Tag: stock market

Shares of Apple Inc. inched up less than 0.1% in morning trade Tuesday, after Raymond James said there were signs of “reasonably good” demand for Apple products during the holiday season. Analyst Tavis McCourt said that while delivery times for the iPhone X suggest one-to-three week delays in most of the developed world, he believes Apple will reach a supply-demand balance after the holidays. “Search volume trends are consistent with decent [year-over-year] global demand for the new iPhone lineup,” McCourt wrote in a note to clients. “Essentially, this is still consistent with a strong December quarter, and better than normal seasonality in March.” Separately, data analytics firm Adobe Systems Inc. said Tuesday that Apple AirPods were among the top sellers on Cyber Monday, and McCourt said demand for the Apple Watch remains “robust.” The stock was trading 1.2% below its Nov. 8 record close of $176.24. It has rallied 7.9% over the past three months, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has rallied 11.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 8.5%.

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New York Fed President William Dudley on Tuesday called for the public reporting of Treasury market transactions. Broker-dealers this year have started reporting such data directly to regulators. “I believe transaction data reporting to the public based on careful study will ensure that the Treasury market does not fall behind other markets, will promote a robust and level playing field, and will help safeguard the liquidity characteristics that make the Treasury market the benchmark for risk-free trading around the world,” Dudley said at the third annual conference on U.S. Treasury market structure.

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Amazon.com Inc. said it had a record holiday shopping weekend with the Echo Dot the top-selling Amazon product around the world. It was also the best-selling device at Whole Foods Market, Amazon’s recent grocery acquisition. The Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote was also a best-selling device. The Kindle Paperwhite had its best holiday shopping weekend as the Kindle device celebrated its 10th anniversary. And the Echo Spot, which is Alexa-enabled and has a video screen, is sold out for the holiday season, though customers can pre-order it for delivery in the new year. The most read cookbooks on Kindle on Thanksgiving included “Thug Kitchen” and “Weight Watchers Instant Pot Cookbook.” And “The Big Sick” was the most streamed title on Prime Video on Thanksgiving. Amazon shares are up 60% for the year so far, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 16.4% for the period.

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Stocks opened with small gains Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow notching another round of record highs, as investors awaited a Senate confirmation hearing for Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve official tapped by President Donald Trump to replace Janet Yellen as head of the central bank when her term ends in February. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Dow industrials advanced 55 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.

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Sonoco Products Co. said Tuesday Chief Executive Jack Sanders will retire in April 2018, after four years in the role and 30 years with the company. The packaging company named Chief Operating Officer Robert Tiede as CEO-elect, and will join the company’s board after Sanders retires. Tiede joined Sonoco in 2004. “The board sincerely thanks Jack for three decades of service and looks forward to working with Rob to further build Sonoco into a leading diversified packaging solutions company,” said Chairman Harris DeLoach, Jr. The stock edged up 0.3% in morning trade. It has lost 1% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Shares of Christopher & Banks Corp. soared 21% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the women’s apparel retailer said it was exploring the sale and leaseback of its corporate facility in Minnesota. The company said it has engaged a “leading commercial real estate company” to solicit interest for a deal, which it believes would unlock additional capital and improve its liquidity position. The company estimates the value of the building to be in the low-to-mid-teen million dollar range. Separately, the company said it swung to a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $1.6 million, or 5 cents a share, from a profit of $3.5 million, or 9 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 7.7% to $98.5 million from $106.7 million, as the number of stores operated declined 6% to 473. Same-store sales decreased 5.0%, after rising 4.5% a year ago, while e-commerce sales increased 8.5% after rising 16.3% last year. The stock had plunged 59% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 5.6% and the S&P 500 had gained 16%.

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Nike Inc. was downgraded to hold from buy at HBSC based on what analysts call a “blurred visibility” in the U.S. market. HSBC maintained it $62 price target. Nike shares fell 1.1% in Tuesday premarket trading. Analysts say 60% of Nike sales happen in “undifferentiated” wholesale channels, though that should decline to 20% in five years. Sales in “better Nike experiences” like its direct-to-consumer channels, will rise from 40% to 80%. “That is very good for brand equity and full-price sales, but there could be hiccups along the way,” wrote analysts led by Erwan Rambourg. Still, analysts think Nike has the potential to produce high-single digit sales growth and mid-teens earnings in the medium term. Nike shares are up 17.3% for the year so far outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 16.2% for the period.

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Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc, which is owned by private-equity firm Roark Capital Group, said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. for $157 a share in cash, in a deal valued at $2.9 billion, including debt. The price is about a 38% premium over Buffalo Wild Wings’ 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of November 13, 2017, the last trading day before news reports about a potential transaction. The company is expecting the deal to close in the first quarter of 2018. Once the deal is closed, Buffalo Wild Wings will operate as a privately-held unit of Arby’s. Buffalo Wild Wings stock jumped 6.5% in premarket trade on the news, but is down 5% in 2017 through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Pfizer Inc. and German-based Merck KGaA said Tuesday a phase 3 trial of a cancer treatment did not meet its primary endpoint of superior overall survival. Pfizer’s stock slipped 0.9% in premarket trade. The trial tested avelumab as a third-line treatment for unresectable, recurrent or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma patients whose disease progressed following two prior therapeutic regiments. The safety profile was consistent with that observed in the overall clinical development program. The companies said this was the first trial conducted with a checkpoint inhibitor compared with an active chemotherapy comparator rather than placebo. “Data from this study will provide valuable information for physicians treating this late stage disease,” said Luciano Rossetti, global head of R&D at Merck. “We remain committed to our ongoing gastric cancer program with avelumab including the JAVELIN Gastric 100 study in the first-line switch maintenance setting.” Pfizer’s stock had gained 9.3% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has run up 18.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 19.3%.

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Shares of Apollo Endosurgery Inc. rocketed 28% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the medical device company said the Food and Drug Administration cleared its new flexibile endoscopic suturing system, OverStitch Sx. The company said late Monday that OverStitch Sx broadens endoscopic compatibility, when compared with its current version OverStitch, and is expected to provide optimal visualization and maneuverability. Apollo expects to introduce the Sx system in the U.S. and Europe in the first half of 2018. “The launch of OverStitch Sx will allow suturing technology to be available to nearly any physician with access to an endoscope,” said Apollo’s Chief Medical Officer Christopher Gostout. The stock had plummeted 67% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 had rallied 16%.

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