bottom of its range, fell close to $6 a share in late trading after closing with a 1.6% decline at $6.68.

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From:: Stock Market News

Cloudera rebounds after earnings beat

Cloudera Inc. shares rebounded in late trading Thursday after the software company easily beat internal and external earnings expectations. Cloudera reported a second-quarter net loss of $64.2 million, or 48 cents a share, an improvement from a loss of $1.07 a share a year prior, on sales of $89.8 million. Revenue increased 39.3% from the same quarter a year ago. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other effects, the company reported a loss of 17 cents a share, up from a loss of 29 cents a share a year ago. Analysts on average expected adjusted losses of 25 cents a share on revenue of $85.6 million, according to FactSet, and the company guided for a loss of 26 cents to 24 cents a share on sales of $85 million to $86 million. “In our fiscal second quarter, we outperformed on sales, customer acquisition, customer expansion and cash flow objectives,” Chief Executive Tom Reilly said in Thursday’s announcement. Cloudera was hammered after its previous quarterly earnings report, the first after its initial public offering, as analysts were concerned that the data-analysis software company’s billings were not living up to its IPO valuation. Shares gained as much as 5% in late trading following Thursday’s announcement, though those gains settled to less than 2% later in the after-hours session.

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From:: Stock Market News

Verifone posts surprise quarterly loss, shares fall 6%

Shares of Verifone Sytems Inc. fell nearly 6% late Thursday after the San Jose, Calif., company posted a surprise fiscal third-quarter loss and provided a weaker outlook for fiscal fourth quarter. Verifone said it lost $71 million, or 63 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $31.1 million, or 28 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 36 cents a share, compared with 42 cents a share a year ago. Revenue fell to $467 million, from $488 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected GAAP earnings of 14 cents a share and adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share on sales of $464 million in the quarter. Verifone said it expects GAAP per-share earnings of 22 cents a share in the fiscal fourth quarter on sales between $470 million and $473 million. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect adjusted earnings of 46 cents a share on sales of $474 million in the fiscal fourth quarter.

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From:: Stock Market News

American Outdoor Brands shares tank as gunmaker swings to quarterly loss

Shares of American Outdoor Brands Corp. sank in Thursday’s extended session after the gunmaker posted a loss in its most recently ended quarter. American Outdoor Brands reported it swung to a loss of $2.2 million, or 4 cents a share, from a profit of $35.2 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company, previously known as Smith & Wesson, would have earned 2 cents a share. Revenue fell to $129 million versus $207 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected earnings of 11 cents a share on revenue of $148 million. Chief Executive James Debney blamed weaker wholesale and retail firearms orders for the company’s disappointing result. American Outdoor Brands projected second-quarter earnings per share of break even to 5 cents while revenue is expected in a range of $140 million to $150 million. The company lowered its fiscal 2018 outlook to adjusted EPS of $1.04 to $1.24 compared with $1.42 to $1.62 previously. It also slashed its revenue target to a range of $700 million to $740 million from $750 million to $790 million. Shares skidded 16% after hours.

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From:: Stock Market News

Okta shares rise on better-than-expected results, outlook

Okta Inc. shares rose in the extended session Thursday after the cloud-based human-resources services provider reported results for the quarter and an outlook that topped Wall Street estimates. Okta shares advanced 3.2% to $27.99 after hours. The company reported a second-quarter loss of $27 million, or 29 cents a share, compared to $20.6 million, or $1.10 a share, in the year-ago period. The adjusted loss was 19 cents a share. Revenue rose to $61 million from $37.4 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated a loss of 26 cents a share on revenue of $55.9 million. For the third quarter, Okta estimates an adjusted loss of 25 cents to 24 cents a share on revenue of $62 million to $63 million. Analysts had estimated a loss of 29 cents a share on revenue of $60.3 million.

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From:: Stock Market News

Finisar shares lower after company’s weak fiscal Q2 outlook

Finisar Corp. shares fell 8% late Thursday after the Sunnyvale, Calif., fiber-optic company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings in line with expectations and slightly higher quarterly sales, but disappointed on fiscal second-quarter outlook. Finisar said it earned $19.9 million, or 17 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $23.9 million, or 22 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 40 cents a share. Revenue rose to $341.8 million, from $341.3 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 40 cents a share on sales of $341 million. The company said it expects revenue in the range of $322 million to $342 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2018, and non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of approximately 27 cents to 33 cents in that quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect adjusted earnings of 50 cents a share on sales of $370 million for the fiscal second quarter. Shares ended the regular trading session down 0.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

NYSE abandons steps to list Ether exchange-traded note

NYSE Arca, Inc. withdrew its proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission to change rules under the Exchange Act of 1934 that would pave way for listing an exchange-traded note EtherIndex Ether Trust, according to the SEC press release. NYSE requested a rule change last December and needed an approval from the SEC before it could officially list a digital currency ETF. Initial registration filing lists EtherIndex LLC as the sponsor of the Trust, while the Bank of New York Mellon as the administrator and custodian of cash of the Trust and Coinbase as the custodian of the Ether of the Trust. Ether ETN was designed to provide shareholders with exposure to the daily change in the price of Ether, before expenses and liabilities of the Trust, according to the registration. The reason for the withdrawal of the proposed rule change was not stated.

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From:: Stock Market News

HomeServices of America Acquires The Long & Foster Companies

By Suzanne De Vita

HomeServices of America, Inc. has acquired The Long & Foster Companies, adding the firm’s 11,000 agents and 230 offices primarily in the Mid-Atlantic, the company announced on Thursday. The acquisition includes Long & Foster Real Estate and its affiliates Long & Foster Insurance, Long & Foster Property Management, Long & Foster Settlement Services and Prosperity Mortgage. The regional leader, which ranked No. 3 in RISMedia’s 2017 Power Broker Report for sales, closed $28.9 million in sales volume last year.

Long & Foster Co-Founder Wes Foster will remain on board as Chairman Emeritus, while President and CEO Jeff Detwiler will serve as CEO.

“Finding the right partner to maintain the legacy, culture, and integrity of Long & Foster was of utmost importance to me,” says Foster, who co-founded the company with Henry Long. “I couldn’t be more pleased that we are joining an organization known for its impeccable reputation and commitment to protecting brands. Joining HomeServices ensures that our history of market leadership and industry expertise continues.”

“The Long & Foster brand and its legacy of integrity and service will continue as it has for the past 50 years,” says Detwiler, who will continue managing the day-to-day operations of the company, as well as oversee growth initiatives. “Joining HomeServices makes us an even stronger company. HomeServices is an outstanding organization that shares our commitment to delivering exceptional customer service. This is a clear win for our clients, agents and employees.”

“This is an important transaction for HomeServices and we are incredibly proud to have The Long & Foster Companies join the HomeServices family,” says Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO of HomeServices. “Wes, together with his executive team, regional leaders, sales managers, and agents, has built an extraordinary organization that exemplifies an exceptional level of expertise, vision, and leadership. We are honored to be part of Long & Foster’s future and are committed to its continued growth and success.”

“This is a fantastic fit for Long & Foster, which will continue on in the great tradition its founder, Wes Foster, created,” says John Featherston, president, CEO and publisher of RISMedia. “Another strategic, strong move by HomeServices to bring on a highly-regarded, innovative, well-run organization.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition expands HomeServices’ footprint to more than 41,000 real estate professionals in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Long & Foster, headquartered in Chantilly, Va., serves Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

For more information, please visit HomeServices.com.

Stay tuned to RISMedia.com for more developments.

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From:: Real Estate News