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The European Central Bank on Thursday announced it would extend its bond buying program through September 2018, but slow the pace of purchases to 30 billion euros a month beginning in January from its current monthly pace of 60 billion euros. The ECB said it could extend the purchases beyond September “if necessary,” and that if conditions deteriorated, it stood ready to increase the size of the program in terms of size and/or duration. Also, the ECB will continue to reinvest principal payments from maturing securities it has purchased “for an extended period,” the bank said. The ECB had been widely expected to extend the program past its scheduled end date in December but to reduce the size of purchases by 20 billion to 40 billion euros. The ECB, as expected, left interest rates unchanged and reiterated that rates would remain at present levels well beyond the end of its asset-buying program. More details are expected when ECB President Mario Draghi holds a news conference in Frankfurt at 2:30 p.m. local time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

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Celgene Corp. shares dropped 11.2% in premarket trade Thursday after the company reported a third-quarter profit beat and revenue miss and lowered its 2017 profit and revenue outlook. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $988 million, or $1.21 per share, from $171 million, or $1.21 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.91, above the FactSet consensus of $1.87. Revenue rose to $3.29 billion from $2.98 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.42 billion. Sales of Revlimid, Otezla, Abraxane and Vidaza came in below consensus, while sales of Pomalyst beat the consensus. Celgene also lowered its 2017 revenue and EPS guidance, bringing revenue guidance to about $13 billion, compared with previous guidance of $13 billion to $13.4 billion, and bringing EPS guidance down to $4.78 to $5.19, compared with previous guidance of $5.36 to $5.62. The company’s updated 2017 revenue outlook is below the FactSet consensus of $13.23 billion, and its new 2017 EPS guidance is below the FactSet consensus of $5.33. Celgene also increased the lower end of its adjusted EPS guidance, bringing its 2017 EPS outlook to $7.30 to $7.35 from previous guidance of $7.25 to $7.35, compared with the FactSet consensus of $7.32. Celgene shares have dropped 13.2% over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Xerox Corp.’s stock rose 1.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the copy machine and other office products maker beat profit and revenue expectations, and raised its earnings outlook. Net income fell to $179 million, or 68 cents a share, from $183 million, or 69 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 89 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 83 cents. Revenue fell 5% to $2.50 billion from $2.63 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $2.49 billion, as services, maintenance and rentals revenue declined 3.1% to $1.44 billion. The company raised its 2017 adjusted EPS guidance range to $3.28 to $3.44 from $3.20 to $3.44, compared with the FactSet consensus of $3.36. The stock has soared 44% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 18%.

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Mylan NV shares rose 1.7% in premarket trade Thursday on news that the company won an United Kingdom patent case over Teva’s popular multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. shares declined 0.6% in premarket trade. The United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice found that Teva’s patent claims related to the high, 40 mg dose of Copaxone were “invalid based on obviousness,” Mylan said. The U.K. decision could have positive implications for Mylan’s generic Copaxone becoming available in other parts of the world, Mylan said. Both the low and high doses of Mylan’s generic Copaxone were approved in the U.S.earlier this month; Teva noted immediately after the approval news that it is challenging Mylan and others in several patent lawsuits. Mylan shares have declined 0.4% over the last three months and Teva shares have plummeted 57.8%, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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LegoLand parent Merlin Entertainments PLC said Thursday that it will open a LegoLand Park in Goshen, New York in 2020, the third park in North America, joining California and Florida. It will be 60 miles from New York City and within two hours of 23 million people, the company said. The park will require a $350 million investment and include a 250-bedroom Lego-themed hotel that will be open throughout the year. The park will be open from April to November. The report is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and 800 construction jobs. Merlin shares are down 17.5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 14.2% for the period.

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Pfizer Inc. will begin the auction process for its consumer healthcare unit in November, which it hopes will end in a $15 billion sale, Reuters reported late Wednesday, citing sources close to the matter. GlaxoSmithKline PLC. and Reckitt Benckiser are among those companies that have said they would consider bidding for the Pfizer unit. One of the sources told Reuters that initial discussions with Reckitt have already happened. Other possible bidders may include Procter & Gamble , Sanofi SA , Johnson & Johnson and Nestle [s:
ch:nesn], sources said. The companies have been contacted for comment.

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CSX Corp. shares added to losses after hours Wednesday as the railroad operator said it was postponing its investor conference following the appointment of a new chief operating officer. CSX shares fell 3.6% to $51 after hours, following a 2.6% decline to close at $52.92 during the regular session. CSX also announced after the bell it was buying back $1.5 billion in its shares. The company investor conference, which had been scheduled for Oct. 30, will be moved to “a later date,” the company said in a statement. Earlier Wednesday, CSX named James Foote as COO to succeed Cindy Sanborn, who plans to retire on Nov. 15.

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Varian Medical Systems Inc. shares dropped more than 6% in after-hours trading Wednesday following an earnings report that showed disappointing profit. The medical-device company reported fourth-quarter net income of $82.7 million, or 89 cents a share, on sales of $739 million, down from $747.2 million a year ago. After adjustments for restructuring and other effects, the company claimed earnings of $1.09 a share, up from $1.03 a share last year. Analysts on average had expected adjusted earnings of $1.19 a share on revenue of $741.7 million, according to FactSet, and Varian had guided for earnings of $1.15 to $1.23 a share. The company’s outlook for its new fiscal year was also lower than expectations, as Varian said full-year adjusted earnings will be $4.20 to $4.32 a share on revenue of $2.72 billion to $2.78 billion. Analysts on average were forecasting adjusted earnings of $4.47 a share on sales of $2.8 billion. Varian shares fell lower than $101 in late trading after closing at $107.90.

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Universal Health Services Inc. shares fell in the extended session Wednesday after the hospital and health care facility operator reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street estimates and cut its outlook for the year. Universal Health shares fell 4.7% to $105.50 after hours. The company reported third-quarter net income of $141.2 million, or $1.47 a share, compared with $151.7 million, or $1.54 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $1.49 a share. Revenue rose to $2.78 billion from $2.61 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.67 a share on revenue of $2.83 billion. For the year, Universal Health reduced estimated earnings to a range of $7.25 to $7.50 a share from a range of $7.50 to $8 a share. Analysts had expected earnings of $7.66 a share.

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From:: Stock Market News

Universal Health Services Inc. shares fell in the extended session Wednesday after the hospital and health care facility operator reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street estimates and cut its outlook for the year. Universal Health shares fell 4.7% to $105.50 after hours. The company reported third-quarter net income of $141.2 million, or $1.47 a share, compared with $151.7 million, or $1.54 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $1.49 a share. Revenue rose to $2.78 billion from $2.61 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.67 a share on revenue of $2.83 billion. For the year, Universal Health reduced estimated earnings to a range of $7.25 to $7.50 a share from a range of $7.50 to $8 a share. Analysts had expected earnings of $7.66 a share.

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