Tag: stock market

Ethereum and litecoin spiked to records Tuesday as demand for cryptocurrencies reached a fever pitch while bitcoin, the most popular digital currency, took a breather. The value of ethereum soared 22% to $628.65, according to Coindesk. Litecoin surged 82% to $332.34, data from Coinmarketcap.com show. Meanwhile, bitcoin fell 0.9% to trade at $17,011 and Cboe bitcoin futures slid 2.2% to $18,140. With most experts still divided over the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies as an investment, some experts believe demand for bitcoin and its peers will continue to remain strong, propelling bitcoin to $20,000 in the near term.

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Verizon Inc. shares surged 1.9% in Tuesday morning trading, putting them on course to close at the highest level since January, after analysts at Instinet upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. “Better visibility into subscriber growth, rising average revenue per user, and cost control fuels our confidence earnings per share growth will resume in 2018,” wrote the analysts, led by Jeffrey Kvaal. He believes the company, which announced a new streaming arrangement with the NFL on Monday, could launch an over-the-top streaming service by the end of the year and has some advantages over its peers in doing so. “Unlike AT&T it need not bundle to reduce churn or be overly mindful of its existing video base as its pay-TV base is minimal relative to rivals,” he wrote. The firm raised its price target on Verizon shares to $61, from $47. Verizon’s stock has fallen 1.3% so far in 2017, compared with a 19% gain for the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Boeing Co. were surging early Tuesday, helping to power the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a triple-digit climb in morning trade. Boeing Co. was up more than 3% or $7.98 at $289, translating to a roughly 60-point rise for the Dow industrials , which was up 103 points, or 0.4%, at 24,485 in recent trade. A $1 dollar move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.83-point swing in the price-weighted benchmark. Boeing’s move came as J.P. Morgan Chase raised its price target for the plane maker to $325 from $300 on Tuesday. Shares of Boeing have been the best performer among the Dow components, boasting a 86% year-to-date advance. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index were trading at break-even levels.

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Payments stocks on the whole have outperformed the market so far in 2017, and Goldman Sachs analysts wrote Tuesday that it’s hard to find value in the sector looking ahead to the new year. The Goldman analysts, led by Tien-tsin Huang, are “sticking with their preference” for companies that have heavy exposure to digital, money to make acquisitions, and opportunities for margin expansion. PayPal Holdings Inc. , Square Inc. , and Global Payments Inc. fit those characteristics, according to the analysts. However, they acknowledge that these stocks have “high valuations and low margin for error.” Therefore, the firm’s top picks for 2018 are Mastercard Inc. , which Goldman deems likely to “at least maintain earnings-per-share growth,” and FleetCor Technologies , which recently completed a “materially accretive acquisition.” Mastercard shares have gained 46% so far this year, while FleetCor’s stock is up 34%. The S&P 500 Index has risen 19% in that time.

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Shares of eBay Inc. are down 0.8% in Tuesday morning trading, though analysts at BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The analysts, led by Daniel Salmon, think that the company’s “promoted listing” product is doing better than expected due to its recent launch in several key international markets, including Canada. Salmon also believes that consensus estimates for eBay’s gross merchandise volume will rise as a result of the company’s new marketing campaign and its investments in machine learning. Finally’s he’s upbeat on eBay’s launch of a new site in China. He raised his target price to $45 from $40. eBay shares have gained 25% so far in 2017, compared with a 19% gain for the S&P 500 .

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U.S. stock indexes opened mostly higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve looks to start its two-day policy meeting. The Fed is expected to vote and pass its third rate hike for this year. The Dow and S&P 500 were trading in record territory shortly after the open. The S&P 500 was up 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2662. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 64 points, or 0.3%, to 24445. The Nasdaq Composite was 6 points lower at 6870.

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Pandora Media Inc. said Tuesday that Aimee Lapic will be its chief marketing officer, effective Dec. 13. Lapic was previously at Gap Inc. , where she was most recently CMO for Gap’s Banana Republic brand stores. “I’m incredibly excited to join Pandora at such a pivotal time in the company’s history,” Lapic said. “I can’t wait to help shape the next chapter by attracting and engaging listeners in innovative new ways.” Shares of the streaming music service, which were up 0.6% in premarket trade, have plunged 61.4% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 18.8%.

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Activision Blizzard Inc. shares gained 2.2% in premarket trading Tuesday after analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and raised their price target to $73. The firm raised its 2019 and 2020 earnings estimates for the videogame publisher based on optimism for “non-recurring titles,” including Overwatch 2, Diablo, and a mobile game from the Blizzard division. Overwatch, launched in 2016, was a big success for Activision Blizzard, and while the company hasn’t confirmed a new installment, the team at Goldman Sachs thinks that one will come out in 2020. The analysts, led by Christopher Merwin, are also upbeat about the company’s potential to capitalize on the mobile-gaming market in China. Merwin estimates that mobile will account for 31% of Activision’s revenue in 2017, more than for its peers. He projects that the company will generate 68% of its revenue from in-game spending by 2019, including from mobile, console, and PC titles. Goldman Sachs also downgraded shares of publisher Ubisoft Entertainment to neutral and removed buy-rated Electronic Arts Inc. from its “conviction list.” Activision shares have gained 75% so far in 2017, compared with an 87% rise for Ubisoft and a 37% rise for Electronic Arts. The S&P 500 is up 19% this year.

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Snap Inc. shares fell 0.6% in premarket trading Tuesday after analysts at MoffettNathanson highlighted several efforts by the company to “right the ship” but maintained their sell rating on shares. The analysts, led by Michael Nathanson, aren’t sure whether Snap’s recent redesign of the Snapchat app will help the company meet its goals of generating more engagement, but they think the company is “doing the right thing in making a calculated bet to try to drive increased daily-active-user growth from both older users and non-penetrated international markets.” Nathanson is intrigued by Snap’s decision to introduce “pixel tracking,” a way for advertisers to see what users do after viewing an ad, but doubts it will have much impact on the crucial holiday quarter. “While the feature marks a key turning point in their offering to advertisers, it was likely released too late to reap much benefit for 4Q17, the bigger advertising quarter,” Nathanson wrote. He maintained his price target of $7, which matches the lowest among Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet. Snap shares have fallen 4.6% from their March IPO price of $17. The S&P 500 is up 12% since Snap went public.

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Trinity Industries Inc. said Tuesday its board has approved a plan to spin off its infrastructure-related businesses in a move expected to be completed in the second half of 2018. The deal is expected to result in two separate public companies. Trinity Industries will operate rail leasing, manufacturing and services business, and a separate company will be focused on infrastructure. “The new infrastructure company will have the balance sheet strength and capital allocation flexibility to pursue growth through acquisitions and to capitalize on the large and growing market opportunity in North American infrastructure spending,” the Dallas-based company said. The board has also approved a doubling of the company’s share buyback authorization to $500 million. Shares rose 1.4% premarket, and have gained 19% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 19%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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