Tag: stock market

Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson raised his 12-month price target for Netflix Inc. on Friday to $360 from $319. After analyzing Google search trends for Netflix through the first quarter of 2018, Olson wrote in a note to investors that the streaming giant could add more international subscribers in the quarter than expected. Shares of Netflix were up 1.5% during premarket trade on Friday. “We believe that by 2020 there is potential for international market penetration to be higher than current estimates,” Olson wrote. Olson warned, however, that with only two months of data, his search index is likely less accurate than it has been historically. He instead suggested investors see it as a directional indicator. The runway for international subscriber growth is much longer now than for domestic additions. “Consensus calls for 10.1% year-over-year domestic subscriber growth in the first quarter and our search index points to 13.4% growth,” Olson wrote. “For international, consensus is at 40.1% year-over-year subscriber growth and our index points to 52.0% growth.” Netflix shares have gained close to 126% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 16%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

At least 10 analysts have lowered their price targets on shares of optical communications company Finisar Corp. , according to FactSet, after the company reported stalled growth and projected weaker-than-expected earnings for the ongoing quarter. Finisar shares are down 9.6% in premarket trading Friday. Needham analyst Alex Henderson downgraded the stock to hold from buy, citing the company’s “dismal” results and outlook, and arguing that the company’s “tone was worse than the guide.” In particular, he’s concerned about weak gross margins and a lack of confidence from management that there will be improvement on this metric in the near future. “We would like to say the business has troughed, but the company doesn’t offer that description,” Henderson wrote. Shares are off 42% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 16%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s components turned broadly higher in premarket trade Friday, after the release of better-than-expected jobs data, with the only one of 30 stocks not rising because it was still inactive. Dow futures surged 159 points, after trading slightly lower ahead of the data. Among the biggest gainers, shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. rallied 1.1%, Caterpillar Inc. climbed 1.0%, Boeing Co. advanced 1.0% and Intel Corp. rose 0.9%. The most active Dow stock was Apple Inc.’s , which tacked on 0.6%. Travelers Companies Inc.’s stock was still inactive.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. dollar briefly pared previous gains and even fell into negative territory following an initial jump higher on the February jobs report on Friday, which which showed the U.S. economy added a larger-than-expected 313,000 jobs. However, beyond the headline number, wage growth moderated in February, dampening the outlook for U.S. inflation. The wage measure only showed a 0.1% uptick in February, compared with the MarketWatch consensus forecast of 0.2%, and 0.3% previously. Inflation, both in wages and consumer prices, is a key indicator for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates later this month, completing the first of at least three expected hikes this year. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1% in February. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index retraced its losses as traders digested the data, and was last up 0.2% at 90.350.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Nutanix Inc. are up 3% in premarket trading Friday after a pair of analysts grew more positive on the stock. BTIG’s Edward Parker upgraded shares to buy from hold Friday, pointing to how the company has transcended “traditional infrastructure categories.” The company is now the leader of the “fledgling ‘enterprise cloud OS'” market, he noted. Parker admitted that he missed a big run up for the stock, which has more than tripled in price since May, but he thinks the company can make a “further ascension up the IT stack.” He has a $53 target on shares. Separately, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Alex Kurtz raised his price target on the stock to $52 from $44, citing several new projects in the EU. Shares of Nutanix are up 116% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Treasury yields maintained gains on Friday after the jobs report. The 10-year Treasury note yield was up by 0.8 basis point to 2.875%. The 2-year note yield picked up 1.4 basis point to 2.875%. The 30-year bond yield rose 1.5 basis point to 3.147%. The U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs in February, the biggest monthly gain since mid-2016. While, average hourly earnings rose by a muted 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting the U.S. economy to add 222,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to drop to 4.0%. Average hourly earnings were forecast to slow to 0.2%, from 0.3% on March.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stock futures climbed firmly higher Friday morning after the jobs report for February came in better than forecast. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 151 points, or 0.6%, to 25,072, while those for the S&P 500 futures advanced 14 points, or 0.5%, at 2,759, while Nasdaq-100 futures rose 46 points, or 0.7%, to 7,048.50. The U.S. created 313,000 new jobs in February, the biggest gain since mid-2016 and a reflection of the strongest labor market in two decades. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 222,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%. Hourly pay rose 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $26.75 an hour, the government said Friday.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. created 313,000 new jobs in February, the biggest gain since mid-2016 and a reflection of the strongest labor market in two decades. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 222,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%. Hourly pay rose 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $26.75 an hour, the government said Friday. The 12-month increase in worker pay slipped to 2.6% from 2.8%, however. The average workweek rose 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours. January job gains were raised to 239,000 from 200,000. The increase in jobs in December was revised up to 175,000 from 160,000.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Cardinal Health Inc. said Friday it received notice that TRC Capital Corp. has launched a “mini-tender” to buy up to two million Cardinal shares at $65.85 a share. The tender offer price, which represents about 0.6% of the shares outstanding, is 6.5% below Thursday’s closing price, and 4.5% below the March 2 closing price, the last day before the tender offer was commenced. Cardinal recommended investors not to sell to TRC given the offer’s discount to current prices, and shareholders who have already tendered their shares can withdraw them at any time before 12:01 a.m. ET on April 4. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 19.6% over the past three months, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has gained 2.7% and the S&P 500 has advanced 3.3%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Dana Inc. said Friday it agreed to combine with GKN Plc’s Driveline division in a deal valued at about $6.1 billion, including debt. Under terms of the deal, GKN will receive cash proceeds of $1.6 billion, 133 million newly issued Dana shares valued at about $3.5 billion at the March 8 closing price and the assumption of about $1.0 billion in pension liabilities. “This transformative and strategic transaction solidifies Dana as a world leader in vehicle drive systems and establishes a leading position in electric propulsion, which we see as the future of vehicle drivetrains,” said Dana Chief Executive James Kamsickas. After closing, which Dana expects in the second half of 2018, the company will be based in the U.K., the stock will continue to trade on the NYSE with the symbol “DAN” and Dana shareholders will own 52.75% of the company. The deal is expected to add to Dana’s adjusted earnings per share in 2018, and deliver annual cost synergies of $235 million within three years after closing. Dana’s stock was still inactive in premarket trade and GKN’s shares rose 0.6% in U.K. trade. Over the past 12 months, Dana’s stock has run up 40% while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News