Under Armour partners with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Under Armour has partnered with actor and professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to create footwear, apparel and accessories based on his film projects. The first items will be a backpack and duffle bag, which will be available on the Under Armour website. The Rock will also create original content for Under Armour based on his fitness regimen, lifestyle and charitable work. Johnson will promote the company’s Connected Fitness platform, including the new Under Armour Health Box and Record application. And he will promote the company’s UA Freedom charity, which supports members of the military, first responders and public safety workers. Under Armour shares are down 2.3% in Monday trading and 24.8% for the past three months. The S&P is down 8.6% for the past three months.

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American Eagle Outfitters downgraded to hold at BB&T Capital Markets after December sales slow

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. was downgraded to hold from buy at BB&T Capital Markets on analyst concern that the retailer won’t be able to regain momentum after a sales slowdown in December. “Eagle’s comps may have recovered somewhat in late December, but its Q4 slowdown could foreshadow other periods of softness in coming months,” analysts wrote in a Monday note. The bank sees difficult comparisons to come and believes the resurgence of the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Hollister brand is a risk. With new American Eagle offerings, like the Denim-X line, already incorporated into the company’s merchandise, analysts believe there might not be enough opportunity for assortment innovation in 2016. American Eagle Outfitters shares are down 5.3% in Monday trading and down 1.5% over the past 12 months. The S&P is down 7.7% for the past year.

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American Express stock bounces after analyst says stock has fallen too far

American Express Co.’s stock rose 0.4% in morning trade Monday, after Oppenheimer upgraded the card issuer, saying the shares have “overshot to the downside” the challenging fundamentals the company faces. The stock plunged 12% on Friday to close at the lowest level since November 2012 after the company gave a disappointing profit outlook. Analyst Ben Chittenden raised his rating to perform, after being at underperform for the last nine months. Chittenden said he still sees headwinds for the company, as a changing competitive environment has put profitability under pressure. “Although these factors exist, we believe the current stock price reflects all of these headwinds at this time and are therefore staying on the sidelines for now,” Chittenden wrote in a note to clients. Basically, he’s not recommending investors buy the stock, just that the arguments for his underperform rating “have played out.” The stock has tumbled 26% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed 9.2%.

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Home Depot upgraded as Deutsche Bank sees ‘compelling’ buying opportunity

Home Depot Inc.’s stock was little changed in morning trade Monday, bucking the weakness in the broad market, after the home improvement retailer was upgraded at Deutsche Bank, which cited an attractive valuation. Analyst Mike Baker raised his rating to buy, after being at hold since at least February 2013, while keeping his stock price target at $135. Baker said he remains positive on the home centers space, which continues to show strong comparable-store sales growth and has less online competition than most other retailers. Despite the recent stock weakness–Home Depot shares closed Friday 8.9% below their Nov. 27 record close of $134.74–the company continues to produce consistent earnings growth, market share and margin gains and strong free cash flow. “We further believe that recent market weakness has led to some compelling opportunities to buy quality names at lower valuations, The Home Depot being a perfect example,” Baker wrote in a note to clients. The stock has lost 1.4% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed 9.2%.

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International Flavors & Fragrances shares tumble 4.5% as Stifel downgrades to hold

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances fell 4.5% Monday, after Stifel downgraded the stock to hold from buy, and said headwinds such as foreign exchange rates are increasing. “We continue to view IFF
favorably long-term, believing it is a highly cash generative business in a growing, high barrier to entry category, with mid-single digit sales growth remaining reasonable and complemented by M&A,” analysts wrote in a note. “That said, near-term headwinds have increased, including worsening foreign exchange rates and slowing global consumer packaged goods volumes (CPG, aka IFF’s customers), and coupled with consensus estimates being too high, is likely to result in IFF shares remaining range-bound.” Stifel lowered its 2016 and 2017 EPS estimates to well below current consensus levels. It said the fact that the stock is below European peers Givaudan and Symrise , which have similar long-term fundamentals, may offer some downside protection. Shares have gained 0.2% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 7%.

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Walmart Canada to begin charging for plastic bags on Feb. 9

Walmart Canada will charge customers in British Columbia five cents per plastic bag on Feb. 9 and roll out the fee to other stores over the following months, the company said Monday. The company will sell reusable bags for 25 cents. The move is a step towards Walmart Canada’s zero waste commitment, the company said in a statement. Walmart Canada said it has already removed 72% of its waste from municipal landfills. Some of the proceeds of the plastic bag fee will be used to support plastic film recycling initiatives. Wal-Mart shares are down 29.2% for the past 12 months, but up 7.5% for the past three months. The S&P 500 is down 8.1% for the past three months.

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U.S. stocks open lower as oil prices slump

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday as a slump in oil prices weighed on energy shares. The S&P 500 opened 4 points, or 0.2%, lower at 1,902. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33 points, or 0.2%, to 16,057. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 17 points, or 0.4%, at 4,574.

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Intel upgraded as analyst sees a bounce back this year as clients restock

Intel Corp. was upgraded Monday by Macquarie Research analyst Deepon Nag, who said the fact that the chip maker undershipped in 2015 means it should benefit from restocking in 2016. He raised his rating to outperform from neutral, while keeping his stock price target at $35, which is 17% above Friday’s closing price of $29.93. Nag wrote in a note to clients that his research suggests Intel has been undershipping end-demand for all of 2015, “which we believe adds potential upside to estimates as the PC supply chain replenishes processor inventories.” Nag said the stock has an attractive dividend yield, “which we believe provides investors protection in the event of a global downturn.” At Friday’s closing price for the stock, the current quarterly dividend of 24 cents a share implies an annual yield of 3.21%, compared with the overall dividend yield of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.73%, according to FactSet. Intel’s stock, which slipped 0.1% in premarket trade, has tumbled 14% over the past three months, while the Dow has lost 8.8%.

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Whole Foods downgraded at BMO Capital Markets based on negative price perception

Whole Foods Market Inc. was downgraded to underform from market perform at BMO Capital Markets based on the bank’s Dirty Dozen survey, which found price perception at the grocer has not improved. They lowered their price target to $23 from $26. Analysts said they continue to view Whole Foods as an “innovation leader in food retail” but see risk in its stock valuation because it’s in the early stages of a multiyear transition. The company unveiled a nine-point turnaround plan in November. According to the bank’s research, 71% of the more than 1,000 active Whole Foods shoppers who participated in the BMO Dirty Dozen survey saw no change in prices over the past three months. And only 24% believe Whole Foods’ organic products are definitely better than those found at conventional markets. More than two-thirds of respondents (69%) said they supplement their grocery needs at traditional supermarkets. “With new competition across the retail landscape in both natural and organics, and more likely coming, we see increasing risk that Whole Foods will have to accelerate and broaden its price investments beyond current expectations to change consumer perception,” analysts wrote in a note published Monday. BMO believes Whole Foods will do more price investments, but maintain premium pricing in some categories by conveying its high quality standards, which could be a risk. Whole Foods shares are down 3% in premarket trading and down 42.8% for the past 12 months. The S&P is down 7% for the past year.

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GrubHub authorizes $100 million stock buyback

Shares of GrubHub Inc. jumped more than 8.5% in premarket trade Monday after the company authorized a $100 million stock buyback program, and said it plans to negotiate terms of a credit facility of up to $200 million to increase its financial flexibility and aggressively pursue growth opportunities. GrubHub also pre-announced fourth-quarter sales results, which were slightly above expectations. It is anticipating revenue at the high-end of its $98 billion to $100 billion range, versus the FactSet consensus estimate of $99.3 billion. Shares of GrubHub had been down 38% over the last three months, as of Friday’s closing price of $19.17. They were on track to open around $21 on Monday

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