Tag: stock market

Cheesecake Factory Inc. provided Tuesday 2018 profit and same-store sales guidance that was in line with expectations. In a presentation prepared for the Raymond James 39th Annual Institutional Investors Conference, the restaurant chain said it expects 2018 adjusted earnings per share of $2.64 to $2.80, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $2.73. The company expects 2018 same-store sales to be flat to up 1.0%, in line with the FactSet consensus of 0.9% growth. Looking out five years, the company targets same-store sales growth of about 1% to 2% and revenue growth of 6% to 7%, to achieve revenue of about $3 billion and EPS of $4.50 in 2022. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has edged up 0.4% over the past three months but has tumbled 21.7% the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 14.6% the past year.

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From:: Stock Market News

CenturyLink Inc. said Tuesday its Chief Executive Glen Post will retire on the day of its annual shareholder meeting in May. Post had previously planned to retire on Jan. 1, 2019. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Storey will take over as CEO and president. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have fallen 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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CommerceHub Inc. said Tuesday it agreed to be acquired by private-equity firm Sycamore Partners in a cash deal valued at $1.1 billion. Under terms of the deal, holders of the distributed commerce network’s shares will receive $22.75 a share, which is 24.5% above Monday’s closing price of $18.27 for the Series A shares. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. CommerceHub’s shares are halted for news, and are set to resume trading at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Series A shares have tumbled 16.3% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 3.2% and the S&P 500 has advanced 3.5%.

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Shares of biotech Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. slid more than 14% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for 2017. The company, which is focused on developing ganaxolone, a treatment for epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders, said it had a net loss of $18.9 million, or 80 cents a share, in the year, narrower than the loss of $28.6 million, or $1.47 a share, in the year-earlier period. The Factset consensus was for a loss of 71 cents a share. The company is still in the clinical trial phase of development and had no revenue. It said it spent $12.4 million on research and development in the year, less than the $22.0 million spent in 2016. In 2017, Marinus initiated a phase 3 trial of oral ganaxolone in children with CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder, a condition that causes severe seizures for which there is no treatment. It also reported results from a phase 2 trial of ganaxolone for women with severe postpartum depression, and reported data from another study of women with moderate PDD. At year-end, it had cash of $58.4 million and believes that is sufficient to fund operations into 2020. Shares have gained 283% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 15%.

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Shares of United Parcel Service Inc. rallied 1.9% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the package delivery giant was upgraded at Stifel Nicolaus, which said the stock has been “oversold,” the business remains “strong” and the dividend is the “most attractive” among its peers. Analyst David Ross raised his rating to buy from hold, but cut his stock price target to $121 from $127. The stock has plunged 17% since the company announced capital expenditure plans on Feb. 1, which was well above the company’s historical spending levels, while shares of rival FedEx Corp. have lost 7.8%, the Dow Jones Transportation Average has shed 5.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined 4.9%. Ross said just as the stock was too high in January above $132, “it’s now too low” below $106, and he believes “the shares have been oversold and find it the most attractive dividend play in large-cap U.S. transportation.” UPS’s dividend yield is 3.44% through Monday’s close, while FedEx’s yield is 0.83% and the implied yield on the Dow transports is 1.29%.

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Ciena Corp. shares surged 6% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the networking company beat earnings estimates for its fiscal first quarter. The company said it had a net loss of $473.4 million, or $3.29 a share, in the quarter to end January, after earnings of $3.9 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The number included a $476.9 million non-cash charge related to the tax revamp signed into law in December. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 15 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 12 cents. Revenue rose to $646.1 million from $621.5 million, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $642.0 million. Shares are down 9% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 15%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Target Corp. reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales that beat expectations but its profit was just in line, and the stock dropped 4.0% in premarket trading Tuesday as it pulled back after outperforming its peers and the broader market by a wide margin the past few months. Net income for the quarter to Feb. 3 rose to $1.10 billion, or $2.02 a share, from $817 million, or $1.45 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as about $388 million benefit from recent tax legislation, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.37, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 10% to $22.77 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $22.54 billion, as same-store sales growth of 3.6% beat expectations of a 3.1% rise. Comparable digital sales rose 29%. Looking ahead, the discount retailer expects first-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.25 to $1.45, surround the FactSet consensus of $1.40, with the same-store sales guidance of “low-single digit” growth in line with expectations of a 2.4% rise. The stock had run up 23.8% over the past three months through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has edged up 3.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.5%.

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North and South Korea have agreed to hold their first summit in more than a decade in late April, the South’s presidential office said on Tuesday, according to media reports. The announcement comes after a senior delegation from South Korea met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Monday, raising hopes for better relations between the two Koreas. North Korea will suspend all weapons testing during the summit in April and has shown a clear intent to denuclearize, a South Korean delegate said, according to media reports. North Korea also said it was open to talking to the U.S. about scrapping nuclear weapons and normalize ties, according to the South Korean delegate.

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d The CSE and the investor group — North America Casin Holdings Inc. — made the announcement to cancel the deal that was announced in Feb. 2016 on Monday, according to media reports. The Securities and Exchange Commission gave the deal the thumbs-down in February, over concerns it would be tough to access China-based shareholder records, and such a tie-up would breach rules limiting how much a shareholder can control an exchange.

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Qualcomm Inc. said late Monday that its annual shareholder meeting would be held April 5. The meeting was supposed to be Tuesday morning, but the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States requested a month delay late Sunday after it decided to look at Broadcom Ltd.’s hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm. That order led to another round of verbal bombs from both sides Monday. Broadcom has nominated six directors to Qualcomm’s board in its effort to purchase the company, and a Monday report from Bloomberg News said that shareholders were backing Broadcom’s nominees in early voting. Qualcomm said in its Monday announcement that it would open the meeting Tuesday morning and immediately adjourn until April 5, when the meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. Pacific time. The record date for investors to vote is unchanged, so investors will have to have been a stockholder on or before Jan. 8 to vote.

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From:: Stock Market News