Tag: stock market

Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares surged as much as 54% in premarket trade Wednesday on news of the company’s $57.5 million deal with AstraZeneca to develop drugs for respiratory diseases. The deal includes $45 million upfront and $12.5 million in a milestone payment once Pieris begins a phase 1 trial this year for its lead preclinical drug, PRS-060, which is intended for patients with moderate to severe asthma. AstraZeneca will fund all clinical development and commercialization for PRS-060, with Pieris having the option of U.S. co-development and co-commercialization starting in phase 2a clinical trials. The agreement covers four additional therapeutic programs, with Pieris having the option for U.S. co-development and co-commercialization for two of them. Pieris is eligible for up to $2.1 billion in development dependent milestone payments and eventual commercial payments, according to the release. Pieris shares have surged 11.1% over the last three months, compared with a 4.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Sprint Corp. rose nearly 4% in premarket trade on Wednesday after the mobile phone company reported fourth-quarter revenue that was above Wall Street expectations. Sprint reported a net loss of $283 million, or 7 cents per share, for the quarter, which was an improvement from the year-earlier period when the company reported a loss of $554 million, or 14 cents per share. Sprint’s per-share loss was wider than expected, however. Analysts tracked by FactSet were forecasting a loss of 4 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter hit $8.54 billion, compared with $8.07 during the same period a year ago and above FactSet’s consensus of $7.90 billion. Sprint said it added 187,000 new wireless customers, while experiencing a 1.75% churn rate. Shares of Sprint have gained nearly 8% in the year to date and more than 147% over the last 12 months. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up nearly 7% in the year and 16% in the prior 12-month period.

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Time Warner Inc. on Wednesday reported earnings for the first quarter that were above Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter came in at $1.42 billion, or $1.80 per share, compared with $1.21 billion, or $1.51 per share during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted per-share earnings were $1.66, above FactSet’s consensus of $1.45. Revenue for the first quarter hit $7.74 billion, up from last year’s $7.31 during the same period and above FactSet’s consensus of $7.67. Time Warner’s revenue growth was driven by its Warner Bros. film division, where revenue increased 8% to $3.37 billion due to the theatrical releases of “Kong: Skull Island” and “The LEGO Batman Movie” and home entertainment revenue from “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Turner Broadcasting revenue rose 6% due to better subscription revenues, though, advertising revenue fell 2% in the quarter. Revenue at HBO increased 4% thanks to an increase in subscription revenue. HBO debuted the limited series “Big Little Lies,” which reached more than 8 million viewers, during the first quarter, along with the final season of “Girls.” Shares of Time Warner were inactive in premarket trade, but have gained nearly 3% in the year to date and almost 35% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 7% in the year and 16% over the prior 12-month period.

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Reynolds American Inc. reported Wednesday first-quarter net earnings that fell to $780 million, or 55 cents a share, from $3.57 billion, or $2.49 a share, a year ago, which included a significant gain from the sale of Natural American Spirit’s non-U.S. business. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 56 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 57 cents. Revenue increased 1.1% to $2.95 billion from $2.92 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.03 billion, as a 4.4% decline in domestic cigarette volume underperformed the industry volume decline of 3.1%. Cigarette retail market share increased to 32.2% from 32.1%, as an increase in Newport share and in line share at Camel helped offset a share decline in Pall Mall. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has run up 16% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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Yum Brands Inc. shares rose 1.6% in Wednesday premarket trading after the fast-food company reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations. Net income was $280.0 million, or 77 cents per share, down from $364.0 million, or 54 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 65 cents, beating the 59-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue was $1.42 billion for the quarter, down from $1.44 billion last year and ahead of the $1.38 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales at Taco Bell grew 8% for the quarter; KFC same-store sales were up 2%; and Pizza Hut’s same-store sales fell 2% for the period. Global same-store sales rose 2%. Yum Brands shares are up 15.7% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 15.9% for the last 12 months.

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Humana Inc. reported first-quarter profit and revenue beats early Wednesday. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $1.12 billion, or $7.49 per share, from $254 million, or $1.68 per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $2.75, compared with the FactSet consensus of $2.49. Revenue fell to $13.76 billion from $13.80 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $13.60 billion. The latest results include the “beneficial effect of the lower effective tax rate in light of pricing and benefit design assumptions associated with the 2017 temporary suspension of the health insurance industry fee,” Humana said, along with share buybacks in the first-quarter. Humana earnings were not active in premarket trade. Shares have risen 13.8% over the last three months, compared with a 4.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Twitter Inc. said it is facing class-action lawsuits in California alleging securities violations, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Tuesday. Twitter said “current and former officers” of the company have been named as defendants in pending class-action lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the Superior Court for San Mateo County in California. Twitter did not disclose any further detail of the lawsuits. Twitter shares rose 0.2% to $18.28 after hours.

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Myriad Genetics Inc. [s; mygn] shares jumped in the extended session Tuesday after the medical diagnostic test company’s quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street estimates. Myriad Genetics shares jumped 15% to $21.50 after hours. The company reported adjusted fiscal third-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $196.9 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 23 cents a share on revenue of $189.1 million. For the fourth quarter, Myriad sees adjusted earnings of 26 cents to 28 cents a share on revenue of $192 million to $194 million. Analysts expect earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $188.5 million.

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Shares of Etsy Inc. fell more than 15% late Tuesday after the online marketplace company swung to a loss in the first quarter, missed quarterly sales expectations, and announced its chief executive is stepping down. Etsy said it lost $421,000 in the first quarter, versus a net income of $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2016. Revenue hit $96.9 million, from $81.85 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected per-share earnings of 1 cent on sales of $98.4 million. Etsy also said its board of directors has appointed Josh Silverman, on the board since November, as the company’s new chief executive, effective Wednesday. Josh replaces Chad Dickerson, who Etsy said will step down as CEO and board of directors chair. Dickerson will serve in an advisory role to the company through the end of May. Etsy also said that John Allspaw, chief technology officer, will be leaving the company, and Mike Brittain, VP of Engineering, will be named interim CTO. In addition, Etsy said it will cut approximately 80 positions, which is approximately 8% of its total workforce. The company said its new management team will review the company’s 2017 guidance, and a new guidance is planned in conjunction with second-quarter results. Shares of Etsy had ended the regular trading day up 2.9%.

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First Solar Inc. shares surged in the extended session Tuesday after the solar-energy-system company reported a surprise profit for the quarter. First Solar shares rose 6.9% to $32.39 after hours, adding to a 2.6% gain in the regular session. The company reported adjusted earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $891.8 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of 13 cents a share on revenue of $693 million. First Solar sees full-year adjusted earnings of 25 cents to 75 cents a share on revenue of $2.85 billion to $2.95 billion. Analysts had estimated 30 cents a share on revenue of $2.8 billion.

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