MannKind’s stock tumbles after share offering, in wake of recent tripling in price

Shares of MannKind Corp. tumbled 8.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the inhaled therapeutics products maker announced overnight an offering of common stock, as the company takes advantage of a tripling in price over the past seven sessions. The company said it has entered into agreements with certain institutional investors regarding the sale of a total of 10.17 million shares at a price of $6.00 a share, to raise $61 million. That price is 11% below Tuesday’s closing price of $6.71, but is 176% above the Sept. 29 close of $2.17. “With this offering, we have made substantial progress in our efforts to recapitalize the company,” said Chief Executive Michael Castagna. The stock has rocketed nearly six-fold over the past three months and more than doubled year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 14% so far this year.

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European banks still hold €988 billion euros in nonperforming loans: IMF

European banks still hold “a very high” €988 billion ($1.17 trillion) in nonperforming loans on their balance sheets, according to new estimates from the International Monetary Fund released Wednesday. Peter Dattels, deputy director of the IMF’s monetary and capital markets department, said recent developments have been encouraging and the total of bad loans should decline to €900 billion by the end of the year. Italian banks should be able to sell €65 billion in nonperforming loans this year and sales by Spanish banks should account for an additional €30 billion reduction, he said. The stronger recovery in Italy and Spain has also reduced the flow of new bad loans, he said. In Portugal, the level of nonperforming loans remains very high, falling to 15.5% of total loans in the second quarter after peaking at around 18% last year, Dattels said. The IMF said that without a more concerted effort to reduce nonperforming loans, financial stability concerns could reemerge in the euro area.

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Colgate-Palmolive’s stock boosted as SunTrust turns bullish

Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s stock climbed 1.0% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the consumer products company was upgraded at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, which said growth, margins and emerging markets were hitting an “inflection point.” Analyst William Chappell, Jr. raised his rating to buy from hold, and his stock price target to $85, which is 10% above the June 5 record close of $77.23, from $65. Chappell said he believes the challenges that have led to three-straight quarters of weak and low-quality results are an “anomaly,” given the company’s long-term track record, strong brand portfolio and global opportunity. “As we enter 4Q17, the company will begin to cycle through these issues and, in our view, embark on a path back to its target organic growth rates,” Chappell wrote in a note to clients. “Separately, we believe investors are beginning to focus on a re-acceleration in emerging market growth and favorable FX for the first time in years.” The stock has gained 11.4% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has tacked on 4.7% and the S&P 500 has advanced 13.9%.

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Amazon launches Prime Student offer priced at $5.49 per month

Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that it is launching a monthly payment option for college students priced at $5.49 per month after a six-month trial and with no annual commitment. Prime Student is available to college students enrolled in four- or two-year U.S. colleges. A full-year Prime Student membership is $49. In further effort to serve college students, Amazon has added two new Chicago pickup locations, bringing the total nationwide to 29. These locations are staffed, and also provide shoppers with packing and shipping services. Prime members can also take advantage of same-day pickup. These staffed pickup stations are located in larger cities and smaller college towns including Berkeley, CA, Akron, OH and Stony Brook, NY. Amazon shares are up 0.3% in premarket trading, and up 31.7% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 14% for 2017 to date and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 15.5% for the period.

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Goodyear Tire’s stock rallies after 40% dividend hike

Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. rallied 2% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the tire maker announced a 40% increase in its quarterly dividend. The new dividend of 14 cents a share, up from 10 cents a share, will be payable Dec. 1 to shareholders of record on Nov. 1. Based on Tuesday’s closing price of $33.02, the new annual dividend rate would imply a dividend yield of 1.70%, compared with the implied yield for rival Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. of 1.15% for the S&P 500 of 1.95%. Goodyear’s stock has shed 8.0% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.2%.

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Fastenal shares slide 1.9% premarket after earnings

Fastenal Co. shares fell 1.9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company highlighted higher employee costs and the impact of hurricanes on third-quarter earnings. The industrial and construction supplies maker said it had net income of $143.1 million, or 50 cents a share, in the third quarter, up from $126.9 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $1.13 billion from $1.01 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 50 cents and sales of $1.12 billion. Employee-related costs rose 12.3% in the quarter, due to higher bonuses and commissions due to growth in sales and earnings, an increase in headcount, higher health care costs and the inclusion of workers from Mansco, or Manufacturers Supply Co., which the company acquired in March 2017. Gross profit was hurt by the effects of hurricanes. Shares are down 4.5% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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JetBlue says hurricanes will hurt third and fourth-quarter earnings and revenue

Discount airline JetBlue Airways Corp. said Wednesday that the string of hurricanes to hit the U.S. and Caribbean in September weighed on third-quarter earnings and will continue to have an impact in the fourth quarter. The carrier said September traffic fell 4.4% from the year-earlier period, as capacity fell 0.9%. The company’s load factor was 80.2%, down 3 points from a year ago. Third-quarter revenue per available seat mile is expected to increase by about 0.9%. “The third quarter presented unprecedented weather challenges for JetBlue, with two of the largest hurricanes in our history impacting our network,” Chief Executive Robin Hayes said in a statement. He said he was confident “that the adjustments we are making to our network will minimize any ongoing financial impact in 2018.” JetBlue is expecting hurricanes Irma and Maria to shave about $44 million off third-quarter revenue and reduce adjusted EPS by 6 cents to 7 cents. For the fourth quarter, the hit is estimated at about $70 million to $90 million of revenue and 10 cents to 13 cents of adjusted EPS. Shares rose 0.8% premarket, but are down 10% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained about 14%.

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Fed’s Evans says December interest rate hike is not a done deal: WSJ

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Wednesday said a December interest rate hike was not a done deal, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. In a talk in Zurich, Evans said he saw scope for an “honest discussion” about whether it is the right time to raise interest rates. Evans said the key for the U.S. central bank was to deliver 2% inflation on average and not have it be a ceiling. Evans is a voting member of the central bank’s interest-rate setting committee this year.

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Delta Air shares surge 2.5% after earnings beat estimates

Delta Air Lines Inc. shares surged 2.5% premarket Wednesday, after the airline beat estimates for the third quarter. Delta said it had net income of $1.18 billion, or $1.64 a share, in the quarter, up from $1.26 billion, or $1.69 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.57, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.53. Revenue rose to $11.1 billion from $10.5 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $11.0 billion. Pre-tax earnings were hurt by operational disruption caused by Hurricane Irma, which hit the Caribbean, Florida and Georgia, including the company’s hub in Atlanta. “Three of four entities reported positive unit revenues, and we see continued opportunity in business yields,” President Glen Hauenstein said in a statement. “We expect fourth-quarter unit revenues to be up two to four percent with all entities in positive territory by year end.” Shares have gained 7% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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BlackRock’s stock rallies after profit and revenue rise above expectations

Shares of BlackRock Inc. rallied 2.1% in premarket trade, after the investment management company beat profit and revenue expectations, amid asset and base fee growth. Net income rose to $947 million, or $5.78 a share, from $875 million, or $5.26 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $5.92, beating the FactSet consensus of $5.57. Revenue rose 14% to $3.23 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.07 billion. Retail net inflows of $7.4 billion, included $4.6 billion for fixed income, $1.7 billion for equities and $1.0 billion for multi-asset investments. Net inflows into iShares ETF were $52.3 billion, while institutional active net inflows were $200 million. The stock has rallied 7.8% over the past three months, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has gained 6.3% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 5.2%.

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