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Shares of Pennsylvania-based Meridian Bank surged 3.5% in their trading debut Tuesday, after the company priced its initial public offering at the low end of its $17 to $19 price range. Meridian shares were last up 60 cents at $17.60. The bank sold 2.35 million shares to raise $40 million. Sandler O’Neill was lead manager on the deal. The stock is trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MRBK”.

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Shares of Priceline Group Inc. plunged 11% in morning trade Tuesday, and were on track to suffer their biggest-ever price decline, as investors and analysts failed to give the online travel service company a pass for its usual practice of providing downbeat earnings guidance. The stock’s price decline of $210.01 is the biggest since Priceline went public in March 1999, passing the previous record of $158.06 suffered on June 24, 2016. It was on track to close below the $1,700 mark for the first time since Feb. 27, 2017. Priceline reported late Monday third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations, but provided a fourth-quarter EPS outlook that was below the FactSet consensus. But that was the fourth-straight quarter that guidance was below expectations, and the 13th quarter of the past 15 quarters. RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney said Priceline’s “conservatism” was “typical.” Still, 13 of 31 analysts surveyed by FactSet cut their price targets, moving the average target down to $2.021.07 from $2,116.5 at the end of October. Priceline’s stock has still gained 15.6% year to date, while the S&P 500 has climbed 15.7%.

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Shares of Blue Apron Holdings Inc. sank 13% in active morning trade Tuesday, putting them on track to close at a record low. Volume of 2.1 million shares topped the full-day average of 2.0 million shares within the first 45 minutes after the open. The shares have now lost more than a quarter of their value since the meal-kit delivery service reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss and provided a downbeat outlook, amid concerns over increasing competition. The stock is now trading two-third below its IPO price of $10; the company went public on June 29. The average price target of the 14 analysts surveyed by FactSet is $5.39, or 59% above current levels, but is down from $6.32 before third-quarter results, and from $9.50 at the end of July. The shares have plummeted 43% over the past three months, while the Renaissance IPO ETF has gained 7.9% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.6%.

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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U.S. stock benchmarks opened near breakeven levels Tuesday, as investors awaited updates on tax reform and economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.1% higher at 23,570, while the S&P 500 index was up 0.1% at 2,593. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index kicked off trading little changed but in negative territory at 6,786. All three main equity indexes finished Monday trade at all-time highs, marking the 26th time all three indexes closed at records at the same time–breaking a 22-year-old record. In individual stocks, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 16.5%, up after better-than-expected quarterly earnings, even though the company lowered its 2017 earnings outlook.

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Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. said Tuesday that it will pay a year-end special dividend of 35 cents a share, payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record on Dec. 1. The previously announced regular quarterly dividend of 11 cents a share will be paid out on Nov. 24. The home furnishings maker and marketer said it plans to open at least six new stores in 2018, and to make “significant” investments in technology, improve its retail real estate portfolio and replace a portion of its truck fleet with new equipment. “Despite these upcoming investments, management and our Board of Directors believe that the strength of our balance sheet makes this special dividend an appropriate use of capital at this time,” said Chief Executive Rob Spilman. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 25% year to date, while the S&P 500 has climbed 16%.

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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Meridian Bank, a Philadelphia-based commercial bank, priced its initial public offering at $17, the low end of its $17 to $19 price range, according to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO exchange-traded funds. The bank sold 2.35 million shares to raise $40 million. The shares will start trading on Nasdaq later Tuesday under the ticker symbol “MRBK.”

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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Shares of Under Armour Inc. rose 1.1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the athletic apparel and gear maker was upgraded at Susquehanna Financial, which said the previous bearish thesis has already been played out with the recent tumble in price. Analyst Sam Poser raised the rating to neutral, after being at negative the past nine months, but cut his price target to $11 from $15. Since Oct. 31, when the company reported third-quarter results, the stock had plunged 29% to close at a 5 1/2-year low on Friday, before bouncing 3.5% on Monday. “Downside now more limited as [Under Armour] may have set the bar low enough to allow the company to hit the reset button,” Poser wrote in a note to clients. “Further, we believe [Under Armour] is becoming somewhat more cognizant of its recent mistakes.” Poser said, however, that there are still no signs that the company is willing to pull back on distribution, so business will likely be challenging for some time. The stock has plummeted 59% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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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Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. rose 1.5% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the cruise operator’s profit beat helped offset a downbeat outlook. Net income for the quarter to Sept. 30 rose to $752.8 million, or $3.49 a share, from $693.3 million, or $3.21 a share, from a year ago. The company said the negative EPS impact from recent hurricanes was 20 cents. The results beat the FactSet EPS consensus of $3.40. Revenue rose to $2.57 billion from $2.56 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. Passenger ticket revenue slipped to $1.89 billion from $1.90 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $1.90 billion, while onboard and other revenue grew to $676.4 million from $663.8 million to come up just short of the FactSet consensus of $677.2 million. Gross cruise costs per available passenger cruise days (APCDs) increased 5.6%. For the current fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.15 to $1.20, below the FactSet consensus of $1.26. The stock has run up 53% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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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Shares of AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. were down nearly 6% in premarket trade despite the cinema chain reporting third-quarter earnings after the bell on Monday that were above Wall Street’s expectations. AMC reported a loss of 33 cents per share, after earnings of 31 cents during the same period a year ago. The loss was narrower than FactSet’s consensus of a 36 cents loss. AMC revenue was $1.18 billion, above FactSet’s $1.16 billion consensus. Analysts had, however, been lowering earnings expectations for AMC and other film exhibitors as box office revenue through the quarter slumped. B. Riley analyst Eric Wold wrote after AMC’s earnings report that the company showed upside, and that the weak box office overshadowed underlying theater trends. Wold wrote that AMC’s earnings beat, during a weak period at the box office, helps demonstrate AMC’s theater remodeling strategy. “While the weak box office environment masked the improvements being made across the various circuits, we continue to believe the re-seat and enhanced F&B strategy is helping to position AMC for stronger results in 2018,” Wold wrote. Shares of AMC have declined nearly 64% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up close to 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 19%.

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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