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Regulus Therapeutics Inc. stock surged nearly 40% in active pre-market trade Wednesday after the company reported positive results from a phase 2 study of a Hepatitis C treatment. Regulus said it will accelerate the Hepatitis C drug’s development, given what CEO and President Paul Grint called its “promising potential to shorten treatment regimens.” The company’s RG-101 drug was injected at the beginning and end of the four-week treatment regimen, with patients also taking anti-viral agents throughout the month-long period. Nearly all of the 38 patients evaluated through eight weeks of follow-up saw the Hepatitis C virus reduced to very low levels, and all the patients saw the same result through 12 weeks of follow-up. Additional results from all 79 patients in the trial should emerge late in the second quarter, the company said.

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Analog Devices Inc. reported a fiscal first-quarter profit that declined to $164.5 million, or 52 cents a share, from $178.8 million, or 57 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 56 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 54 cents. Revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 30 slipped to $769.4 million from $772 million, but was above the FactSet consensus of $761 million. For the fiscal second quarter, the semiconductor company expects adjusted EPS of 58 cents to 66 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 65 cents. Revenue is expected to decline 2% or increase 4% from the first quarter, while the FactSet consensus of $801 million implies a 4.1% sequential increase. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to 42 cents a share, to be payable March 8 to shareholders of record on Feb. 26. The company boosted its stock repurchase program by $1 billion. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 12% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 7.6%.

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Apple Inc.’s stock inched lower in premarket trade Wednesday, bucking the gains seen in the broader technology sector, after filings showed that some high-profile investors sold some of their Apple shares during the fourth quarter. Carl Icahn disclosed late Tuesday that he cut his stake in the technology giant by 7 million shares, or about 13%, to 45.8 million shares as of Dec. 31 from 52.8 million shares as of Sept. 30. David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital hedged fund slashed its Apple stake nearly in half to 6.3 million shares from 11.7 million shares. And David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management trimmed its Apple holdings to 1.26 million shares from 1.31 million shares. Apple’s stock slipped 4 cents, or less than 0.1%, ahead of the open, while the he PowerShares QQQ ETF , which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, climbed 0.6%.

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Shares of Priceline were up 10% in pre-market trade Wednesday after the company beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations. Priceline reported net income of $504 million, or $10 a share, up from $452 million, or $8.52 a share in the year-earlier period. Priceline reported adjusted earnings per share of $12.63, above the FactSet consensus of $11.81. The company reported revenue of $2 billion, up from $1.84 billion in the year-earlier period and above the FactSet consensus of $1.96 billion. For the first quarter of 2016, Priceline said it expects adjusted earnings per share between $9 and $9.60. The FactSet consensus was $9.60.

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Alphabet Inc. announced Tuesday afternoon that its think tank, previously called Google Ideas, will become a technology incubator separate from the Google search company. The new Alphabet arm, which will be called Jigsaw, has sought to discover and develop technology that can help solve problems such as digital censorship and online attacks. “As a technology incubator, Jigsaw will be investing in and building technology to expand access to information for the world’s most vulnerable populations and to defend against the world’s most challenging security threats,” Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt wrote in a blog post announcing the change Tuesday. Google reincorporated as Alphabet last year, becoming a holding company in which many businesses besides Google will exist.

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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From:: Stock Market News