Tag: stock market

Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. tumbled 3.9% in early trade Thursday, after the homebuilder reported a wider first-quarter loss and a sharp decline in revenue. The net loss for the quarter to Jan. 31 was $30.8 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with a loss of $143,000, or flat on a per-share basis, in the same period a year ago. Revenue declined 24.4% to $417.2 million, as consolidated deliveries fell 20.5% to 1,025 homes. Chief Executive Ara Hovnanian said the company was in a “transition period” because of the adverse impacts of having to pay off $320 million in debt in late 2015 and 2016, when the high-yield market was closed to the company. “As a result, we were unable to replenish our land position sufficiently in 2016 and 2017. This led to a reduction in community count and revenues, impacting our overall profitability,” Hovnanian said. “We are confident the most challenging quarter for fiscal 2018 is behind us and we expect future quarters this year should yield improved operating results, as we continue to rebuild our company.” The stock has lost 2.2% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF has run up 25.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 15.6%.

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Trump administration officials requested a $100 billion reduction in the U.S.-China trade deficit when meeting with President Xi Jinping’s top economic deputy last week, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. In a tweet on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said Washington asked for a $1 billion reduction.

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Shares of Micron Technology Inc. are up 1.2% in Thursday morning trading after analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock to $65 from $53. The analysts, led by Wes Twigg, now anticipate sequential ASP declines of 2% for the fiscal third and fourth quarters, less than the 3% declines they’d previously predicted. “DRAM demand remains very high, and contract pricing has continued to increase this year amid persistent undersupply,” Twigg wrote. “While we expect new supply to come online later this year, we expect bit supply to remain below demand for most of the year, and pricing could continue to increase.” In general, the analysts see “relatively healthy memory markets over the midterm to long term.” Micron shares are up 113% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up 15% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is up 43%.

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Shares of Israel-based Vascular Biogenics Ltd., which is operating as VBL Therapeutics, plummeted 63% toward a record low in premarket trade Thursday, after the biopharmaceutical company said a phase 3 trial of its brain cancer treatment failed to meet its primary endpoint. “We are disappointed that our encouraging Phase 2 data were not replicated in the GLOBE phase 3 study, and once we receive the full and final data we will be analyzing them carefully to better understand the outcome of the study,” Chief Executive Dror Harats said. “We believe that VB-111 may still hold promise for other indications we currently or may study in the future.” The stock had rallied 13.3% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 15.4%.

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BioScrip Inc. said Thursday that after a review of financial statements, it identified “internal control deficiencies” that may have led to potential financial statement errors. The stock edged up 0.3% in premarket trade. The deficiencies were in connection with reconciliations for certain asset and liability accounts. The provider of infusion and home care management services said the potential errors do not appear to be material, but the ongoing review may result in a delay in the filing of its Form 10-K annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it will report a “material weakness” related to certain spreadsheets used to calculate periodic adjustments to accounts, but it did not have any effect on 2017 financial statements. Separately, the company reported a fourth-quarter net loss that narrowed to $1.2 million from $5.2 million a year ago, and revenue of $182.6 million. The stock has run up 17.6% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.

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Shares of American Eagle Outfitters Inc. rallied 3.1% in premarket trade Thursday, after the apparel retailer reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that matched expectations but beat on sales, provided an upbeat outlook and raised its dividend. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 3 rose to $94.0 million, or 52 cents a share, from $54.6 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as a benefit from recent tax legislation, adjusted earnings per share came to 44 cents, in line with the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose to $1.23 billion from $1.10 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $1.21 billion, while same-store sales growth of 8% beat expectations of a 7.2% rise. The gross margin rate decreased to 34.6% or revenue from 35.4%, reflecting higher promotional activity. The company expects first-quarter same-store sales to rise in the mid-single digit percentage range, while the FactSet consensus is for a 3.2% rise. Separately, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to 13.75 cents a share, to be payable April 27 to shareholders of record on April 13. The stock has soared 19% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.

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Shares of Kroger Co. tumbled 5.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the supermarket chain reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit that matched expectations. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 3 rose to $854 million, or 96 cents a share, from $506 million, or 53 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 63 cents, in line with the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose to $31.03 billion from $27.61 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $30.82 billion, while same-store sales growth of 1.5% matched expectations. Gross margin was 21.9% of sales, compared with 22.4% in the sequential third quarter. Looking ahead, the company expects 2018 same-store sales growth of 1.5% to 2.0%, surrounding the FactSet consensus of 1.6%. The stock has lost 1.7% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.

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The European Central Bank, as expected, left interest rates unchanged Thursday, but dropped a line saying it would increase asset purchases if its outlook deteriorate. The ECB said it would continue its program of asset purchases through September, “or beyond, if necessary.” The ECB left its refinancing rate at 0%, while the rate paid on deposits parked overnight at the bank was left at negative 0.4% and the rate on the deposit facility was left at 0.25%. The ECB repeated that it expects rates to remain at present levels “for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases.” ECB President Mario Draghi’s news conference is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. Frankfurt time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

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Shares of Hess Corp. rose 0.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the oil and gas exploration company said it set a new $1 billion stock repurchase program, in addition to the $500 million program announced in late 2017. The new program includes $500 million in accelerated repurchases and $500 million to buy back stock in the open market by the end of 2018. The company said it expects to fund the repurchases from existing cash and asset sales. Based on Wednesday’s stock closing price of $46.48, the new program would allow the repurchase of 21.5 million shares, or about 6.8% of the shares outstanding. The stock has gained 2.2% over the past three months, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has lost 3.0% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.

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Victoria Secret parent L Brands Inc. said Thursday February sales rose 11.5% to $853.9 million from $765.5 million in the same period a year ago, while same-store sales grew 3% for the month. The FactSet same-store sales consensus for the fiscal first-quarter ending April is a 2.4% rise. The stock was indicated down about 1.8% in premarket trade. Separately, the company said it authorized a new $250 million stock repurchase program, which includes the $23.1 million remaining under the previous program. At Wednesday’s stock closing price of $43.97, the new buyback program would allow the repurchase of up to 5.7 million shares, or about 2.0% of the shares outstanding. The stock has plunged 23.2% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has tacked on 1.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.8%.

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