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Lululemon’s stock extends gains after analyst upgrade

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. extended recent sharp gains in premarket trade Tuesday, after the yoga-gear seller was upgraded at Susquehanna Financial in the wake of better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results. Analyst Sam Poser raised his rating to positive, after cutting it to neutral a little over five months ago. He raised his stock price target to $71, which is 15% above Friday’s closing price, from $64. Poser said Lululemon finally appears to have all aspects of its product, engagement and process (P-E-P) initiative working together to drive results, as the company’s densification store strategy is resonating. “A long awaited confluence of consumer engagement and efficient execution is now underway,” Poser wrote in a note to clients. “Improved product mix, inventory flow to stores is finally supporting consumer engagment.” The stock, which tacked on 0.4% in premarket trade, had run up 7.2% on Friday after the company reported results. The shares have shot up 17% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 3.9% and the S&P 500 has gained 1.7%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Wal-Mart reopens stores in the Gulf region

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. [s:L wmt] said it has reopened all but five of its stores in the Gulf of Mexico region. The stores that have not opened were located along the coast where Hurricane Harvey made landfall. The company said it is accelerating deliveries of items like water, cleaning supplies, milk, socks and towels to the area. Wal-Mart is also helping at shelters in places like Houston, Dallas, and Shreveport, La., including pharmacy services at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Wal-Mart shares are unchanged in Tuesday premarket trading, and up 13.4% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 10.6% for 2017 so far, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 11.3% for the period.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Nasdaq to pay $705 million to acquire eVestment

Nasdaq Inc. said Tuesday it will buy content and analytics company eVestment for $705 million. Nasdaq said it will fund the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, through a mix of cash on hand and debt. The company said eVestment has more than 2,000 clients, including 92% of the top asset managers. “As a trusted steward of the capital markets industry, we view our partnership with eVestment as a means of strengthening Nasdaq’s support of the investment management industry through enhanced technology and service offerings,” said Nasdaq Chief Executive Adena Friedman. Nasdaq’s stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 12.3% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.6%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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UPDATED: Cellect shares rise 53% after FDA grants its technology orphan drug status

Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. shares rose 53% in premarket trade Tuesday after the Food and Drug Administration granted its ApoGraft technology orphan drug status to prevent transplant-associated diseases. Orphan drug designation is intended for products that treat a rare disease or condition; under the new designation, ApoGraft, a stem cell technology, should benefit from various development incentives, including tax credits. ApoGraft got the orphan drug designation for the prevention of acute and chronic graft versus host disease, or GvHD, which occurs in many kinds of transplants when transplanted immune cells attack the patient. The disease can seriously hurt or kill the transplant patient. Cellect’s technology should eliminate that immune response, the company said. Cellect shares have surged 6.7% over the last three months to $9.13, compared with a 1.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Group 1 Automotive estimates Hurricane Harvey damages at $15 million

Houston-based Group 1 Automotive Inc. said Tuesday that it estimates total damages of about $15 million from Hurricane Harvey. The total includes insurance deductibles for damaged facilities and inventory, disaster pay for employees and support for team members with flooded homes. The automotive retailer said about 500 of the nearly 3,000 employees in the greater Houston and Beaumont areas of Texas suffered significant property losses from flooding and storm damage. “Our top priority is supporting our employees in the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey,” said Chief Executive Earl Hesterberg. “Beyond helping our employees, we are also moving quickly to get our stores fully online to support the community’s needs for replacement vehicles.” The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 21% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Teleflex to buy NeoTract for up to $1.1 billion in cash and potential milestone payments

Teleflex Inc. said Tuesday it will buy medical device company NeoTract Inc. in a deal valued at up to $1.1 billion. Under terms of the deal, Teleflex will pay $725 million in cash at the deal’s closing, and up to an additional $375 million if certain sales milestones are achieved. Teleflex plans to fund the acquisition through borrowings under its revolving credit facility. The deal is expected to add slightly to adjusted earnings per share this year. Teleflex’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, had run up 31% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 10.6%.

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Putin warns of ‘global catastrophe’ if West turns up heat on North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday that ramped-up military action against North Korea could lead to large-scale suffering worldwide, according to media reports. Speaking at the BRICS summit in China, Putin argued Pyongyang is unlikely to bow to pressure from the West, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un believes his nuclear missile program is the best way to ensure the isolated nation’s security. “Ramping up military hysteria in such conditions is senseless, it’s a dead end,” he said, according to reports. “It could lead to a global, planetary catastrophe and a huge loss of human life. There is no other way to solve the North Korean nuclear issue, save that of peaceful dialogue.” Tensions in the region escalated over the weekend after North Korea said it successful tested its largest hydrogen bomb to date. South Korean officials believe the regime is also preparing another intercontinental ballistic missile launch, possibly as early as this week.

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Merck rises 2% after health business is put up for sale

Shares of Merck KGaA climbed 2% in Frankfurt on Tuesday after the German pharmaceutical major put its consumer health business up for sale. In a statement the company said it’s “preparing strategic options” for the unit, including “potential full or partial sale of the business as well as strategic partnerships.” Merck didn’t give any reasons for putting the business on the market.

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The Launch of a Refreshed Icon

By Susanne Dwyer

When Taylor Hack joined a RE/MAX brokerage in 2013, he was recently licensed and launching a new career. Experienced in the mortgage and auto industries, he thought his skill set would serve him well in the real estate business.

In choosing a company, Hack wanted the advantages of a leading brand, a global network, a collaborative environment, a sky’s-the-limit mentality and a forward-thinking culture. He found it all at RE/MAX—and, specifically, at RE/MAX River City in Edmonton, Alberta.

“I stepped into a winning atmosphere from the start,” Hack says. “I know you’re influenced by the company you keep, so I wanted to keep company with top-producing agents. I wanted to learn from the best. Plus, the RE/MAX mindset rewards people who innovate and share great ideas. And that’s what I’m all about.”

Fast-forward to 2017, and Hack’s career is flourishing. His results have climbed in each of the past three years, and he’s already a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame and Titan Club.

“RE/MAX is a major factor in my success. The brand is incredible. When you tell clients you’re with RE/MAX, they have confidence in you and the service you’re able to provide,” he says. “That’s a huge advantage for me when I’m competing for business. The RE/MAX attitude is service-oriented and innovative, which helps me as an agent.”

Charging Ahead
Innovation is a prevalent theme at all levels of the RE/MAX network. It’s demonstrated by the entrepreneurial, full-time agents and brokers. It’s part of the organization’s global vision. It’s evident in aggressive digital and social marketing strategies. It’s apparent in disruptive business expansions such as Motto Mortgage, which launched in October 2016. And it’s a clear priority for corporate leaders.

“We’re an established brand with 44 years of history, but still have the mindset of a start-up,” says Adam Contos, who shares co-CEO responsibilities with real estate legend Dave Liniger. “The rebellious spirit that launched the brand is still very much a part of our culture today. You see it everywhere.”

The spirit of constant innovation has helped lift RE/MAX to its status as one of the industry’s elite brands. In addition to being the only network to top 1 million U.S. transaction sides last year, RE/MAX is No. 1 in brand name awareness (according to an MMR Strategy Group study of unaided brand awareness) and has a global footprint unmatched in the industry, with a presence in more than 100 countries and territories.

The power of the brand is most evident in the industry-leading productivity of its agents. In the 2017 RISMedia Power Broker Report on the nation’s largest brokerages, RE/MAX agents averaged 16.2 transaction sides each—a figure more than double the 7.5 average of all other agents in the survey.

Productivity is a major edge in a fiercely competitive industry, especially when an agent is competing for the business of a quality-conscious buyer or seller.

“We have the best agents; it’s really as simple as that,” says Dave Liniger, who co-founded RE/MAX with his wife Gail in 1973. “We’ll always be the go-to …read more

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Quantifying Gentrification: Where ‘Cool’ and Affordable Is Still Possible

By Susanne Dwyer

HouseCanary_1

Despite beards and man buns being on their way out, skinny jeans fading, and bread pudding in mason jars making way for gelato, the global hipster movement has left a mark on American lifestyle. Across the country, demand continues for neighborhoods where you can bike to coffee, pick up peaches at a farmer’s market, or get some culture at a local gallery or art walk.

The U.S. has seen a decisive resurgence in urban living, driving people in their 20s and 30s to pick cool, walkable areas over remote cul-de-sacs. What does this mean for investors looking to benefit from the demand? Mike Greene, head of Partner Development at HouseCanary, and I pulled on HouseCanary’s Home Price Indices data to find out.

A good accountant will tell you that you shouldn’t spend more than 30 percent of your income on your home. Ten years into the current housing cycle, however, there are few places on the coasts with 30 percent affordability (defined as percentage of household income consumed by a house payment).

The popular Mission District in San Francisco hasn’t seen 40 percent since the year 2000, when it was gritty, unsafe and actually more affordable than the rest of the city. A trickle of affluent residents turned into a flood in 2008, and affordability flipped. Since then, the gap has widened, with 100 percent affordability (completely unaffordable) in the Mission versus 75 percent in the broader San Francisco metropolitan statistical area (MSA).

We’ll likely observe a similar dynamic in other U.S. neighborhoods, and investors can use the local affordability trend line to zero in on properties with upside.

On the opposite side of Manhattan Island from hipster (and already unaffordable) Williamsburg lies Hoboken, N.J. Nearly 50 percent of its population is between 20 and 34 years old—and it’s not just because of its proximity to Manhattan. Packed into Hoboken’s mere square mile are venues like Northern Soul Bar, Garden Street Farmers Market, Arts & Music Festival and Hoboken’s Food & Culture Tour—all examples of a growing urban vibe.

More importantly, Hoboken’s affordability is at a mere 35 percent and still comfortably below that of the N.Y.-N.J.-Long Island MSA’s 40 percent—and clearly below that of Manhattan itself, which ranges from 60 percent to more than 100 percent.

Compiled into a HouseCanary e-book, we looked at the top 19 hipster enclaves identified by CBS News and found a number of other gems.

The Clarendon neighborhood in Arlington, Va. is one of them, with its Home Price Index accelerating rapidly versus that of its broader MSA—and its affordability chart looking not unlike that of San Francisco’s Mission.

If you’re data geeks like Mike and I, you’ll enjoy seeing how HouseCanary’s Home Price Indices are helping some of the biggest real estate investors decide where to buy or sell next. We certainly enjoyed quantifying where the cool kids are moving—and making sense of what it means for those who’d like to follow their nose for cool.

A version of this article originally appeared …read more

From:: Finance and Economy