Tag: stock market

Pandora Media Inc. said Monday it has just hit the $2 billion milestone in royalty payments to artists and songwriters. The new milestone comes nine months after the online music service said it reached $1.5 billion. “The rapid acceleration of royalty payments from internet radio is very promising news for the industry,” said Chief Executive Tim Westergren. The company said it has nearly 80 million users spending an average of about 23 hours streaming music on its service every month. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has plunged 36% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.

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Shares of Chiasma Inc. lost more than half their value in premarket trade Monday, after the Food and Drug Administration said the new drug application (NDA) for its treatment of a rare ailment related to the pituitary gland was not ready for approval in its present form. The stock was recently down 55% at $4.61, or less than a third of its initial public offering price of $16; the company went public on July 16. The FDA said Chiasma would need to conduct another clinical trial, as its NDA didn’t provide enough evidence of efficacy to warrant approval. “We are surprised, disappointed and respectfully disagree with the FDA’s decision,” said Chiasma Chief Executive Mark Leuchtenberger. “The FDA has encouraged us to request an end of review meeting with the agency to discuss the path forward, and we will do so.”

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Cvent Inc. said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners in a deal valued at about $1.65 billion. The company, which provides cloud-based software for event planners, said its shareholders will receive $36 in cash per share, equal to a premium of about 69% over Cvent’s closing price in April 15, and a 70% premium over Cvent’s average closing price over the last 30 trading days. Cvent will become a privately held company once the deal closes, which the company expects to happen in the third quarter of 2016. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Cvent, while Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corp. served as legal adviser. Vista’s legal advisor was Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Shares were halted in premarket trade, but are down 39% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.

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Shares of oil and gas companies took a dive in premarket trade Monday, after a failed deal among Middle East oil producers to curb production sent crude oil prices sharply lower. The SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF dropped 2.2% ahead of the open, with all of its components seeing premarket activity trading lower. Among the more active components, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. shed 1.7%, of Chevron Corp. slid 1.7%, of Kinder Morgan Inc. slumped 2.7%, of Chesapeake Energy Corp. tumbled 6.1% and of Transocean Ltd. lost 4.2%. The selloff in the sector comes two sessions after the energy ETF closed at a 4 1/2-month high. May crude oil futures plunged 4%, as Iran’s refusal to show up at the meeting over the weekend prompted Saudi Arabia to walk away.

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Morgan Stanley said Monday it had net income of $1.1 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the first quarter, down from $2.4 billion, or $1.18 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $7.8 billion from $9.9 billion a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 46 cents and revenue of $7.9 billion. “The first quarter was characterized by challenging market conditions and muted client activity,” Chief Executive James Gorman said in a statement. “While we see some signs of market recovery, global uncertainties continue to weigh on investor activity.” Revenue from fixed income and commodities fell to $873 million from $1.9 billion a year ago. Investment revenue fell to $3 million from $112 million. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 19% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8%.

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PepsiCo Inc. reported first-quarter earnings that fell to $931 million, or 64 cents a share, from $1.22 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share was 89 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 81 cents. Revenue declined 3% to $11.86 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $11.86 billion, as weakness in Quaker Foods North America and Latin America sales offset strength in North America beverages and Frito-Lay North America. The beverage and snack giant affirmed its 2016 outlook for core revenue growth of 4% and EPS of $4.66. The FactSet 2016 EPS consensus of $4.70. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 3.9% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.8.%.

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Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP fell nearly 30% in late trading Friday after the energy company announced that it would end quarterly cash distributions amid a struggle with profitability. Chief Executive Tim Go said in the announcement that the distribution halt and a debt placement of $400 million will “position us to manage our capital structure with prudence and conservatism during a challenging period for our business.” The company said it expects to report a net loss in the first quarter of $59 million to $83 million, while analysts were expecting on average a net loss of $19 million, according to FactSet. Calumet, which expects to report full earnings information May 5, fell 28.9% in after-hours trading following the announcement after closing with a 7.4% loss at $10.27.

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XIO Group, a London-based investment firm, said late Friday it had agreed to buy consultant J. D. Power from McGraw Hill Financial Inc. for $1.1 billion. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, XIO Group said. XIO will “support” J. D. Power’s current management team in expanding to other markets, particularly “fast-growing Asian markets,” the company said. The deal was the first for XIO in the U.S. following acquisitions of companies based in Germany and Israel last year. Shares of McGraw Hill were flat in late trading Friday after ending the regular trading session down 0.3%.

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Aon Plc said late Friday its board of directors has authorized a 10% increase to its annual dividend to 33 cents a share. The dividend is payable May 16 to shareholders of record on May 2. Shares of Aon, a human resources, consultancy and insurance company, were flat in late trading Friday after ending the regular trading day up 0.4%.

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U.S. stocks closed out a healthy week of gains in negative territory Friday as a retreat in crude-oil prices weighed on energy shares ahead of a key meeting of major oil producers slated for Sunday in Doha, Qatar. Uncertainty about the outcome of the meeting of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members, which could set the tone for crude futures, put a cap on upbeat sentiment over corporate results that have so far proved better than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed off 29 points, or 0.2%, to end at 17,896, while the S&P 500 index ended 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,080. Shares of Apple Inc. led the Dow industrials lower, off 2%, after a report in Saturday’s edition of Japan’s Nikkei newspaper said demand for iPhones is lagging–the slide weighed on technology stocks, which were down 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite index closed down 7 points, or 0.2% at 4,938. Energy stocks topped the S&P 500’s sector laggards, closing off 1.3%. West Texas Intermediate crude , fell $1.14, or 2.8%, to settle at $40.36 a barrel. On the week, the Dow scored its best weekly gain, up 1.8%, since March 18. The S&P 500 registered a 1.6% weekly gain, while the Nasdaq was up 1.8% on the week.

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