Tag: stock market

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances fell 4.5% Monday, after Stifel downgraded the stock to hold from buy, and said headwinds such as foreign exchange rates are increasing. “We continue to view IFF
favorably long-term, believing it is a highly cash generative business in a growing, high barrier to entry category, with mid-single digit sales growth remaining reasonable and complemented by M&A,” analysts wrote in a note. “That said, near-term headwinds have increased, including worsening foreign exchange rates and slowing global consumer packaged goods volumes (CPG, aka IFF’s customers), and coupled with consensus estimates being too high, is likely to result in IFF shares remaining range-bound.” Stifel lowered its 2016 and 2017 EPS estimates to well below current consensus levels. It said the fact that the stock is below European peers Givaudan and Symrise , which have similar long-term fundamentals, may offer some downside protection. Shares have gained 0.2% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 7%.

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Walmart Canada will charge customers in British Columbia five cents per plastic bag on Feb. 9 and roll out the fee to other stores over the following months, the company said Monday. The company will sell reusable bags for 25 cents. The move is a step towards Walmart Canada’s zero waste commitment, the company said in a statement. Walmart Canada said it has already removed 72% of its waste from municipal landfills. Some of the proceeds of the plastic bag fee will be used to support plastic film recycling initiatives. Wal-Mart shares are down 29.2% for the past 12 months, but up 7.5% for the past three months. The S&P 500 is down 8.1% for the past three months.

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U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday as a slump in oil prices weighed on energy shares. The S&P 500 opened 4 points, or 0.2%, lower at 1,902. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33 points, or 0.2%, to 16,057. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 17 points, or 0.4%, at 4,574.

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Intel Corp. was upgraded Monday by Macquarie Research analyst Deepon Nag, who said the fact that the chip maker undershipped in 2015 means it should benefit from restocking in 2016. He raised his rating to outperform from neutral, while keeping his stock price target at $35, which is 17% above Friday’s closing price of $29.93. Nag wrote in a note to clients that his research suggests Intel has been undershipping end-demand for all of 2015, “which we believe adds potential upside to estimates as the PC supply chain replenishes processor inventories.” Nag said the stock has an attractive dividend yield, “which we believe provides investors protection in the event of a global downturn.” At Friday’s closing price for the stock, the current quarterly dividend of 24 cents a share implies an annual yield of 3.21%, compared with the overall dividend yield of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.73%, according to FactSet. Intel’s stock, which slipped 0.1% in premarket trade, has tumbled 14% over the past three months, while the Dow has lost 8.8%.

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Whole Foods Market Inc. was downgraded to underform from market perform at BMO Capital Markets based on the bank’s Dirty Dozen survey, which found price perception at the grocer has not improved. They lowered their price target to $23 from $26. Analysts said they continue to view Whole Foods as an “innovation leader in food retail” but see risk in its stock valuation because it’s in the early stages of a multiyear transition. The company unveiled a nine-point turnaround plan in November. According to the bank’s research, 71% of the more than 1,000 active Whole Foods shoppers who participated in the BMO Dirty Dozen survey saw no change in prices over the past three months. And only 24% believe Whole Foods’ organic products are definitely better than those found at conventional markets. More than two-thirds of respondents (69%) said they supplement their grocery needs at traditional supermarkets. “With new competition across the retail landscape in both natural and organics, and more likely coming, we see increasing risk that Whole Foods will have to accelerate and broaden its price investments beyond current expectations to change consumer perception,” analysts wrote in a note published Monday. BMO believes Whole Foods will do more price investments, but maintain premium pricing in some categories by conveying its high quality standards, which could be a risk. Whole Foods shares are down 3% in premarket trading and down 42.8% for the past 12 months. The S&P is down 7% for the past year.

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Shares of GrubHub Inc. jumped more than 8.5% in premarket trade Monday after the company authorized a $100 million stock buyback program, and said it plans to negotiate terms of a credit facility of up to $200 million to increase its financial flexibility and aggressively pursue growth opportunities. GrubHub also pre-announced fourth-quarter sales results, which were slightly above expectations. It is anticipating revenue at the high-end of its $98 billion to $100 billion range, versus the FactSet consensus estimate of $99.3 billion. Shares of GrubHub had been down 38% over the last three months, as of Friday’s closing price of $19.17. They were on track to open around $21 on Monday

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OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. stock plunged 37% in pre-market trade Monday, after an independent data safety monitoring board advised “of several findings regarding futility” of a Phase 2 clinical trial for a treatment of pancreatic cancer. The findings included a worsening of response rate and a strong trend toward a lack of benefit for overall survival. OncoMed said it is considering what to do next. Tarextumab is a product of a collaboration between OncoMed and GlaxoSmithKline . GlaxoSmithKline’s stock edged up 0.2% in premarket trade.

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McDonald’s Corp. shares are up 2.7% in premarket trading and are expected to open at an all-time high after the fast-food giant said it beat on both fourth-quarter earnings and same-store sales. McDonald’s said it had net income of $1.21 billion, or $1.31 per share, for the fourth quarter, up from $1.1 billion, or $1.13 per share, in 2014. The FactSet consensus was $1.23. Sales for the quarter totaled $6.34 billion, up from $6.57 billion the year before. The FactSet consensus was $6.24 billion. Global same-store sales were up 5% for the quarter, beating the FactSet consensus of 3.2%. In the U.S., same-store sales were up 5.7%, which the company attributed largely to the October all-day breakfast launch, alongside unseasonably mild weather. McDonald’s shares are up 32.2% for the past 12 months while the S&P is down 7% for the same period.

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PayPal Holdings Inc. was upgraded to neutral from sell at Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co., reversing the firm’s downgrade from earlier this month. Analyst James Cakmak said in a note that shares appropriately reflect the risks which led him to downgrade the stock, including competitive risks from the likes of Apple Inc.’s and Alphabet Inc.’s payment systems, start-ups winning over developers and retailers bypassing PayPal’s payment system. Cakmak pointed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s move to launch its own payment system in December. PayPal shares are down about 13% since MCH & Co.’s initial downgrade on Jan. 4, underperforming the NASDAQ’s 8% slide. Cakmak said he didn’t expect the correction to happen so quickly, but believes now the stock is adequately priced.

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Shares of Caterpillar Inc. slumped more than 3% in premarket trade Monday after the company’s stock was downgraded to sell from neutral at Goldman Sachs, with analysts forecasting “sustained lower returns” in the machinery industry. The brokerage axed its price target on Caterpillar to $51 from $67, which implies a more than 16% decline from Friday’s closing price. Goldman analyst Jerry Revich also lowered his estimate on Caterpillar’s 2017 earnings per share, to $3.20 from $3.41, now roughly 15% below the consensus view. He cited excess capacity and lower demand from commodity export countries, such as China, for the sliced outlook. Last quarter, Caterpillar partially blamed low economic growth in China for missing profit expectations and lowering its full-year outlook. The average rating on the stock among a survey of 20 analysts polled by FactSet is the equivalent to neutral, while the average stock target is $66.

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