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Shares of OptiNose Inc. surged more than 20% in the first ten minutes of trading on the Nasdaq Friday, as the maker of products for ear, nose and throat conditions made its stock market debut. The stock was last up $2.57, or 16%, at $18.57. OptiNose priced its initial public offering late Thursday at $16 a share, the midpoint of its $15 to $17 range, according to Renaisannce Capital, an IPO investment manager. The company, which has developed a nasal spray treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis, offered 7.5 million shares to raise $120 million, after increasing the offer from an original plan to sell 6.3 million shares. Shares are trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “OPTN.” Jefferies, Piper Jaffray, BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets were lead managers on the deal.

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Shares of Hostess Brand Inc. tumbled 13% in morning trade Friday toward an 11-month low, after UBS turned bearish the Twinkies maker, citing the surprise retirement of Chief Executive Bill Toler, as well as slowing category trends and market share losses. The stock was on track to suffer its biggest one-day percentage decline since it went public in July 2016. UBS analyst Steven Strycula cut his rating to sell from neutral, and slashed his stock price target to $11, which is 5.9% below current levels, from $16. “We view Toler as the driving force behind Hostess’ turnaround success and view his departure (plus recent COO departure) as concerns,” Strycula wrote in a note to clients. The company said late Thursday that Toler will retire, effective March 1, 2018. The stock has shed 27% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.5%.

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OptiNose Inc. priced its initial public offering late Thursday at $16 a share, the midpoint of its $15 to $17 range, according to Renaisannce Capital, an IPO investment manager. The company, which has developed a nasal spray treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis, offered 7.5 million shares to raise $120 million, after increasing the offer from an original plan to sell 6.3 million shares. Shares will start trading on the Nasdaq later Friday under the ticker symbol “OPTN.” Jefferies, Piper Jaffray, BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets were lead managers on the deal.

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-market indexes traded in record territory after modest opening gains on Friday as investors assessed a round of economic data and earnings releases. Inflation data came in weaker than expected, while retail sales jumped last month, but were in line with forecasts. Over the week, the main indexes were on track to post modest gains. The S&P 500 was up 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,555. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was up 20 points, or 0.3%, to 6,610. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 38 points, or 0.2%, to 22,876 at the open. Shares of large banks were in focus. Bank of America shares fell after third-quarter earnings results, while Wells Fargo & Co shares declined as earnings missed estimates.

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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PhaseRx Inc. said Friday it was cutting its workforce in half, as part of a restructuring to cut costs and delay the development of its lead product candidate. The biopharmaceutical company said it was cutting 10 jobs, including some executive officers. As of June 30, the company had 20 employees and $8.4 million in cash and equivalents. PhaseRx said it is review strategic alternatives, including a potential merger. The company is developing treatments for children with inherited enzyme deficiencies in the liver. The stock was indicated up over 5% in premarket trade. It had tumbled 43% year to date through Thursday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF had climbed 27% and the S&P 500 had 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.

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Netflix Inc. shares were up 1.6% in premarket trade on Friday after analysts at J.P. Morgan raised their 12-month price target on Netflix to $225 from $210 on Friday, just ahead of the streaming giant’s third-quarter earnings report after the bell on Monday. Lead analyst Doug Anmuth’s increase was driven by Netflix recent price increases and a promotion the company has with T-Mobile to sign up new subscribers. A common theme from analysts ahead of earnings is the view that Netflix added more subscribers in the quarter than previously thought. Anmuth said he expects the streamer to report net adds of 800,000; up from his previous 765,000 expectation and above the company’s 750,000 guidance. The price increase is expected to have a minor impact on Netflix’s fourth quarter subscriber numbers though. “We think there will only be modest negative impact on churn and overall gross adds given the price increase is happening around a very strong content and favorable seasonal period,” Anmuth wrote in a note to investors. “Overall, the impact to Netflix Financials is a clear positive.” Shares of Netflix are up more than 58% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 Index is up 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up close to 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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Beijing-based Sogou Inc. filed Friday to go public. The company, which says it is the second-largest search engine by mobile queries in China, said it was looking to raise up to $600 million, but said that was estimated solely as a placeholder amount. Sogou said it plans to apply to have its American depositary shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SOGO.” The company had revenue of $373.2 million during the first six months of 2017, up from $322.9 million a year ago. Net income for the period has increased to $35.8 million from $25.3 million. The lead underwriters are J.P. Morgan Securities, Credit Suisse Securities, Goldman Sachs, China International Capital Corp. Hong Kong and China Renaissance Securities. The company is looking to go public during a time when the Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF has run up 12% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.2%.

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Treasury yields declined Friday after consumer price data rose less than expected. The consumer price index climbed 0.5%, while core prices rose 0.1%. Forecasters surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting an 0.6% jump, and an 0.2% gain in core prices. If inflation does not rise as much as hoped, it could dent the Federal Reserve’s argument that the past few months of lackluster inflation readings was temporary, and weaken the case for raising rates in December. The benchmark 10-year note yield declined 3 basis points to 2.288%, from 2.323%, while the 30-year bond yield shed 2 basis points to 2.826%, from 2.854%. The 2-year note yield fell 2 basis points to 1.497%, from 1.517%.

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 Wells Fargo & Co. {s: wfc] slid 1.8% in early-morning trading Friday as the bank reported lower-than-expected revenue, and earnings muddied by a one-time charge. Wells said it had revenue of $21.9 billion in the third quarter, down 2% compared to a year ago and lower than the FactSet consensus of $22.4 billion. It had per-share earnings of $0.84, which included a litigation accrual of 20 cents per share for pre-crisis mortgage investigations, versus $1.03 a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.02. “Over the past year we have made fundamental changes to transform Wells Fargo as part of our effort to rebuild trust and build a better bank,” CEO Tim Sloan said in a release. “We saw total average deposit growth; loan growth in our residential mortgage, credit card and subscription finance portfolios; as well as higher assets under management in Wealth and Investment Management.” Shares in the bank, which has struggled with numerous consumer scandals for over a year, are flat for the year, compared to a 15.6% increase for the Dow Jones Industrial Average [S: djia]

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