What’s new

Philip Morris Inc. shares fell 1.3% in premarket trade Thursday, after the cigarette distributor missed profit and revenue estimates for the third quarter. The company said it had net income of $1.97 billion, or $1.27 a share, in the third quarter, up from $1.94 billion, or $1.25 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings also came to $1.27, below the FactSet consensus of $1.38. Revenue excluding excise taxes rose 7% to $7.5 billion, also below the FactSet consensus of $7.7 billion. For the full-year, the company said it expects EPS of $4.75 to $4.80, compared with a FactSet consensus of $4.84. Shares have gained 23% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Spanish government will move to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy on Saturday, media reports said Thursday, after the region’s leaders failed to drop a push for independence. The central government will trigger Article 155 of the country’s constitution, after Catalan President Carles Puigdemont missed a deadline of 10 a.m. local time to meet its demand to pullback from a breakaway. Instead, Puigdemont called once again for negotiations, saying the region’s parliament could set a vote on a declaration of independence — currently suspended, after a referendum backed the move — if Madrid declined to talk. “Consequently, the Spanish government will continue with the steps laid out in Article 155 of the constitution to restore the legality of self-government in Catalonia,” the Spanish government said in a letter. If home rule is suspended in Catalonia — known as the “nuclear option” — the central government would likely impose direct rule on the region, a big contributor to the country’s economy.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Thursday, led by a hefty tumble for Nasdaq-100 futures as shares of eBay Inc. slid. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 115 points, or 0.5%, to 23,000, while S&P 500 futures dropped 13.10 points, or 0.5%, to 2,547.75. Nasdaq-100 futures slumped 46 points, or 0.7%, to 6,074. Shares of eBay slumped 6% in thin premarket trading — the online auctioneer’s shares took a hit late Wednesday after the company lowered its annual profit outlook. Other tech shares followed the shares lower in premarket trading, with Netflix Inc. down 1%, Apple Inc. off 1.6% and Nvidia Inc dropping 1.1%. European shares were also taking a hit with the Stoxx Europe 600 index down 0.5%. Asia also saw heavy hits, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closing down 1.8% and the Shanghai Composite Index tumbling 2.1%. Growth data released earlier in the day revealed a slowdown in China.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

MongoDB Inc. priced its initial public offering at $24 a share Wednesday night, $2 higher than the price range it had already inflated just the day before. The database-software company originally targeted an IPO price in a range of $18 to $20, and increased that target to $20 to $22 Tuesday. MongoDB plans to sell at least 8 million shares at the $24 price, which would raise $192 million at an initial valuation of about $1.18 billion. The company was valued at $1.6 billion in its last round of private investment, the end of about $300 million in venture investment in the startup. Underwriters, led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Barclays, have access to an additional 1.2 million shares that could sell and raise the total take and valuation. MongoDB is expected to begin trading under the ticker symbol MDB on the Nasdaq exchange Thursday morning.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

SendGrid Inc. filed documents for an initial public offering Wednesday, following through on a promise to debut in 2017 as it heads toward $100 million in annual revenue and potential profitability. SendGrid, which sells a software platform that helps companies manage email communications with customers, said it would seek $100 million in proceeds in the offering, though that is usually a placeholder figure that will be replaced in subsequent filings. The 8-year-old startup based in Denver has experienced strong revenue growth while losses have shrunk, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SendGrid reported annual revenue totals of $42.8 million, $58.5 million and $79.9 million for the past three full years, while annual net losses fell from $13 million to $5.9 million to $3.9 million. In the first six months of 2017, the company lost $3.1 million on revenue of $51.8 million, both improvements from the same period the year before, which puts it on track for a stated goal of $100 million in revenue along with an IPO this year. The company has raised more than $80 million in private investment, according to Crunchbase, and the SEC filing shows that venture capital investors own about 73% of the company, led by Foundry Group’s stake of 29.6%. SendGrid plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SEND, and the offering is being led by Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Blue Apron Holdings Inc. has reduced its workforce by 6% to “support its strategic priorities,” the company said in a filing Wednesday. The layoffs happened in Blue Apron’s corporate offices as well as fulfillment centers. The company said it expects about $3.5 million in employee-related expenses, mostly in severance payments incurred in the fourth quarter. Blue Apron had 5,393 employees as of June. Blue Apron “did not take this decision lightly, and I want to assure you that we believe it was necessary as we focus the company on future growth and achieving profitability,” Chief Executive Matthew Salzberg said in a letter to employees in the filing. Shares of Blue Apron fell 1% in late trading after ending the regular trading day down 1.5%. The stock debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in June.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday it named Brett Redfearn, J.P. Morgan’s global head of market structure for its investment bank, to be director of the regulator’s division of trading and markets. Redfearn will oversee the major securities market participants and infrastructure including, among others, broker-dealers, self-regulatory organizations (including stock exchanges, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and clearing agencies), alternative trading systems, and transfer agents. Redfearn has also served on the boards of Bats Global Markets, the Chicago Stock Exchange, BIDS Trading, and the National Organization of Investment Professionals.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Catalonia could formally declare its independence from Spain on Thursday, should the Spanish government in Madrid rescind the regions’ autonomy, Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said, according to a report by Reuters. The Spanish government set a deadline for Thursday to resolve the domestic political conflict caused by Catalonia’s independence referendum in which residents voted overwhelmingly for secession amid low voter turnout. Following the vote Puigdemont refrained from formally declaring independence in favor of dialogue with Madrid. It would take three to five days for Catalonia’s autonomy to get suspended after a decision in Madrid, the report said. The political turmoil is the focal point for currency traders who are assessing the overall health of the eurozone’s shared currency. The euro last bought $1.1793, compared with $1.1766 late Tuesday.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

United Continental Holdings Inc. reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings Wednesday despite thousands of hurricane-related flight cancellations. The airline reported third-quarter net income of $637 million, or $2.12 a share, on revenue of $9.9 billion, which was basically even from the same quarter a year ago. After adjustments for special charges and tax effects, United claimed profit of $2.22 a share, down from $3.11 a share a year ago. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of $2.16 a share on revenue of $9.88 billion. United said it cancelled 8,300 flights in the quarter as the result of devastating hurricanes and other storms in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean, which reduced pre-tax income by an estimated $185 million. United said it set new company records for on-time performance in the quarter despite the difficulties. United stock declined less than 1% after the earnings were released, falling to $67.50 after closing with a 0.7% increase at $67.99.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News