Tag: stock market

Oil futures held onto their gains on Wednesday after theU.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 1.3 million-barrel rise in crude-oil supplies for the week ended March 11. That was less than the 1.5 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, and below the rise of 2.7 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies edged down by 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 1.1 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude was at $37.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.26, or 3.5%. Prices traded at $37.55 before the data.

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From:: Stock Market News

Mallinckrodt PLC’s stock tumbled as much as 14% in active trade early Wednesday, before paring losses, in the wake of concerns raised by famed short seller Andrew Left surrounding the specialty pharmaceutical company’s business model. The stock bounced to be down just 4.3% in recent trade. Volume less than an hour after the open was about 5.6 million shares, which was already more than double the full-day average. On Tuesday, the stock had plunged 15%, the second-biggest percentage decline since it went public in June 2013, on volume of 10.1 million shares, after Left’s Citron Research tweeted that investors were starting to realize that Mallinckrodt posed equal risk as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. . Valeant’s stock lost over half its value on Tuesday after the company slashed its financial outlook and said it may breach loan covenants. Left took aim at Valeant in October,alleging revenue-recognition improprieties.

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From:: Stock Market News

Kellogg Co. was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman Sachs on the margin opportunity available to the food company, though analysts say it’s unlikely Kellogg will take full advantage of this “compelling bull margin case” because of the top-line growth focus. Still, “the optionality is too great for us to stay sell rated,” the bank wrote in a Wednesday note. They raised their price target to $80 from $67. Kellogg’s improved top-line has come at the expense of margins, analysts said, with the company reaching a new low last year despite an 18% decline in ad spending. The bank is raising its earnings per share estimates for 2016 (to $3.68 from $3.66), 2017 (to $4.04 from $3.93) and 2018 (to $4.29 from $4.12), but Goldman said the company could earn more than $5 per share if the productivity for that time period “dropped through to the bottom line.” Kellogg shares are down 0.6% in Wednesday morning trading, but up 18.8% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 is down 3.2% for the same period.

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From:: Stock Market News

Kellogg Co. was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman Sachs on the margin opportunity available to the food company, though analysts say it’s unlikely Kellogg will take full advantage of this “compelling bull margin case” because of the top-line growth focus. Still, “the optionality is too great for us to stay sell rated,” the bank wrote in a Wednesday note. They raised their price target to $80 from $67. Kellogg’s improved top-line has come at the expense of margins, analysts said, with the company reaching a new low last year despite an 18% decline in ad spending. The bank is raising its earnings per share estimates for 2016 (to $3.68 from $3.66), 2017 (to $4.04 from $3.93) and 2018 (to $4.29 from $4.12), but Goldman said the company could earn more than $5 per share if the productivity for that time period “dropped through to the bottom line.” Kellogg shares are down 0.6% in Wednesday morning trading, but up 18.8% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 is down 3.2% for the same period.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors braced for the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates expected at 2 p.m. Eastern. A pair of economic reports pointed to a robust housing market and firming consumer prices. The data were taken as an indication that the Fed might have enough ammunition to raise rates later this year. The S&P 500 opened 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,013. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22 points, or 0.1%, to 17,225. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 11 points, or 0.2%, at 4,718.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of LinkedIn Corp. tumbled 5% in premarket trade Wednesday after the stock was downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley. Analyst Brian Nowak lowered his 12-month price target on the stock to $125 from $190, which implies potential growth of 8% from Tuesday’s closing price. The downgrade reflects “slowing enterprise and online talent solutions growth,” and increased investment across all four of its businesses, which is reducing earnings power, Nowak said. The analyst, who was previously bullish on the professional social network, now has the lowest price target among a poll of 35 analysts surveyed by FactSet. He said he was wrong about his previous upbeat view about the company, and that LinkedIn “isn’t likely to be as big of a platform as we previously thought.” The average rating on the stock remains equivalent to buy, while the average price target is $172.91, according to a FactSet poll of 35 analysts. Shares of LinkedIn are down 51% over the last three months, vastly underperforming the S&P 500’s 3% slump.

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From:: Stock Market News

Peabody Energy Corp. shares slumped 30% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the coal company raised ‘going concern’ issues in a regulatory filing. Peabody said it had a substantial loss from operations and negative cash flow in 2015 and it expects to continue to be loss-making this year. “These projections and other liquidity risks raise substantial doubt about whether we will meet our obligations as they become due within one year after the date of this report,” said the filing. Peabody has opted to exercise the 30-day grace period with respect to a $21.1 million interest payment due March 16 on its 6.50% notes due September 202, as well as a $50.0 million interest payment due March 16 on its 10% senior secured second lien notes due March 2022. The company is not officially in default until the end of that grace period. However, “as a result of these factors, as well as the continued uncertainty around global coal fundamentals, the stagnated economic growth of certain major coal-importing nations, and the potential for significant additional regulatory requirements imposed on coal producers, among other matters, there exists substantial doubt whether we will be able to continue as a going concern,” said the filing. Shares have tumbled 95% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost just 3%.

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SunEdison Inc.’s stock tumbled 6.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the renewable energy company said it missed the extended deadline to file its annual report because it identified “material weaknesses” in its internal accounting controls. The deadline to file the Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission had been extended to March 15. The company said in a statement that the scope of work required to finalize its financial statements had expanded, given the finding of the internal control weaknesses. The investigation by its audit committee into the accuracy of the company’s anticipated financial position has also not yet been finalized. The stock has plunged 59% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has lost 1.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

SunEdison Inc.’s stock tumbled 6.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the renewable energy company said it missed the extended deadline to file its annual report because it identified “material weaknesses” in its internal accounting controls. The deadline to file the Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission had been extended to March 15. The company said in a statement that the scope of work required to finalize its financial statements had expanded, given the finding of the internal control weaknesses. The investigation by its audit committee into the accuracy of the company’s anticipated financial position has also not yet been finalized. The stock has plunged 59% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has lost 1.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan an April 17 meeting in Doha, Qatar, to work out a deal on oil production, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report citing Persian Gulf sources. This Doha effort is meant to stabilize the oil market, and the producers supporting it account for 73% of global crude output, the DJN report on Wednesday said. The April meeting will go ahead even without Iran, a Reuters report said. Officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also said it was hard to backtrack from a preliminary deal to freeze output after Iran said it would not join, Reuters noted. Crude for April delivery [s:clj6] recently traded up by 62 cents, or 1.7%, at $36.96 a barrel, while May Brent crude gained 49 cents, or 1.3%, at $39.23 a barrel.

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From:: Stock Market News