Tag: stock market

Spending on public cloud services and infrastructure is expected to grow 23% this year, to $160 billion, according to research firm IDC. Analysts at IDC predict the discrete manufacturing, professional services, and banking industries will spend the most on public cloud services in 2018. They believe that spending will slow a bit through 2021 but still achieve a 22% annualized growth rate over the period spanning from 2016 to 2021. The firm sees China accelerating its public-cloud spending the most over that five year span, a trend that’s already started to play out and benefit Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. . “Digital transformation is driving multi-cloud and hybrid environments for enterprises to create a more agile and cost-effective IT environment in Asia/Pacific,” IDC research manager Ashutosh Bisht said in a release.

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Sprint Corp. on Thursday said it’s reached a new multi-year business partnership with Cox Communications, as part of a settlement of patent litigation, designed to strengthen both companies. Shares of Sprint were up a little more than 1% in premarket trade. In addition to strengthening business ties between the two, the partnership will allow Sprint to leverage Cox’s broadband infrastructure to accelerate the densification of Sprint’s network, while also increasing efficiency, the company said in a release. Sprint hopes that it can enhance performance and improve customer experience. Sprint shares have declined more than 37% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 23% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up nearly 34%.

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Marathon Patent Group Inc. shares surged 19% Thursday, after the company said it has agreed to acquire four patents related to the transmission and exchange of cryptocurrencies between buyers and sellers. The Los Angeles-based intellectual property licensing company said the patents “afford us a unique and leverageable position, in addition to complementing our efforts as we enter into the digital asset and cryptocurrency business.” In November, the company said it was acquiring 100% of Global Bit Ventures Inc., a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies. Marathon shares have fallen 53% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 23%.

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Shares of TiVo Corp. shot up 2.8% in premarket trade Thursday, after the video recording and audience insights company announced an expanded patent deal with Alphabet Inc.’s Google. The multi-year licensing agreement now expressly includes Google’s YouTube TV. “We are thrilled to extend our relationship with Google through the license of TiVo’s innovations and technology that further consumers’ ability to find and enjoy content on the device of their choice,” said Arvin Patel, chief intellectual property officer at TiVo’s Rovi Corp. TiVo’s stock has tumbled 22.9% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.4%.

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Shares of GNC Holdings Inc. soared 22% in premarket trade Thursday, after the health and performance products retailer provided a fourth-quarter profit outlook that was above expectations. The company said same-store sales of its U.S. company-owned stores rose 5.7% from a year ago. As a result, it expects adjusted earnings per share, which excludes non-recurring items, of 24 cents to 25 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 23 cents. The company affirmed its 2017 free cash flow estimate of $190 million to $210 million, and said it ended 2017 with cash and cash equivalents of $64 million and long-term debt of $1.3 billion. The company had announced in December that it had hired Goldman Sachs to evaluate alternatives. The company said Thursday that it did not plan to provide preliminary financhial information in the future other than “unique circumstances,” or unless there is a “material event.” The stock has plunged 57.3% over the past three months through Thursday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has run up 17.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.4%.

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Morgan Stanley shares rose 1.3% premarket Thursday, after the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings topped estimates. The bank said it had net income of $516 million, or 29 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $1.509 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding a $990 million tax provision, the bank had EPS of 84 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 64 cents. Revenue rose to $9.5 billion from $9.0 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $9.2 billion. “We enter 2018 with strong momentum aided by rising interest rates, tax reform and an evolving regulatory framework,” Chief Executive James Gorman said in a statement. Institutional securities revenue edged down to $4.5 billion from $4.6 billion, as fixed income sales and trading fell. Investment banking revenue came to $1.4 billion, up from $1.3 billion as equity and debt underwriting rose. Sales and trading revenue fell to $2.7 billion from $3.2 billion. Wealth management revenue rose to $4.4 billion from $4.0 billion, while investment management revenue rose to $637 million from $500 million. Shares have gained 29% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 23%.

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Wyndham Worldwide Corp. said Thursday it will pay $1.95 billion in cash to buy La Quinta Holdings Inc.’s hotel franchise and management businesses. Under terms of the deal, La Quinta shareholders will receive $8.40 a share in cash, a total of about $1 billion, Wyndham will repay about $715 million in La Quinta debt and Wyndham will set aside $240 million in reserves for estimated taxes in connection with the spinoff of La Quinta’s owned real estate assets. La Quinta’s stock closed Wednesday at $19.45, giving the company a market capitalization of $2.28 billion. “La Quinta will immediately become one of our flagship brands,” said Wyndham Chief Executive Geoff Ballotti. “It is an exceptionally strong brand that is led by service-minded associates who deliver some of the highest customer engagement levels in our industry.” Wyndham and La Quinta shares were not active in premarket trade. La Quinta’s stock has run up 35% over the past 12 months, while Wyndham shares have soared 52% and the S&P 500 has climbed 23%.

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Shares of Countrywide PLC tanked 17% on Thursday after the real estate agent said 2017 profit is expected to have fallen by 9%. In a trading update before the company releases its full-year report in March, Countrywide said total profit is forecast to come in at £672 million, compared with £737 million a year ago. Profit in the sales and lettings business is expected to be £360 million, down 14% from 2016, reflecting a “a disappointing fourth quarter performance,” Countrywide said.

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The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that U.S. crude supplies dropped by 5.1 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 12, according to sources. However, the API data, which was released a day later than usual because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, showed a rise of 1.8 million barrels in gasoline stockpiles, while inventories of distillates rose by 609,000 barrels, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday morning. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the EIA to report a decline of 425,000 barrels for crude inventories. They also forecast a rise of 2.7 million barrels for gasoline and a decline of 850,000 barrels for distillate supplies. February crude was at $64.07 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the settlement of $63.97 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Shares of Kinder Morgan Inc. rose nearly 2% late Wednesday after the oil and gas infrastructure company reported fourth-quarter adjusted per-share earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations. Kinder Morgan said it lost $1.05 billion, or 47 cents a share, in the quarter, versus a net income of $170 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Kinder Morgan earned 21 cents a share in the quarter, compared with 18 cents a share a year earlier. The company called the quarter “solid” and pinned the GAAP loss on a non-cash accounting charge related to the reduction in corporate income tax rates. “While the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will ultimately be moderately positive for KMI, the reduced corporate income tax rate causes certain deferred-tax assets to be revalued at 21 percent versus 35 percent,” the company said in a statement. Kinder Morgan will take an about $$1.4 billion non-cash accounting charge for the quarter, it said. Revenue rose to $3.63 billion in the quarter, compared with $3.39 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 18 cents a share on sales of $3.55 billion for the fourth quarter. For the year, the company said it plans to declare dividend of 80 cents a share, achieve a distributable cash flow of about $4.57 billion, or $2.05 a share, and invest $2.2 billion in “growth projects”. Shares of Kinder Morgan ended the regular trading day up 0.9%.

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