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Shares of A. Schulman Inc. fell more than 5% in premarket trade after the plastics supplier issued a profit warning ahead of its second-quarter earnings. In a statement, A. Schulman Chief Executive Officer Bernard Rzepka said the company was “extremely disappointed” with the company’s second-quarter results, which are now expected to come in around 25 cents to 30 cents a share, versus the Street’s view of 48 cents. The company lowered its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $2.40 to $2.45, from a previously-provided range of $2.80 to $2.85. Analysts on average are expecting earnings per share of $2.94 for the year, according to FactSet. The company blamed the weak performance on the previously-disclosed negative quality reports related to some materials produced at a plant in Indiana, and weaker sales volumes in the company’s Citadel and legacy businesses, which it said were impacted by lower oil prices.

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Oil stocks dropped in premarket trade Monday, as oil prices pulled back sharply following comments from Iran’s oil minister that the country wouldn’t take part in coordinated production cuts. The SPDR Energy Select Sector exchange-trade fund slumped 1.1%. Among some of the more active oil and gas stocks ahead of the open, the shares of Marathon Oil Corp. slid 3.3%, of Transocean Ltd. shed 4.4%, of Chesapeake Energy Corp. fell 2.6%, of Exxon Mobil Corp. lost 0.8% and of EP Energy Corp. declined 2.9%. Crude oil futures dropped 2.5% early Monday, after settling Friday at a three-month high.

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PAR Technology Corp.’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Bartusek was terminated on Monday for violating corporate policy by making unauthorized investments with company funds, the company said in a statement. The unauthorized funds totaled less than $900,000 and occurred between Sept. 25, 2015 and Nov. 6, 2015, two months after Bartusek was hired by the company. An internal audit company spotted the activity, and the investigation is now being led by outside counsel. PAR Technology, which sells technology products to the hospitality and retail industries, has initiated a search for a replacement. The employment of Matthew Trinkaus, the company’s acting treasurer and principal accounting officer, will not be affected by the investigation. Shares of PAR Technology were inactive in premarket trade. They’ve risen 5% over the last three months, outperforming the S&P 500’s flat performance.

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Tesla Motors Inc.’s stock surged 1.4% in premarket trade Monday, after the electric car maker was upgraded at Robert W. Baird & Co., which cited evidence that production is accelerating. Analyst Ben Kallo raised his rating to overweight, after downgrading it to neutral in October. He raised his stock price target to $300, which is 46% above Friday’s closing price of $207.50. “We believe investor skepticism has significantly increased since we downgraded [Tesla] on Oct. 6, and although we were concerned about the rate of Model X deliveries, recent data points show production is accelerating, which should drive deliveries and margin expansion,” Kallo wrote in a note to clients. He said with short interest, or bearish bets on the stock, elevated at about 35% of the public float, the stock could be set up for a rally when the Model III is introduced, as he believes initial reservations will exceed expectations. The stock has tumbled 14% from Oct. 6 through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Tesla Motors Inc.’s stock surged 1.4% in premarket trade Monday, after the electric car maker was upgraded at Robert W. Baird & Co., which cited evidence that production is accelerating. Analyst Ben Kallo raised his rating to overweight, after downgrading it to neutral in October. He raised his stock price target to $300, which is 46% above Friday’s closing price of $207.50. “We believe investor skepticism has significantly increased since we downgraded [Tesla] on Oct. 6, and although we were concerned about the rate of Model X deliveries, recent data points show production is accelerating, which should drive deliveries and margin expansion,” Kallo wrote in a note to clients. He said with short interest, or bearish bets on the stock, elevated at about 35% of the public float, the stock could be set up for a rally when the Model III is introduced, as he believes initial reservations will exceed expectations. The stock has tumbled 14% from Oct. 6 through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.1%.

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Royal Bank of Scotland PLC is reportedly cutting 550 investment-advising jobs as its shifts to robo advisers. “[W]e are scaling back our face-to-face advisers and significantly investing in an online investing platform,” RBS said in a statement on Monday. The statement didn’t say how many jobs would be lost. RBS’s online platform will be available later this year to customers with less than £250,000 ($359,000) to invest. Clients with more than £250,000 of investible assets will still be able to talk face-to-face with advisers. “The demand for face-to-face investment advice is changing. Our customers increasingly want to bank with us using digital technology,” RBS said.

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Shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. soared 9.3% in premarket trade Monday, after the hotel operator said it received an unsolicited buyout bid of $76 a share in cash from a consortium of companies. The per-share bid represents a 7.9% premium to Friday’s closing price of $70.42. Under terms of the new bid, Starwood shareholders would also receive common stock of Interval Leisure Group valued at $5.50 a share, from the previously announced spinoff of its Vistana Signature Experiences vacation ownership business. Starwood said it still supports the previously announced deal to be acquired by Marriott International Inc. . Under that merger deal, Starwood shareholders would received 0.92 Marriott shares and $2 a share in cash; based on Monday’s closing price of $68.89 for Marriott’s stock, that bid values Starwood shares at $65.38 each. Marriott’s stock was still inactive in premarket trade. Starwood shares have gained 1.7% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has lost 1.1%.

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An Amtrak train carrying more than 140 people derailed early Monday morning about 20 miles west of Dodge City in Kansas, the train operator said in a statement. The train with approximately 128 passengers and 14 crew members was travelling from Los Angeles to Chicago when five cars derailed just after midnight Central Daylight Time, according to media reports. Several people were injured and taken to the hospital, the reports said, but Amtrak said there were no life-threatening injuries.

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