Tag: stock market

Shares of Twitter Inc. rose 3% in premarket trade Wednesday after the stock was upgraded to buy from neutral at BTIG. The analysts said their upgrade was based on the belief that Twitter’s daily active user growth is accelerating as Twitter has taken center stage following the U.S. presidential election. Still, the analysts say they do not expect that increase to be immediately reflected in the company’s financial results as Twitter still has to overcome Twitter’s user growth issues in 2015 and 2016. Twitter reports fourth-quarter earnings Thursday before the market opens. Shares of Twitter have fallen 1% in the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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Time Warner Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings that came in above Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter was $293 million, or 40 cents per share, compared with $857 million, or $1.06 per share during the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.25, which was above FactSet’s $1.19 consensus. Revenue for the quarter improved to $7.89 billion, compared with last year’s $7.08 billion during the same quarter. FactSet’s revenue consensus was for $7.73 billion. Each of Time Warner’s major business segments saw revenue growth year over year. At Warner Bros. revenue grew 17% to $3.87 billion, While Turner revenue increased nearly 7% to $2.84 billion and revenue at HBO rose more than 5% to $1.49 billion. In a statement, Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes commented on its proposed acquisition by AT&T Inc. , saying it will accelerate the company’s efforts to spur innovation in the industry and that Time Warner is on track to close the deal later this year. Time Warner shares were inactive in premarket trade, but are up 43% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , up 24%.

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Shares of Allergan PLC surged 1.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the biopharmaceutical company reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit and sales that beat expectations. For the quarter to Dec. 31, the net loss was $70.2 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $700.5 million, or $1.78 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as research and development-related charges and impairment, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.90, above the FactSet consensus of $3.75. Revenue rose to $3.86 billion from $3.61 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $3.77 billion. “2016 was a year of transformation for Allergan. We are now a branded biopharmaceutical leader, focused on delivering sustainable revenue growth, advancing our pipeline, maintaining industry leading margins and allocating capital to maximize shareholder return,” said Chief Executive Brent Saunders. Looking ahead, Allergan expects first-quarter revenue of about $3.50 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.61 billion, but expects 2017 revenue in the range of $15.50 billion to $15.80 billion, above expectations of $15.32 billion. The stock has dropped 13% over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has climbed 24%.

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Humana Inc. reported Wednesday a fourth-quarter loss of $486 million, or $2.86 a share, compared with a profit of $246 million, or 67 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as $505 million for reserve strengthening of its long-term care insurance business, adjusted earnings per share game to $2.09, above the FactSet consensus of $2.05. Revenue fell to $12.88 billion from $13.36 billion. Adjusted revenue, which excludes a write off of risk corridor receivables, was $13.46 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $13.51 billion. The health care company said chief operating officer James Murray will retire effective March 31, and the company doesn’t expect to fill the COO role. Humana is currently working to address regulatory concerns about its merger deal with Aetna Inc. s[: aet]. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has surged 24% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 24%.

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3M Co. on Tuesday raised its quarterly dividend to $1.175 from $1.11 a share. The dividend will be paid on March 12 to shareholders of record at close of business on Feb. 17. 3M shares were unchanged in the extended session after rising 0.4% to close at $175.76.

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Zillow Group Inc. shares fell in the extended session Tuesday after the real-estate website forecast a wider loss for the year than Wall Street had expected. Zillow shares fell 6% to $34.65 after hours. The company forecast a full-year net loss of between $20.2 million to $40.2 million on revenue of $1.03 billion to $1.05 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a full-year loss of $600,000 on revenue of $1.04 billion. For the fourth quarter, Zillow reported adjusted earnings of 14 cents a share on revenue of $227.6 million, while analysts had forecast 11 cents a share on revenue of $222.2 million.

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The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a much bigger-than-expected increase of 14.2 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended Feb. 3, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 2.5 million barrels. The API data also showed a rise of 2.9 million barrels in gasoline supplies and a climb of 1.4 million barrels in distillates, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. March crude was at $51.69 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the contract’s settlement of $52.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Priceline Group Inc. plans to buy Momondo Group, which operates Cheapflights and travel metasearch engine momondo, in an all cash deal worth $550 million. Once the deal is finalized later this year, Momondo will become a part of Priceline’s Kayak brand, according to Priceline. Shares of Priceline were unchanged in Tuesday’s extended session after closing up 0.7% to $1,598.70.

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Coherent Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Tuesday after the laser manufacturer topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings. Coherent shares jumped 12% to $180 after hours. The company reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $2.57 a share on revenue of $346.1 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.81 a share.

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Microchip Technology Inc. shares were halted late Tuesday after the electronics component maker’s quarterly report and outlook topped Wall Street estimates. Microchip Technology shares were halted at $69.62 after hours. The company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share on adjusted revenue of $881.2 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 90 cents a share on revenue of $849 million. For the fourth quarter, Microchip forecast adjusted earnings of $1.01 to $1.11 a share on adjusted revenue of $872 million to $908 million. Analysts had estimated 93 cents a share on revenue of $863.4 million.

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