Tag: stock market

Amazon.com Inc. has raised the free shipping minimum to $49 from $35 for non-Prime members, according to information provided on the Amazon website. The company hasn’t published a press release with the news. For books, the threshold is still $25. There is unlimited free two-day shipping for Prime members. “A higher minimum order requirement for free non-Prime shipping effectively increases the appeal of Prime membership, and Prime households spend disproportionately more than non-Prime households,” said Keith Anderson, vice president of strategy and insights for Profitero, an e-commerce data company. A steep 32.8% increase in fulfillment costs had a negative impact on quarterly earnings announced on January 29. Prime membership increased 51% in 2015. Amazon shares are up 3.7% in Monday trading, and up 44.6% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 8% for the past 12 months.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Expedia Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. dropped in morning trade Monday, bucking the big gains seen in the broader market, after Stifel Nicolaus turned bearish on the online travel services companies, citing concerns over the moderating global economy and maturing U.S. online booking penetration. Analyst Scott Devitt cut the ratings of Expedia and TripAdvisor to sell from hold. He established a $95 stock price target for Expedia, which is 11% below current levels; his target for TripAdvisor’s stock is $53, or 16% below current levels. In a research note titled “Securing and early checkout,” Devitt said he’s also concerned about “competitive activity from hotels in the form of direct-booking campaigns and inventory consolidation.” He said his concerns were diminished after the companies’ stocks soared following fourth-quarter results, but he believes they will become relevant again soon. Expedia’s stock fell 1.4% and TripAdvisor’s shed 0.9%, while the S&P 500 surged 1.3%. Year to date, Expedia shares shed 14%, TripAdvisor’s fell 26% and the S&P 500 slipped 4.9%.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday as oil prices climbed above $33 a barrel boosting energy companies. Monday’s moves came on the heels of the best weekly gains for stocks in three months. The S&P 500 opened 15 points, or 0.8%, higher at 1,933. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 107 points, or 0.7%, to 16,515 shortly after the open. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day up 47 points, or 1%, at 4,550.

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Verizon Communications Inc. announced on Monday an agreement to buy the fiber-optic network business of XO Communications for about $1.8 billion. Verizon expects the deal, which is seen closing in the first half of 2017, to have synergies of more than $1.5 billion. Verizon said it expects to lease available XO wireless spectrum by the end of 2018. Verizon’s stock, which gained 0.4% in premarket trade, has run up 10% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 5.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Dean Foods Co. stock rose 2.6% in premarket trading after the company gave first-quarter 2016 guidance that exceeds expectations. The food and beverage company whose brands include TruMoo flavored milk, Country Fresh and Dean’s, said it had fourth-quarter net income of $18 million, or 20 cents per share, up from $5 million, or 6 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 36 cents per share, beating the Factset consensus of 34 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter totaled $2.02 billion, down from $2.4 billion for the same period in 2014 and just missing the FactSet consensus of $2.07 billion. Milk costs declined 31% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2015. Dean Foods sees first-quarter adjusted earnings between 32 cents and 42 cents on continued commercial and brand initiatives, a cost focus and a favorable commodity environment, Chief Executive Gregg Tanner said in a release statement. The FactSet consensus is 32 cents per share. Dean Foods stock is up 23.8% for the past year while the S&P 500 is down 9.1% for the same period.

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Sysco Corp. announced Monday an agreement to buy London-based foodservice distributor Brakes Group in a deal valued at the U.S. dollar equivalent of $3.1 billion (2.2 billion British pounds). The deal includes the repayment of about $2.3 billion worth of Brakes’ debt. Sysco said it expects the deal to close before the end of its fiscal year in July 2016, and is expected to immediately add to earnings. Brakes had revenue in fiscal 2015 of nearly $5 billion. “This transaction will unite Sysco with a leading foodservice distributor in Europe with demonstrated capability to sustainably grow its business over time,” said Sysco Chief Executive Bill DeLaney. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 9.7% year to date, while the S&P 500 has lost 6.2%.

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Allergan PLC reported a fourth-quarter loss that narrowed to $700.5 million, or $1.78 a share, from $732.9 million, or $3.34 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as acquisition costs, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.41, beating the FactSet consensus of $3.34. Revenue rose to $4.2 billion from $2.42 billion, matching the FactSet consensus. Botox sales came to $655.7 million, beating expectations of $606.3 million. For 2016, the drug company expects revenue of approximately $17 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $17.69 billion. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 12% year to date, while the S&P 500 has slipped 6.2%.

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Shares of hardwood floor retailer Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. slumped 22% in premarket trade Monday, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had made an incorrect assessment of the cancer risk associated with the company’s flooring, and said it is much higher than other products. The CDC said recent testing of the company’s wood had used an incorrect value for ceiling height. “As a result, the health risks were calculated using airborne concentration estimates about 3 times lower than they should have been,” it said in a statement. After correcting the model, the CDC said the flooring, which is imported from China, can create respiratory issues for people with asthma or related illnesses, and can cause irritation for the eye, nose and throat for anyone else. “The estimated risk of cancer is 6-30 cases per 100,000 people,” said the statement, and not 2-9 cases per 100,000 people as previously reported. The CDC recommends taking steps to reduce exposure, and will move ahead with a final report on the issue. Problems with Lumber Liquidators wood was highlighted in a “60 Minutes” report broadcast March of 2015, which alleged that Chinese laminates contained much higher-than-acceptable levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. The stock fell to as low as $11.69 in January, from its peak of $68.78 in Feb. of 2015, just before the news broke.

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. slashed on Monday its estimate for the upper end of the range of “reasonably possible aggregate loss” for legal proceedings to $2 billion, according to the investment bank’s 10-K annual regulatory filing. In the 10-Q filing following the third quarter, Goldman had estimated the loss to be $5.3 billion. “The firm is involved in a number of judicial, regulatory and arbitration proceedings…concerning matters arising in connection with the conduct of the firm’s businesses,” Goldman stated in its filing. “Many of these proceedings are in early stages, and many of these cases seek an indeterminate amount of damages.” The stock. which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 18% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 5.9%.

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Swiss private bank EFG International AG plans to pay 1.33 billion Swiss francs, or $1.34 billion, to acquire another Swiss private bank, BSI SA, said EFG in a news release Monday. The combined company will be one of the largest private banks in Switzerland with 170 billion Swiss francs in assets under management, the release said. EFG is buying BSI from BTG Pactual SA , a Brazilian bank whose CEO has been arrested in a corruption scandal.

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From:: Stock Market News