Tag: stock market

Shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. dropped 1.9% in morning trade Wednesday to a two month low, after Morgan Stanley turned bearish on the satellite radio company, saying the recent stock rally wasn’t fundamentally justified. The stock close has shed nearly 9% since closing at an 11-year high of $5.44 on March 13, but was still up 12% year to date while the S&P 500 has gained 4.9%. Morgan Stanley Analyst Ben Swinburne cut his rating to underweight, given that the shares have rallied recently “despite evidence that the business is maturing and growth is slowing.” He believes the late new car channel no longer adds materially to Siri’s subscription base, while his analysis of the used car channel suggests growth has peaked.

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Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said Wednesday he won’t seek re-election next year. In a message on his Facebook page, Chaffetz said he made a “personal decision to return to the private sector.” Chaffetz leads the House Oversight Committee.

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Oil prices edged lower Wednesday after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that domestic crude supplies fell for the week ended April 14, but gasoline inventories unexpectedly climbed. Crude supplies fell by 1 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 840,000 barrels, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a fall of 50,000 barrels. Gasoline stockpiles, however, edged up by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down by 2 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey had forecast declines for both products. May crude fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $52.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading nearly flat at $52.42 before the supply data.

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Intuitive Surgical Inc. shares rose in heavy morning trade Wednesday, after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter results late Tuesday. Shares were most recently up by 6.5% at $808.06. The company’s 2017 guidance for surgical procedures with its da Vinci surgical system was “higher than we anticipated,” said Raymond James analyst Lawrence Keusch. He also said, “we see ISRG as a long-term structural growth story with an expanding technology platform driving global adoption.” Though the company said that its first quarter may have benefited from trends that won’t continue, such as an uptick in procedures prompted by concerns about the Affordable Care Act being repealed, “ISRG is clearly demonstrating momentum across multiple geographies, multiple indications, and platforms,” said Stifel analyst Rick Wise. Both Raymond James’ Keusch and Stifel’s Wise expressed optimism about the company’s newly announced da Vinci X system, though “limited details were provided,” Wise said. “To us, da Vinci X represents the first visible and highly intriguing response to impending, potentially lower-cost capital-robotic competition from MDT and JNJ among others.” Intuitive Surgical shares have surged 23.6% over the last three months, compared with a 3.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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British lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for an early general election. The vote of 522-13 in the House of Commons sets up a snap election for June 8. May said Tuesday she wanted to hold a snap election instead of waiting until 2020. The move was seen as May’s bid to gain a clear mandate before the U.K. starts formal Brexit negotiations with EU officials.

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Genuine Parts Co. shares rose 3.8% in early trade Wednesday, after the car parts maker reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. Atlanta-based Genuine Parts said it had net income of $160.2 million, or $1.08, in the quarter, up from $158.0 million, or $1.05 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose 5% to $3.91 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.05 and sales of $3.85 billion. Chief Executive Paul Donahue said earnings were driven by strong growth in international automotive, industrial, electrical and office operations, which offset headwinds in the U.S. automotive business. The company raised its outlook for 2017 EPS to $4.75 to $4.85 from a prior $4.70 to $4.80. Shares are down 2% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained about 5%.

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Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , said Tuesday that it has revamped its private label Member’s Mark brand to include premium products. Items include sea salt caramels, honey sourced from a U.S. bee cooperative and all natural pulled pork created with help from pit masters at the Kansas City Barbeque Society. The brand will add 300 new items this year and plans to add another 300 next year. Merchandise spans across food, health and wellness, apparel and more. Wal-Mart shares are up 0.3% in Wednesday trading and up 7.2% for the year to date. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 3.9% for 2017 so far.

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Starbucks Corp. said it’s jumping on the unicorn trend with its Unicorn Frappuccino, available from April 19 through April 23. The pink blended drink is made with mango syrup, sour blue drizzle and a sweet pink powder, topped with vanilla whipped cream. The Unicorn Frappuccino starts purple with swirls of blue, tasting sweet and fruity, but once stirred turns pink and becomes tangy and tart, Starbucks said Tuesday. The drink will be available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Starbucks shares are up 0.7% in Wednesday trading, and up 5.8% for the year to date. The S&P 500 index is up 5% for the year so far.

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The U.S. stock market opened slightly higher on Wednesday as investors assessed mixed first-quarter earnings releases. Morgan Stanley jumped after earnings that topped expectations, but shares of IBM Corp dropped sharply after an earnings miss. The S&P 500 opened 8 points, or 0.4%, higher at 2,350. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 28 points, or 0.5%, to 5,877 at the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session up 15 points, or 0.1%, at 20,539.

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Former British finance minister George Osborne will leave his position as a member of the British parliament, the London Evening Standard reported Wednesday. Osborne, 45, became the editor of that newspaper last month. “I am stepping down from the House of Commons – for now. But I will remain active in the debate about our country’s future and on the issues I care about, like the success of the Northern Powerhouse,” the Conservative Party member wrote in a letter to his constituency, according to the report. News of his resignation came a day after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May called an early general election to be held on June 8. Osborne was replaced as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer in the wake of a government shakeup after the Brexit referendum in June 2016. In January, Osborne was named as a part-time adviser at fund manager BlackRock.

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