Tag: stock market

Grayscale Investments has filed to list its Bitcoin Investment Trust on the New York Stock Exchange in a $500 million initial public offering, according to documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Shares of the trust, which presently trades over the counter, have been trading at a premium to the bitcoin price. The trust, which back in 2013 and exclusively invests in bitcoin, is one of the only options available to institutional investors wishing to gain exposure to the currency. The Bank of New York Mellon will serve as the transfer agent for shares of the fund, and Xapo Inc., a bitcoin wallet and vault company, will serve as custodian of the trust’s bitcoins. The application comes as the SEC is mulling whether to approve two proposed bitcoin exchange-traded funds. If approved, they would be the first ETFs exclusively focused on bitcoin.

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Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo-Surgery said early Friday it has acquired privately-held medical device maker Megadyne Medical Products Inc. The company did not detail the deal’s financial terms. Megadyne makes electrosurgical tools used in operating rooms, and will complement Ethicon’s advanced energy devices, the company said. Electrosurgical devices are used in nearly four out of every five surgeries, according to Ethicon. Johnson & Johnson shares have slumped 0.6% over the last three months, compared with a 5.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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As it stands, Netflix Inc. is properly valued, according to analysts at Citi. The global streaming company had one of its best quarters to date on Wednesday, reaching an intraday high after posting domestic and international subscriber gains that were better than expected. Lead Citi analyst Mark May raised his 12-month price target on the stock to $145 from $120, which is nearly 5% above Thursday’s closing price, but he maintained his neutral rating. “While we are positive on Netflix’s long-term positioning and the growth of OTT video, we believe shares are pricing in the company’s opportunities both in the U.S. and internationally,” May wrote in a note to clients. For further outperformance, investors would need to ascribe “far more value” to the new international markets where Netflix has launched, where execution in unproven, according to May. Netflix shares are up more than 28% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up nearly 22% during the same time frame.

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American International Group Inc. said Friday it has entered an adverse development reinsurance agreement with a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. . The agreement, which allows the insured party to shift the timing of losses that have already occurred, as well as ones incurred but not yet reported, to the insurer in return for a premium, covers 80% of AIG’s U.S. commercial long-tail exposures for 2015 and before, including the biggest part of AIG’s casualty exposures during that period. AIG will pay a premium of $9.8 billion by June 30, with interest set at 4% a year from Jan. 1, 2016 to date of payment. Berkshire unit National Indemnity Company is assuming 80% of the net losses and net allocated loss adjustment costs on the subject reserves in excess of the first $25 billion. The unit’s overall limit of liability is $20 billion. AIG is currently completing its fourth-quarter reserve review and will publish it with its year-end earnings. The company is expecting a material prior year adverse development charge for the fourth quarter. AIG shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 20% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 21%.

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Ford Motor Co. disclosed Friday that it will record a pre-tax $3 billion loss in 2016 related to remeasurement of its pensions plans and other postretirement benefit (OPEB) plans, as lower discount rates offset asset gains. Of the total, $900 million of the loss is associated with its U.S. pension plans, $1.9 billion is with pension plans outside of the U.S and $200 million is with OPEB plans globally. Including the remeasurement loss, the auto maker expects its the underfunded status of its pension plans to increase to $8.9 billion a year-end 2016 from $8.2 billion in 2015, and of its OPEB plans to rise to $5.9 billion from $5.7 billion. Ford said the loss will cut its 2016 after-tax net income by about $2 billion, but it still expects to meet its guidance of $10.2 billion in adjusted pre-tax profit. The stock, which was unchanged in premarket trade, has gained 4.5% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has rallied 22%.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. shares sunk 7.2% in pre-market trade Friday after the company said it wouldn’t try for accelerated approval in first-line lung cancer for its combination of Opdivo and Yervoy. The company said the decision was made “based on a review of the data available at this time,” and said it would say no more “in order to protect the integrity of ongoing registrational studies.” Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said the development was a “clear setback for BMY,” especially given a fall approval by rival drugmaker Merck in first-line lung cancer. The combination of Opdivo and Yervoy is seen by many as Bristol’s best approach to lung cancer, and the company has four clinical trials underway. “Regardless of the data used to inform this update, it is obvious that it did not meet the threshold for a filing and BMY confirmed to us that MRK’s surprise filing did not influence this decision,” Fernandez said. Bristol shares have risen 10.2% over the last three months, compared with a 5.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Twitter Inc. were up 1% in premarket trade Friday after Pacific Crest analysts resumed coverage of the stock at sector weight and a price target of $14. The analysts say Twitter continues to have core business challenges such as a difficult to use platform and that there does not seem to be a simple solution to this “which suggests further stagnation is likely.” The analysts say Twitter’s focus on video could renew growth and focus on the real-time strengths of the platform, but Twitter would be up against a lot of competition. An acquisition of Twitter is unlikely in the near-term, they say, due to recent executive departures and a suggestion of an internal turnaround. Shares of Twitter have fallen 1% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 6%.

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Procter & Gamble shares rose 1.9% in pre-market trade Friday after the consumer goods company beat second-quarter expectations. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $7.9 billion, or $2.88 per share, from $3.2 billion, or $1.12 per share. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.08, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.06. Revenue declined to $16.86 billion from $16.92 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $16.94 billion. The company said it expects headwinds of foreign exchange and minor brand divestitures to reduce sales growth by two to three percentage points in 2017, and estimated its all-in sales to align with the 2016 fiscal year. It expects reported EPS to increase 48% to 50% compared with an EPS of $3.69 in 2016. Procter & Gamble shares have declined 0.3% over the last three months, compared with a 5.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Schlumberger Ltd. reported a net loss of $204 million, or a loss of 15 cents per share, for the fourth quarter, after a loss of $1.02 billion, or an 81 cent per-share loss during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings for the quarter came in at 27 cents per share, in line with FactSet’s 27 cents consensus. Revenue hit $7.11 billion, down compared with last year’s $7.74 billion, but above FactSet’s consensus of $7.07 billion. Though down from last year, revenue in the fourth quarter was up from the previous quarter thanks to the production group segment, which grew 5% due to increased hydraulic fracturing activity in the Middle East and North America, according to Schlumberger Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard. Shares of Schlumberger have gained nearly 43% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up nearly 22% during the same time period.

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Six people have been found alive Friday in an Italian hotel that was hit by an avalanche Wednesday, according to multiple media reports. Rescue workers have spoken several times with the survivors, who remain buried under the rubble, said Italian wire service ANSA. The Hotel Rigopiano in the central Abruzzo region was buried in the avalanche Wednesday following a series of earthquakes. At least four people have been confirmed dead, and about 20 are still missing, a BBC report said. Two people were rescued from the hotel Thursday, according to ANSA.

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