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May 26, 2023
Shares of Newell Brands Inc. NWL dropped more than 3% in the extended session Friday after the consumer products company behind brands such as Rubbermaid and Elmer glue said it was embarking on a restructuring and savings plan intended to "streamline" its North American distribution network. The goal is to improve the company's cost structure, Newell Brands said. The plan will be "substantially" completed by the end of fiscal 2024, and includes goals such as reducing the number of distribution centers and automation investments. Newell said it expects to realize annual pre-tax cost savings between $25 million and $35 million by the time the plan is in place. It will incur in about $37 million to $49 million in restructuring and restructuring-related charges, however. That includes charges related to severance payments and to reducing its footprint. Newell also said it expects to incur in $30 million to $40 million in capital expenditures related to the project. Shares of Newell ended the regular trading day up 3.2%.
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May 26, 2023
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said Congress must raise or suspend the U.S. debt ceiling by June 5 or risk a default. Yellen had previously said June 1 for a default. "We now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government's obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5," she wrote in a letter to lawmakers. Debt-ceiling talks are continuing between the Biden White House and congressional Republicans.
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May 26, 2023
Broadcom Inc. shares AVGO surged to new records and led gainers on the S&P 500 index SPX Friday following positive commentary ahead of the chip maker's earnings on Thursday. Shares rallied 12% to a record intraday high of $814.98, and finished up 11.5% at a record high of $812.73, with the previous high being this past Thursday's $728.80. March 26, 2020, when shares rose 11.8%. Broadcom shares also led gainers on the S&P 500, which was up 1.3%. This past Thursday, Susquehanna Financial analyst Christopher Rolland, who has a positive rating in the stock, raised his price target to $785 from $690. After Apple Inc.'s AAPLrecent earnings, which reported a surprise jump in iPhone sales, Rolland said reduced iPhone checks "present a modest risk to guidance," but said the "multi-year, multibillion-dollar extension with Apple for RF/Wi-Fi components should mitigate Apple in-sourcing risk, solidifying this longer-term relationship." On Friday, Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer, who has an outperform rating and a $800 price target, said he sees second half sales led by mobile (Apple) and networking. "Broadcom's Tomahawk, Trident and Jericho switches/routers benefit from generative AI adoption as connectivity needs to keep pace w/advances in compute," Schafer said.
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May 26, 2023
U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite capping off a fifth-straight week in the green, and its biggest two-day jump since early February. According to FactSet data, the Nasdaq rose nearly 500 points between Thursday and Friday, the biggest two-day jump since Feb. 2. It's also the first time since Feb. 3 that the index has risen for five straight weeks. On Friday, the Nasdaq rose 277.59 points, or 2.2%, to finish at 12,975.69, according to preliminary closing data from FactSet. The index rose 2.5% this week, adding to a 3% gain from the week before. The S&P 500 rose 54.19 points, or 1.3%, to 4,205.47 on Friday, up 0.3% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 328.69 points, or 1%, to 33,093.34, but still finished the week down 1%. Stocks rose on Friday due in part to data on consumer spending and orders of so-called durable goods, which suggested the core of the U.S. economy was outperforming at the start of the second quarter. Meanwhile, shares of Nvidia Corp. gained 2.6% on Friday, on top of a gain of nearly 25% on Thursday after the chipmaker reported a blockbuster second-quarter sales forecast. It finished Friday at $389.46, according to FactSet.
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May 26, 2023
JP Morgan Chase & Co. JPM laid off about 500 workers this week, mostly in tech and operations, according to a report Friday. CNBC reported the cuts were spread across all divisions. Globally, the bank employs more than 296,000 workers at last check. In the meantime, JP Morgan Chase has about 13,000 open positions it has yet to fill, according to the report. Late Thursday, JP Morgan Chase laid off about 1,000 former First Republic Bank employees. Shares of the bank's stock has been steadily climbing all day, and were last up 1.3%.
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May 26, 2023
Oil futures climbed on Friday, contributing to a more than 1% weekly gain in U.S. benchmark crude prices. The market saw a sharp decline Thursday on expectations that OPEC wasn't likely to cut production at its meeting next month, but "the risk of further sharp falls is being mitigated somewhat by the fact that the markets know the U.S. government is a buyer[of oil] below $70," as it looks to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. July West Texas Intermediate crude CLN23 rose 84 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $72.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices for the front-month contract up 1.4% for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
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May 26, 2023
Gold futures finished a bit higher on Friday, but still logged a third straight weekly loss. Gold's attempted recovery ahead of the weekend was dampened a bit by "further evidence of still-stubborn U.S. inflation," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group. Prices for the metal may decline further, closer to the psychologically-important $1,900 level "if the U.S. debt deal is sealed in the immediate future," he said. Gold for June delivery GCM23edged up by 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,944.30 an ounce on Comex. For the week, the most-active contract fell 1.9%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
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May 26, 2023
RingCentral Inc. shares RNG were rocketing more than 16% in Friday trading after Sylebra Capital Ltd. disclosed a 8.68% stake in the company and said that it plans to engage in strategic discussions with management. Sylebra wants to "consider exploring and/or developing plans (whether preliminary or final) that may relate to, among other things, the operations, governance, management, business, assets, financial condition, corporate structure and strategic merger and acquisition plans," it said in the 13-D filing. "Such discussions may include proposals regarding possible strategic transactions including possible business combinations." Piper Sandler analyst James Fish flagged that Sylebra put out a similar filing Friday for 8×8 Inc. EGHT, whose shares are up more than 14% in afternoon trading.
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May 26, 2023
The 2-year Treasury rate is on course for its largest weekly gain since September after Friday's PCE inflation data prompted traders to boost their expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike. The yield is up almost 30 basis points this week, at 4.568% in afternoon trading — which would be the largest weekly gain since the period that ended Sept. 23, based on preliminary data from Dow Jones Market Data. It's also headed for its 12th straight session of advances, the longest such streak since January 2018. April's personal consumption expenditures index showed inflation stuck between 4% to 5%, prompting fed funds futures traders to pricing in a 66.5% chance of a quarter-point rate hike in June. Yields on 2-year through 10-year Treasuries were all higher in afternoon trading.
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May 26, 2023
Debt-ceiling talks are "up and down," Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, a key deputy for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, told reporters on Friday. "We are in the middle of a lot of different conversations and a lot of different paper coming back and forth, and as I said, the details are thornier, the consequences are greater," McHenry said. "The leaks don't serve getting an agreement that changes the trajectory of the country," the GOP congressman also said, in an apparent reference to reports revealing elements of the emerging debt-limit deal. When asked if negotiators could bring matters to a close on Friday, McHenry responded by throwing his hands up.
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May 26, 2023
Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc.'s stock ATMU soared 14% Friday in their trading debut, after the Cummins Inc. CMI spinoff priced its initial public offering in the middle of its price range. The company sold 14.1 million shares priced at $19.50 each to raise $275 million. The stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker ‘ATMU.' Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan were lead book-running managers on the deal with 10 other banks acting as co-managers. While the company is issuing primary shares, Atmus will not receive any of the IPO proceeds; all of the proceeds will go to the debt-for-equity exchange parties, underwriters Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and will indirectly pay down parent Cummins' debt, according to its filing documents. The company makes products for on-highway commercial vehicles and off-highway agriculture, construction, mining, and power generation vehicles and equipment, mostly under the Fleetguard brand. The company had pro forma net income of $34.9 million in the first quarter on sales of $418.6 million.
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May 26, 2023
Baker Hughes BKR on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell by 5 to 570 this week. That marked a fourth straight week of declines in the number of oil rigs. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes those drilling for natural gas, declined by 9 to stand at 711, according to Baker Hughes. The number of active natural-gas drilling rigs stood at 137, down by 4 rigs. Oil prices traded higher in Friday dealings, with July West Texas Intermediate crude contract CLN23 up 70 cents, or 1%, at $72.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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May 26, 2023
Icahn Enterprises LP's stock IEP fell another 3% Friday to extend its month-to-date losses to 61%. The stock has been under pressure since a May 2 report by short-selling firm Hindenburg Research that accused Icahn's publicly traded investment vehicl eof inflating asset values and causing his company to trade at a large premium. The report from May 2 has cost IEP more than $10.9 billion in lost market cap. The stock took another downturn on Thursday, after Bill Ackman, founder and chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, weighed in on the Hindenburg report with some thoughts of his own, that revived a longstanding fued between the two billionaires. Ackman taunted his rival by reiterating Icahn's oft-quoted Wall Street saying that if you need a friend, get a dog. "Over his storied career, Icahn has made many enemies. I don't know that he has any real friends. He could use one here," Ackman wrote in a lengthy tweet. IEP shares are down 38.5% this week alone.
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May 26, 2023
Growing optimism that a debt-ceiling deal can be reached has led to a dramatic plunge in the rates of Treasury bills maturing between June 1-8. The yield on the 3-month bill issued on March 2 and maturing on June 1 was 5.586% as of 11 a.m. Eastern time Friday, down 166.8 basis points from Wednesday's closing level of 7.254%, according to Tradeweb. The rate on the 1-month T-bill, issued on May 9 and maturing on June 6, was at 5.649%, down 139.2 basis points from 7.041% two days ago. And the yield on the 3-month bill issued March 9 and maturing on June 8 was at 6.076%, down 123.1 basis points from 7.307% on Wednesday. President Joe Biden's team and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's deputies were said to be nearing a deal that would raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a market-shaking default, though getting it through Congress quickly may be tricky. All three major U.S. stock indexes, along with most Treasury yields, were higher in late morning trading.
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May 26, 2023
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said high inflation and strong consumer spending are sign the central bank likely needs to raise interest rates again to try to get prices under control. "The data coming in this morning suggest we have more work to do," she said in an interview Friday on CNBC. The PCE price index showed inflation stuck near 5%, well above the Fed's 2% target, while consumer spending picked up. Mester has previously said she thinks rates need to go a bit higher. Other senior Fed officials appear undecided on whether to skip a rate increase at their June 13-14 meeting, increase them again, or pause for a while.
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May 26, 2023
Shares of Lowe's Companies Inc. LOW rallied 1.5% in morning trading Friday, after the home improvement retailer raised its quarterly dividend by 4.8%, to $1.10 a share from $1.05 a share. Shareholders of record on July 26 will be paid the new dividend on Aug. 9. Based on current stock prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 2.16%, which compares with the current yield for rival Home Depot Inc.'s stock HD 2.89% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 SPX of 1.64%. Lowe's dividend hike comes after the company reported earlier this week fiscal first-quarter profit that beat expectations. The stock has gained 2.3% year to date through Thursday, while Home Depot shares have lost 8.6% and the S&P 500 has advanced 8.8%.
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May 26, 2023
Lazard Ltd. LAZ on Friday named insider Peter R. Orszag as its next chief executive officer as of Oct. 1, when Kenneth M. Jacobs becomes executive chairman after working as CEO for 14 years. Orszag is now CEO of financial advisory at Lazard. Orszag has been CEO of Lazard's financial advisory unit since 2019 and joined the firm in 2016. Prior to his time at Lazard, Orszag was director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration. Lazard stock is up 0.5% in early trades on Friday. The stock is down 18.4% in 2023, compared to an 8.4% increase by the S&P 500 SPX and a 6.7% drop by the Financial Select SPDR ETF XLF.
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May 26, 2023
U.S. stock indexes opened modestly higher on Friday despite a stronger-than-expected reading on April inflation, complicating the Federal Reserve's decision on whether to keep raising interest rates at its June meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up 50 points, or 0.2%, to 32,832. The S&P 500 SPX added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP advanced 0.3%. The core PCE index, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, rose 0.4% in April, more than the 0.3% increase that economists had expected. Core inflation strips out volatile food and energy prices. The yearly increase in prices rose to 4.4% from 4.2% in the prior month, also higher than expected.
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May 26, 2023
Fed funds futures traders now see a 57.4% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will lift rates again in June after April's personal consumption expenditures index showed inflation stuck in the 4% to 5% range. The likelihood of another quarter-of-a-percentage-point rate hike in June is up from 51.7% a day ago, and would take the Fed's main benchmark rate target to between 5.25-5.5%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Meanwhile, the likelihood of a pause in July was seen at 50.9%, based on data before U.S. stock markets opened. The policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield jumped to around 4.59% after the report.
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May 26, 2023
Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski on Friday upgraded stock in alternative investment and data firm Hamilton Lane Inc. HLNE to outperform from perform, with a 12-18 month price target of $87 a share. Kotowski said Hamilton Lane's stock is trading roughly at where it was in 2020 despite about 58% growth in assets under management since the end of 2019. Oppenheimer sees Hamilton Lane as "one of the premier growth companies among the ‘solutions providers' in particular and the Alt space more generally." The company continues to face "cyclical headwinds" but the company's "secular growth story is unchanged," Kotowski said. Hamilton Lane stock is up 3.1% in 2023 compared to a 21.3% increase by the Nasdaq COMP.
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May 26, 2023
Cansortium Inc. CNTMF, a medical cannabis company that operates in Texas, said Friday it's disappointed in the failure this week of two bills in the state legislature to expand medical marijuana in Texas. "For decades, cannabis prohibition has funneled thousands of Texans into the criminal justice system," the company said. "With more than 80% of Texans supporting the decriminalization of cannabis and the legalization of medical cannabis in the state, we must continue to call on our elected leaders to act on the will of their constituents and right the wrongs of the past." Cansortium is the parent of medical dispensary operator Fluent. Cansortium stock is down 29% in 2023 compared to a 21.3% loss by the AdvisorsShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETF MSOS.
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May 26, 2023
Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc. ATMU priced 14.1 million shares at $19.50 a share to raise $275.4 million in its initial public offering on Friday, the company said. The IPO is a spinoff from Cummins Inc. CMI in a relatively quiet year for equity offerings from major underwriters. In a sign of health, Atmus priced its IPO in the middle of its estimated price range of $18 to $21 a share with underwriters Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Baird, BofA Securities, Wells Fargo Securities and HSBC. The stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Nashville-based Atmus manufactures filters and accessories for off-highway vehicles and commercial trucks.
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May 26, 2023
Shares of Big Lots Inc. BIG tumbled 10.5% toward a 32-year low in premarket trading Friday, after the discount home essentials retailer reported a much wider-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss and said it will suspend its dividend. Net losses for the quarter to April 29 swelled to $206.1 million, or $7.10 a share, from $11.1 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, the adjusted per-share loss of $3.40 was nearly double the FactSet loss consensus $1.78. Sales fell 18.3% to $1.12 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $1.19 billion, as the 18.3% decline in same-store sales was much more than expectations of a 13.2% drop. "[O]ur lower-income consumer was hurt by inflation, lower tax refunds, and higher interest rates, and their confidence has been shaken by banking failures," said Chief Executive Officer Bruce Thorn. For the second quarter, the company expects same-store sales to be down in the "high-teens" percentage range, compared with the current FactSet consensus of down 8.6%. The company said it was suspending its dividend and expecting $340 million in further asset sales to bolster liquidity. The stock, which is on track to open at the lowest price seen during regular-session hours since December 1991, has tumbled 51% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR S&P Retail exchange-traded fund XRT has lost 3.9% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8.1%.
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May 26, 2023
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck Japan some 11 kilometers South-southeast of Asahi, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake hit at 6:03 a.m. Eastern time.
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May 26, 2023
Shares of PDD Holdings Inc. PDD shot up 10.2% in premarket trading Friday, after the mobile marketplace company reported big first-quarter profit and revenue beats, boosted by strength in online marketing and transaction services. Net income more than doubled to RMB8.10 billion ($1.18 billion), or RMB5.55 per American depositary share, from RMB2.60 billion, or RMB1.84 in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per ADS of RMB6.92 was well above the FactSet consensus of RMB4.46. Revenue grew 58.1% to RMB37.64 billion ($5.48 billion), to beat the FactSet consensus of RMB32.18 billion. Revenue from online marketing services increased 50% to RMB27.24 billion and transaction services revenue jumped 86% to RMB5.59 billion. Cost of sales rose less than revenue, up 55.4% to RMB11.13 billion, as gross margin improved to 70.4% from 69.9%. The stock, which closed Thursday at a 6 1/2-month low, has tumbled 28.3% over the past three months through Thursday, while the iShares MSCI China exchange-traded fund MCHI had lost 8.1% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 4.6%.
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May 26, 2023
Hibbett Inc.'s stock HIBB fell 5% premarket Friday, after the sporting goods retailer posted weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and cut its full-year guidance, as its customer continues to grapple with inflation. "Our consumers are facing a number of headwinds that range from inflation to concerns over outright job loss. ," Chief Executive Mike Longo said in a statement. "Of note, the total amount of the average tax refund was unfavorable to last year by approximately 10%. We believe this disproportionately impacted our consumer and impacted our sales in the important first quarter of the year." The company also had high levels of inventory that required an elevated level of promotional activity, he said. Birmingham, Alabama-based Hibbett had net income of $35.9 million, or $2.74 a share, for the quarter to April 29, down from $39.3 million, or $2.89 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose 7.4% to $455.5 million from $424.1 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $3.00 and sales of $460.0 million. Same-store sales rose 4.1%, also below the FactSet consensus of a rise of 4.8%. The company is now expecting full-year EPS to range from $7.00 to $7.55, compared with prior guidance of $9.50 to $10.00. It expects sales to be flat to up 2%, versus prior guidance of up in mid-single digits. The stock has fallen 35% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8%.
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May 26, 2023
Goldman Sachs economists Alec Phillips and Tim Krupa say the Treasury's early June deadline for the debt ceiling looks "very accurate, in our view." Their calculation is that by June 2, the Treasury's room under the debt ceiling will barely exceed $30 billion — the minimum cash the Treasury has targeted in prior debt-limit projections — and entirely dry by June 9. They say odds are highest that a deal will be announced late Friday or Saturday. They give an 80% chance to a full-fledged deal, a 10% probability of a short-term patch and a 10% chance Congress doesn't act in time.
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May 25, 2023
Ford Motor Co. F said late Thursday that its electric-vehicle owners soon will have access to the more than 12,000 Tesla Inc. TSLA superchargers in the U.S. and Canada, as the two automakers have reached an agreement scheduled to start in a year. Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk held a Twitter "spaces" talk to reveal the agreement. Tesla will develop an adapter for the Ford EVs., but within two years Ford will equip future EVs with the same charge port and newer vehicles won't need the adapter. Musk said he wasn't sure about the price of the adapter but that it would be in the hundreds of dollars range, unlikely to cost above $1,000.
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May 25, 2023
New York City's banking commission voted to freeze deposits at Capital One Financial Corp. COF and KeyCorp's KEY KeyBank after the two banks failed to submit required plans showing their efforts to halt discrimination, the city's comptroller said in a statement on Thursday, alleging that the banks "outright refused to submit required policies." The comptroller, Brad Lander, also voted against designating Wells Fargo & Co. WFC , PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s PNC PNC Bank and International Finance Bank to hold public funds, that statement said. "Unfortunately, despite several opportunities to do so, five banks failed to comply with the New York City Banking Commission's designation process - leaving us to conclude that they are not taking meaningful actions to combat discrimination in their operations and are not responsible stewards of public dollars," Lander said. All three members of the banking commission — which include the comptroller, mayor and finance commissioner — voted to take the action against Capital One and KeyCorp, which respectively held $7.2 million and $10 million in city deposits at the end of last month. Both can service existing contracts for one year under the move. The commission in February said that banks had to "submit to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to combat discrimination in employment, services, and lending," the statement said. Shares of Capital One slipped 0.7% after hours, while Key was 0.3% lower.
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May 25, 2023
Tilray Brands Inc. shares TLRYCA:TLRY dropped in the extended session Thursday after the cannabis company filed for a secondary offering. Tilray shares fell as much as 19% after hours, following a 2.5% decline to close the regular session at $2.36. The company said it was issuing $150 million in senior convertible notes due in 2027. Tilray said it was using a portion of the proceeds to help pay down debt. Jefferies and B of A Securities are underwriting the offering. At the close, Tilray shares were down 12.2% year to date, compared with an 8.1% gain on the S&P 500 index SPX.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Domo Inc. DOMO fell nearly 7% in the aftermarket Thursday after the cloud software company reported fiscal 2024 first-quarter results that largely met Wall Street expectations and guided for a wider loss range for its fiscal 2024. Domo lost $24.4 million, or 69 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $32.9 million, or 99 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company lost 17 cents a share, matching FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 7% to $79.5 million, Domo said, including subscription revenue of $71.1 million, a 10% increase. The analysts polled by FactSet expected revenue of $78.9 million. Domo guided for fiscal 2024 revenue between $323 million and $330 million, and for an adjusted net loss between 27 cents a share and 39 cents a share for the year. FactSet consensus calls for a loss of 35 cents a share on sales of $326 million.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. COST fell 1.5% after hours on Thursday after the membership warehouse retailer reported fiscal third-quarter results that missed expectations, with a same-store sales decline in the U.S. The company reported net income of $1.3 billion, or $2.93 a share, compared with $1.35 billion, or $3.04 a share, in the same quarter last year. Sales rose 1.9% to $52.6 billion, compared with $51.61 billion in the prior-year quarter. Same-store sales rose 0.3%, with a 0.1% dip in the U.S. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Costco to earn $3.29 a share, on revenue of $54.5 billion and same-store sales growth of 2.8%.
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May 25, 2023
RH shares RH slipped in the extended session Thursday after the retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware beat Wall Street expectations for the quarter, but offered a mixed outlook. RH declined 3% after hours, following a 2% rise in the regular session to close at $254.63. Shares are down 4.7% year to date, versus a 8.1% gain by the S&P 500 index SPX. The company reported first-quarter net income of $41.9 million, or $2.12 a share, compared with $200.7 million, or $7.22 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $2.21 a share, compared with $6.63 a share in the year-ago period. Revenue declined to $739.1 million from $957.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $2.12 a share on revenue of $732.1 million. For the year, RH said it was raising its revenue outlook to $3 billion to $3.1 billion, but said it was lowering its adjusted operating margin to a range of 14.5% to 15.5%. Analysts had forecast revenue of $3.06 billion.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. ULTA tumbled 8.2% after hours on Thursday after the beauty-products and salon chain reported first-quarter same-store sales that just missed expectations and stuck with its full-year same-store sales outlook, amid what management called an "evolving" consumer backdrop. The company reported net income of $347.1 million, or $6.88 a share, compared with $331.4 million, or $6.30 a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to $2.63 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in the prior-year quarter. Same-store sales rose 9.3%. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Ulta to report first-quarter earnings per share of $6.82 on revenue of $2.62 billion and same-store sales growth of 9.4%. Ulta raised its full-year sales forecast to $11 billion to $11.1 billion, compared with FactSet forecasts for $11.09 billion. The company kept its same-store sales growth outlook at 4% to 5%. FactSet expected a 5.3% gain. The results came after demand for beauty products largely held up this year — helped by broader wellness trends and a return to offices, formal occasions and other aspects of pre-pandemic life — despite weaker trends for products like clothing and electronics, as higher grocery prices take more out of consumer savings.
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May 25, 2023
U.S. stocks closed mostly higher Thursday, as technology companies fueled gains amid investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 SPX finished 0.9% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP climbed 1.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA slipped 0.1%, according to preliminary data from FactSet. Chip maker Nvidia Corp. NVDA was the top-performing stock in the S&P 500, surging as the index's tech sector closed with sharp gains of more than 4%, preliminary FactSet data show. Communication services was the second strongest sector in the S&P 500 on Thursday, rising a modest 0.4%. Nvidia shares have skyrocketed as investors anticipate the company will benefit from generative AI.
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May 25, 2023
The U.S.-listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. BUD dropped 1.3% in afternoon trading, which puts them on track for a fourth-straight loss and a six-month low. The Belgium-based beer brewer's stock has also tumbled 12.46% in May, which would put it on course to suffer the worst monthly performance since it dropped 12.54% in July 2021. The stock has been diving as sales of its Bud Light beer have been falling, following backlash over the brand's partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Anheuser-Busch's stock, which is headed for the lowest close since Nov. 25, has declined 5.3% year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8.0%.
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May 25, 2023
Oil futures ended lower Thursday after three consecutive session gains. Crude prices weakened as the "king dollar" returned, and after Russia slashed "any Saudi hope of delivering another production cut at the June 4th meeting," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. July West Texas Intermediate crude CLN23 fell $2.51, or 3.4%, to settle at $71.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after gaining 2% Wednesday.
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May 25, 2023
President Joe Biden on Thursday gave a brief update on talks about the budget and debt ceiling, saying negotiators are "making progress" and that all agree default is off the table. The president said he'd had several productive conversations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Earlier Thursday, McCarthy continued to sound somewhat upbeat on Washington's debt-ceiling standoff, as he said negotiators worked well past midnight and made some progress. "There's still some outstanding issues, and I've directed our teams to work 24/7," the California Republican told reporters.
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May 25, 2023
Gold futures settled lower Thursday for a fourth session in a row. The stronger U.S. dollar, as well as higher Treasury yields, pressured gold prices, said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Prices for the most-active contract marked their lowest finish since March 21, according to FactSet data. Gold for June delivery GCM23 fell $20.90, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,943.70 an ounce on Comex.
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May 25, 2023
Illumina Inc. ILMN shareholders voted Thursday to elect one of activist investor Carl Icahn's nominees to its board, and voted against the re-election of company Chairman John Thompson, according to media reports on Thursday. The genomics company has been engaged in a proxy battle with Icahn since March, who was seeking to unseat its chairman and chief executive and add three of his own candidates to the board. Illumina had blasted back that Icahn's board nominees were "unqualified," urging shareholders to reject all three and instead support its "highly qualified" nominees. Icahn had said that Chief Executive Francis de Souza and other "protectors" seem "dead set on destroying the company." Illumina had defended its own track record. "Illumina is the only pure-play genomics company with profitable revenue growth," it said in an early May statement. Icahn started the proxy fight with Illumina in March, criticizing the company's plan to buy cancer-screening company Grail Inc. But Icahn himself is in a weakened position, under fire from a recent report from short seller Hindenburg Research accusing the firm of inflating asset values and causing his company to trade at a large premium. The report has cost IEP $10.9 billion in lost market cap since it was published on May 2. Last week, the storied investor admitted he was wrong to take a huge short position that led to losses of $9 billion. And earlier this month, IEP disclosed a federal probe into its corporate governance and other issues. It's not clear if that was related to the Hindenburg report.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of exchange-traded funds that provide exposure to companies involved in artificial intelligence were rising sharply Thursday. The Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF CHAT, whose top holdings recently included Nvidia Corp. NVDA, Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, was up 3% Thursday afternoon, according to FactSet data, at last check. The top five holdings of the fund, which launched this month, also included Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD and Adobe Inc. ADBE as of May 24, according to data on the website of Roundhill Investments.Meanwhile, the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF BOTZ was climbing 2.7% Thursday afternoon, bringing its year-to-date gains to more than 30%, FactSet data show, at last check. The fund's top holdings also include chip maker Nvidia, which was surging more than 25% Thursday afternoon.The AI-focused ETFs were outperforming the broad U.S. stock market in Thursday afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA falling 0.4% while the S&P 500 SPX rose 0.7% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite NVDA gained 1.7%, according to FactSet data, at last check.
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May 25, 2023
The stock of Icahn Enterprises LP IEP tumbled 21% Thursday, a day after billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, founder and chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, revived his longstanding feud with Carl Icahn in commentary on a recent short seller report. That report by Hindenburg Research accused Icahn's publicly traded investment vehicle of inflating asset values and and causing his company to trade at a large premium. The report has cost IEP some $10.9 billion in lost market cap including Thursday's move. Ackman taunted his rival by reiterating Icahn's oft-quoted Wall Street saying that if you need a friend, get a dog. "Over his storied career, Icahn has made many enemies. I don't know that he has any real friends. He could use one here," Ackman wrote in a lengthy tweet. For more, see: Bill Ackman resurrects billionaire feud, saying Carl Icahn needs a friend
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May 25, 2023
Pfizer Inc. PFE said Thursday it has received full Food and Drug Administration approval for its Paxlovid oral treatment for COVID-19 for use in adult patients with high risk of developing severe disease. The treatment has been available in the U.S. since December of 2021 under an Emergency Use Authorization. To date, more than 11.6 million treatment courses have been prescribed. There are still about 14,500 reported cases of COVID in the U.S. every week, but many others are not reported. The U.S. ended the COVID public health emergency on May 11. Pfizer's stock was down 2% Thursday, and has fallen 26% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.
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May 25, 2023
Natural-gas futures extended their decline Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a weekly increase in domestic natural-gas supplies that was lower than the market forecast. Inventories of the fuel in storage rose by 96 billion cubic feet for the week ended May 19, the EIA said. Analysts called for a storage increase of 101 billion cubic feet on average, according to a survey conducted by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Total working gas in storage for the latest week was at 2.336 trillion cubic feet, up 529 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 340 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. Following the data, June natural gas NGM23 was down 4.6 cents, or 1.9%, at $2.352 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $2.38 shortly before the supply data.
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May 25, 2023
The PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX is on track for its highest close since April 5, 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data, buoyed by strong commentary from Nvidia Corp. NVDA that's lifting the broader chip sector Thursday. The SOX closed at 3269.82 on April 5, 2022; its recent Thursday level was 3256.07, up more than 4% on the day. The index's big Thursday rally comes after Nvidia issued an outlook an afternoon earlier that was vastly higher than analysts were anticipating, fueled by optimism about its ability to benefit from heightened spending around artificial intelligence. Nvidia shares are up nearly 25% in Thursday morning action, while shares of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD are up about 9%. Excitement about the AI spending boom helped power Nvidia shares up more than 100% over the course of 2023, even before Wednesday's report.
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May 25, 2023
Yields on Treasury bills maturing from June 1-8 were all below 7% as of Thursday morning, a sign that the heightened debt-ceiling concerns seen in the previous session were easing a bit. The rate on the T-bill that matures on June 1 was 6.855%, down from Wednesday's closing level of 7.254%, according to 10 a.m. Eastern time data from Tradeweb. Meanwhile, yields on the bills which mature June 6 and June 8 were at 6.782% and 6.736%, respectively, down from 7.041% and 7.037% in the prior session. On Thursday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy continued to sound somewhat upbeat on Washington's debt-ceiling standoff, saying he has directed his side's teams to work around the clock. U.S. stocks were mostly higher in morning trading, along with Treasury yields.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Nikola Corp. NKLA sank 4.2% in morning trading Thursday, after the electric vehicle maker disclosed that it has received from the Nasdaq exchange a notice of noncompliance with the minimum-bid listing requirement. The Nasdaq requires stocks to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 to remain listed, while Nikola's stock has closed below $1.00 for the past 31 sessions through Wednesday, starting April 11. "Based on the closing bid price of the Company's common stock for the 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the Notification Letter, the Company does not currently meet the minimum closing bid price requirement," the company stated. The Nasdaq's notice states Nikola has until Nov. 20 to regain compliance, which will require the stock to close at or above $1.00 for10 consecutive sessions. The stock has tumbled 65.8% year to date, while the Gl X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles exchange-traded fund DRIV has rallied 16.8% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 7.8%.
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May 25, 2023
The 2-year rate led a rise in yields on Thursday as traders factored in slightly higher chances of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in June and July. The policy-sensitive rate jumped 12 basis points to 4.46% in morning trading. The 1-year Treasury yield also jumped 8 basis points to 5.2%. The moves came after minutes of the Fed's May 2-3 meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that some officials were willing to keep hiking rates due to "unacceptably slow" progress on bringing down inflation. Fed funds futures traders now see a 45.8% chance of a rate hike in June and a 19.3% chance of one in July, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
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May 25, 2023
U.S. stock indexes opened mostly higher with the Nasdaq Composite COMP soaring 1.7% after Nvidia Corp. NVDA gave stronger-than-expected revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter, pushing its shares toward all-time highs and propelling the company to the cusp of a $1 trillion market value. Wall Street is also betting on other semiconductor manufacturers with shares of Advanced Micro Devices AMD jumping 9% and Monolithic Power Systems MPWR up 14.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was off 55 points, or 0.2%, to 32,744, while the S&P 500 SPX advanced 0.7%. The top triple-A credit ratings of the U.S. were placed on "rating watch negative" by credit firm Fitch Ratings Wednesday evening, due to "brinkmanship" in Washington which increases the risk that the country could default on some of its debt and other obligations. In economic data, the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits before Memorial Day weekend totaled just 229,000 after Massachusetts took dramatic steps to weed out a massive increase in fraud.
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May 25, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday continued to sound somewhat upbeat on Washington's debt-ceiling standoff, as he said negotiators worked well past midnight and made some progress, according to multiple published reports. "There's still some outstanding issues, and I've directed our teams to work 24/7," the California Republican told reporters.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Dish Network Corp. DISH soared 15.7% in premarket trading Thursday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the pay-TV services company is in talks to sell wireless plans for its new mobile phone service through Amazon.com Inc.'s AMZN website. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said details of the new plans sold through Amazon could be announced as soon as June. The financial details of the deal could not be learned, the WSJ said. The report noted that Federal regulators have set a June 14 deadline for Dish to meet certain network coverage milestones, and not reaching those milestones could lead to financial penalties. Dish's stock had closed Wednesday at $6.23, or 1.1% above the 24-year closing low of $6.16 on May 12. It has plunged 53.1% over the past three months through Wednesday, while Communication Services Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund XLC has rallied 14.4% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 3.7%.
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May 25, 2023
Dow Inc. DOW and privately-held New Energy Blue said Thursday they reached a long-term supply agreement which Dow describes as the first in North America to generate plastic source materials from corn stover, which comes from cornstalks and leaves. Financial terms were not disclosed. Dow said the deal marks its first agreement in North America to use agriculture residues for plastic production. New Energy Blue will create renewable agricultural residues and Dow plans to purchase bio-based ethylene for use in recyclable applications across transportation, footwear, and packaging. Dow said it'll support the design of New Energy Freedom, a new facility in Mason City, Iowa, that's projected to process corn stover and produce "commercial quantities of second-generation ethanol and clean lignin," the companies said. About half of the ethanol will be turned into bio-based ethylene feedstock for Dow products. Dow stock is up 1.9% in 2023, compared to a 19.3% increase by the S&P 500 SPX.
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May 25, 2023
The Invesco QQQ Trust Series exchange-traded fund QQQ, which tracks the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 NDX, jumped 2.3% toward a 13-month high in premarket trading Thursday, with a big rally in Nvidia Corp. shares NVDA providing a boost. The QQQs rally comes even as 57 of its components were traded down ahead of the open. Meanwhile, Nvidia's stock rocketed 29.3% to pace the gainers, which put it on track for the biggest one-day percentage gain since it soared 29.8% on Nov. 11, 2016, after the semiconductor maker's blow out earnings report. Nvidia was the fourth-highest weighted QQQ component at 5.23% as of March 31. The highest weighted components are Microsoft Corp. MSFT at 12.57%, Apple Inc. AAPL at 12.34% and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN at 6.22%. In Thursday's premarket, shares of Microsoft rallied 2.9%, Apple tacked on 0.2% and Amazon slipped 0.3%. The QQQs' rally comes as futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.8%.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Unum Group UNM rose 0.3% in premarket trading, after the insurer raised its quarterly dividend by 10.6%, to 36.5 cents a share from 33.0 cents a share. The new dividend is expected to be paid in the third quarter of 2023. Based on Wednesday's stock closing price of $44.89, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 3.25%, which compares with the yield for the SPDR S&P Insurance exchange-traded fund of 1.95% and the implied yield of the S&P 500 SPX of 1.66%. Unum's stock has advanced 9.4% year to date through Wednesday, while the insurance ETF has lost 5.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 7.2%.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Ralph Lauren Corp. RL rallied 5.3% in premarket trading Thursday, after the luxury apparel and accessories company reported a big fiscal fourth-quarter profit beat and revenue that topped forecasts, as strength in Asia offset declines in North America and Europe. Net income for the quarter to April 1 rose to $32.3 million, or 48 cents a share, from $24.4 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share jumped to 90 cents from 49 cents, well above the FactSet consensus of 60 cents. Revenue grew 1.2% to $1.54 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.47 billion, as Asia revenue increased 13% to $390 million, while North American revenue fell 3% to $656 million and Europe revenue slipped 1% to $461 million. For the first quarter, the company expects revenue to be "down slightly," while the FactSet consensus of $1.54 billion implies 3.3% growth. The stock has shed 9.0% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 3.7%.
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May 25, 2023
Wireless Telecom Group Inc. WTT stock is rallying by 29.6% in premarket trade on Thursday after it said it agreed to be acquired for $2.13 a share by California-based Maury Microwave Inc. in an all-cash transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter. The price amounts to a premium of 34% to the its closing share price on Wednesday and a 50% premium since the date of its July, 2022 announcement of its strategic alternatives process.
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May 25, 2023
Medtronic Plc MDT said Thursday it's acquiring South Korean insulin patch company EOFlow Co. Ltd. KR:294090 in a deal valued at about $738 million. The EOPatch is a tubeless, wearable and disposable insulin delivery device, which Medtronic plans to combine with its meal detection technology algorithm and continuous glucose monitor to "expand the company's ability to address the needs of more individuals with diabetes, no matter where they are in their treatment journey or preference for how they want their insulin delivered," Medtronic said. The deal comes about 12 years after EOFlow launched.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Dollar Tree Inc. DLTR took a 10.5% dive Thursday, after the discount retailer missed fiscal first-quarter profit expectations and cut its full-year outlook, as elevated shrink and a shift in buying patterns to consumables weighed on results. Net income for the quarter to April 29 dropped to $299.0 million, or $1.35 a share, from $536.4 million, or $2.37 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.47 was below the FactSet consensus of $1.52. Revenue grew 6.1% to $7.32 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $7.28 billion. Overall same-store sales rose 4.8% to beat the 3.6% FactSet consensus, as Dollar Tree same-store sales increased 3.4% to top expectations of a 2.2% rise, and as Family Dollar same-store sales rose 6.6% to to beat expectations of 5.7%. Looking ahead, the company expects second-quarter EPS of 79 cents to 89 cents, well below the FactSet consensus for net EPS of $1.18, and cut its full-year EPS guidance range to $5.73 to $6.13 from $6.30 to $6.80. The company raised its guidance range for net sales to $30.0 billion to $30.5 billion from $29.9 billion to $30.5 billion. "While we are seeing early results from our initiatives, we are not immune to the external pressures affecting all of retail, notably, the margin impact of elevated shrink and the product mix shift to consumables," said Chief Executive Officer Rick Dreiling. The stock has gained 9.8% year to date through Wednesday while the S&P 500 SPX has tacked on 7.2%.
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May 25, 2023
Medtronic Plc stock MDT rose 0.9% in premarket trades after the medical device company's fourth-quarter adjusted profit and revenue beat analyst expectations. Medtronic said its fourth-quarter profit fell to $1.18 billion, or 88 cents a share, from $1.49 billion, or $1.10 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted fourth-quarter profit of $1.57 cents a share exceeded the analyst forecast of $1.55 a share, according to estimates compiled by FactSet. Medtronic's fourth-quarter revenue rose by 5.6% to $8.54 billion from $8.09 billion and beat the analyst expectation of $8.25 billion. Looking ahead, Medtronic said it expects fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings of $5 to $5.10 a share including the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange, compared to the analyst estimate of $5.19 a share. Separately, Medtronic said it's acquiring South Korean insulin delivery medical device company EOFlow Co. Ltd. KR:294090 in a deal valued at about $738 million.
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May 25, 2023
Toronto-Dominion Bank stock TDCA:TD is down 1.5% in premarket trading on Thursday after the Canadian bank with a sizeable U.S. presence said it does not expect to meet its medium-term adjusted earnings per share growth target of 7% to 10%. The bank blamed the mutual termination of its deal to buy First Horizon Corp. FHN as announced on May 4, as well as "deterioration in the macroeconomic environment." TD's second-quarter profit fell to C$3.35 billion, or C$1.72 a share, from C$3.81 billion, or C$2.07 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted profit of C$1.94 a share missed the analyst estimate of C$2.08 a share. Second-quarter revenue rose to C$12.37 billion from C$11.26 billion, and slightly beat the analyst view of C$12.35 billion. The bank's Wealth Management and Insurance net income fell 16% to C$563 million, reflecting lower earnings in the wealth management business.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Best Buy Co. Inc. leapt 4.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after the electronics retailer reported fiscal first-quarter profit that beat expectations but fell a bit shy on revenue, while maintaining its full-year outlook. Net income for the quarter to April 29 fell to $244 million, or $1.11 a share, from $341 million, or $1.49 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 topped the FactSet consensus of $1.10. Revenue fell 11.1% to $9.47 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $9.53 billion, while the 10.1% drop in same-store sales matched expectations. Cost of sales fell more than revenue, down 11.8% to $7.32 billion, as gross margin improved to 22.7% from 22.1%. ""In this environment, customers are clearly feeling cautious and making tradeoff decisions as they continue to deal with high inflation and low consumer confidence due to a number of factors," said Chief Executive Officer Corie Barry. "At the same time, in the first quarter, we continued to see our purchasing customer behavior remain relatively consistent in terms of demographics and the percentage of purchases categorized as premium." Best Buy affirmed its fiscal 2024 guidance ranges for EPS of $5.70 to $6.50, for revenue of $43.8 billion to $45.2 billion and for same-store sales to decline 3% to 6%. The stock, which closed Wednesday at a 6-month low, has lost 13.8% year to date while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 7.2%.
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May 25, 2023
MetLife Inc. MET has entered into an agreement with Global Atlantic Financial Group to reinsure approximately $19.2 billion of U.S. retail universal life, variable universal life, universal life with secondary guarantees, and fixed annuity statutory reserves. The combined value of the transaction is expected to be approximately $3.25 billion with a ceding commission of $2.25 billion and $1 billion of capital that will be released, according to a statement released by MetLife early Thursday. "This transaction is another critical step in creating long-term value for our shareholders and for all our stakeholders," said MetLife CEO Michel Khalaf, in the statement. "It will reduce enterprise risk and enable us to further invest in responsible growth while also returning capital to our shareholders — underscoring our financial strength and our balanced approach to capital management." The transaction is expected to positively impact several of the key financial metrics, according to MetLife. These include adding to the insurance company's adjusted earnings per share and contributing to the company's 13% to 15% adjusted return on equity target. MetLife's Board has also approved a $1 billion increase in the company's share repurchase authorization. This is incremental to the $3 billion authorization announced earlier this month, and brings MetLife's total share repurchase authorization outstanding to roughly $4 billion, the company said. MetLife's stock rose 1.6% in premarket trades. Last month MetLife raised its dividend by 4%, citing strong free cash flow generation.
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May 25, 2023
Shares of Burlington Stores Inc. BURL dropped 1.8% in premarket trading Thursday, after the discount apparel retailer reported fiscal first-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations, as lower tax refunds and cooler weather weighed on sales. Net income doubled, to $32.7 million, or 50 cents a share, from $16.2 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 84 cents missed the FactSet consensus of92 cents. Revenue grew 10.7% to $2.14 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $2.17 billion, as same-store sales growth of 4% missed expectations of a 6.3% rise. "We had gotten off to a very strong start but then the trend fell off in March," said Chief Executive Officer Michael Sullivan. "We believe that this weakening in the trend was driven by two external and transitory factors - lower tax refunds and cooler weather leading up to Easter." He said business as seen "a nice pick-up" since mid-April. The company said it expects fiscal 2023 adjusted EPS of $5.50 to $6.00, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $5.94, and expects total sales growth of 12% to 14%, while the FactSet consensus of $9.78 billion implies 12.6% growth. The stock has tumbled 25.6% over the past three months through Wednesday while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 3.7%.
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May 25, 2023
Nano Dimension Ltd. NNDM said Thursday it has launched a tender offer at $18 per share in cash for to purchase between 38.8% to 40.8% of the outstanding shares of Stratasys Ltd. SSYS in an effort to increase its stake in the 3-D printing company to 53% to 55%. The news comes just moments after Stratasys announced plans to combine with Desktop Metal Inc. DM in an all-stock deal valued at $1.8 billion. Nano Dimension said it's still determined to creating a market leader in the additive manufacturing space. "As we had previously indicated to the Stratasys Board, given their continued refusal to engage in negotiations, we have decided to present our offer directly to Stratasys' shareholders," said Yoav Stern, Nano Dimension's chairman and CEO. "We believe our offer delivers certain all-cash value to Stratasys' shareholders at a premium in excess of what Stratasys can deliver to its shareholders." Stratasys shareholders have until June 26 to tender their shares into the offer. Stratasys stock was up 3% premarket, while Desktop Metal was up 6%. Nano Dimension shares were not yet active.
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May 25, 2023
Stratasys Ltd. SSYS and Desktop Metal Inc. DM said Thursday they have agreed to combine in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.8 billion that will create a new company in the 3-D printing space. Under the terms of the board-approved deal, Desktop Metal shareholders will receive 0.123 shares of Stratasys for each share owned, equal to about $1.88 per share. Once the deal closes — expected to happen in the fourth quarter — Stratasys shareholders will own 59% of the new company, while Desktop shareholders will own the remaining 41%. Minneapolis-based Stratasys expects the deal to boost growth and said the new company will target $1.1 billion in 2025 revenue. "The combination of these two great companies marks a turning point in driving the next phase of additive manufacturing for mass production,' said Ric Fulop, chief executive of Burlington, Mass.-based Desktop Metal in a statement. The two companies are active in the aerospace, automotive, consumer products, healthcare and dental sectors. Both companies reaffirmed guidance for 2023 offered with their first-quarter earnings. Desktop Metal stock rose 6.3% premarket, while Stratasys fell 2%.
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May 25, 2023
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. APD announced Thursday an agreement to buy and operate a natural gas-to-syngas facility in Uzbekistan for $1 billion. The industrial gases company's stock was still inactive in premarket trading. The energy facility is part of the state-owned Uzbekneftegaz JSC's (UNG) gas-to-liquid (GTL) facility. Under terms of the deal, Air Products will own and operate two air separation units, two auto-thermal reforming units and a hydrogen production unit within the GTL complex, and supply oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and syngas under a contract to UNG. Air Products' stock has dropped 12.1% year to date while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 7.2%.
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May 24, 2023
The top Triple-A credit ratings of the U.S. were placed on "rating watch negative" by credit firm Fitch Ratings on Wednesday, due to "brinkmanship" in Washington, over raising the government's borrowing limit and the nation's growing debt burden.After the U.S. reached its $31.4 trillion debt limit in January, the Treasury has been taking "extraordinary measures" to avoid breaching the debt ceiling, but is expected to exhaust its options as soon as June 1, 2023, or the "X-date," with cash balances at the Treasury falling to $76.5 billion as of May 23, Fitch said."The failure to reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt limit by the x-date would be a negative signal of the broader governance and willingness of the U.S. to honor its obligations in a timely fashion, which would be unlikely to be consistent with a ‘AAA' rating," Fitch said.Also, avoiding a default by minting "a trillion-dollar coin or invoking the 14th amendment is unlikely to be consistent with a ‘AAA' rating and could also be subject to legal challenges," the rating firm said.While Fitch said the likelihood of the U.S. failing to make full and timely payments of its debt securities was a "very low probability event," it would be considered a debt default that would result in ratings on affected securities being slashed to "D," with other debt securities maturing in the following 30 days downgraded to "CCC."S&P Global Ratings in 2011 cut its long-term credit ratings for the U.S. to AA from Triple A, after a protracted U.S. debt-ceiling fight.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. RRGB were up 5.5% after hours on Wednesday after the restaurant chain offered a more upbeat full-year sales forecast and reported a surprise per-share profit for its first quarter and revenue that came in above expectations. Red Robin said it expected same-store sales gains of between 2% and 4% this year, and total revenue of "at least" $1.3 billion, which was slightly more bullish than a prior forecast for "approximately" $1.3 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected full-year sales of $1.29 billion, with a same-store sales increase of 4.2%. Red Robin also bumped its restaurant operating profit to at least 13.5%, up from an earlier outlook for at least 13%, but forecast higher costs and capital expenses. For its first quarter, the chain reported a net loss of $3.1 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with $3.1 million, or 20 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose to $418 million from $395.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted for items like litigation contingencies, severance and restaurant closure costs, Red Robin earned 25 cents a share. Same-store sales rose 8.6%. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a 57-cent adjusted per-share loss, on revenue of $405.6 million, with an 8.5% same-store sales increase.
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May 24, 2023
All 213 Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives support a "discharge petition" that could end the debt-ceiling standoff, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark told reporters on Wednesday. It would need to get the support of five House Republicans in order to pass the 435-seat chamber. A discharge petition is a parliamentary procedure that lets lawmakers bypass leadership, which is critical since the House is currently run by Republicans.
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May 24, 2023
WeWork Inc. WE said in a filing late Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Andre Fernandez is resigning, effective June 1. This comes a little over a week after WeWork announced the departure of CEO Sandeep Mathrani. In the filing, WeWork said that the CFO departure "is not the result of any disagreement with the company with respect to any matter relating to financial controls, financial statements or any other operations, policies or practices." WeWork's board has appointed Kurt Wehner, chief accounting officer, as CFO and treasurer, effective June 1. Shares of WeWork rose 1% in the aftermarket after ending the regular trading day down 2.6%.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of American Eagle Outfitters Inc. AEO fell 14% after hours on Wednesday after the clothing retailer forecast a "low-single digits" sales decline for the second quarter, amid "ongoing macro challenges" that have led to more muted demand for apparel. Analysts polled by FactSet expected sales growth of around 1% for that quarter. For its first quarter, American Eagle reported net income of $18.5 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with $31.7 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose slightly to $1.08 billion, compared with $1.06 billion in the prior-year quarter. Excluding impairment and restructuring charges, American Eagle earned 17 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings per share of 16 cents, on revenue of $1.07 billion.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Guess Inc. GES rose more than 5% in the aftermarket Wednesday after the retailer reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted fiscal first-quarter loss and sales that were above Wall Street expectations. Guess lost $11.8 million, or 22 cents a share, in the quarter, swinging from earnings of $8 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, Guess lost 7 cents a share. Revenue dropped 4% to $570 million. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Guess to report an adjusted loss of 28 cents a share on sales of $556 million. Guess also raised its dividend to 30 cents a share, from 22.5 cents a share. The retailer guided for a fiscal 2024 revenue increase between 2% and 4%, and adjusted EPS between $2.60 and $2.90. Guess shares ended the regular trading day down 0.8%.
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May 24, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday appeared to push back against some of his fellow Republicans who have expressed skepticism about Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's debt-ceiling deadline of June 1. "Whoever is the secretary of the Treasury, I'm going to take whatever date they say," the California Republican said during a Fox Business interview. "There's probably leeway … but if she says that's the date, that's the date I've been working on."
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May 24, 2023
Microsoft Corp. MSFT security researchers said late Wednesday they uncovered a China state-sponsored hack against critical U.S. infrastructure. In a blog post, Microsoft said it "uncovered stealthy and targeted malicious activity focused on post-compromise credential access and network system discovery aimed at critical infrastructure organizations in the United States." The attack is being led by Volt Typhoon, a state-sponsored actor based in China, "that typically focuses on espionage and information gathering." Microsoft said the group has been active since mid-2021 and has already targeted Guam and other unspecified targets in the U.S., and sees Volt Typhoon developing capabilities "that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises."
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May 24, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy continued to sound somewhat upbeat on Washington's debt-ceiling standoff, as he spoke on Wednesday during a Fox Business interview. "We are in the room right now negotiating," the California Republican said. "I think things are going a little better, but you know the challenge here. Democrats continue to want to spend more."
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May 24, 2023
U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday, with the Dow posting a four-session skid, as the White House and House Republicans continued debt-ceiling talks ahead of a fast-approaching deadline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell about 255 points, or 0.8%, ending near 32,800, booking a fourth session in a row of declines, its longest stretch of losses in about two weeks, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 index SPX shed 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP closed down 0.6%, according to preliminary FactSet figures. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that it's "almost certain" that the federal government won't be able to meet all of its obligations in early June if Congress doesn't strike a deal on the U.S. debt limit, and that she's worried about "substantial financial-market distress" even when there's an agreement to avoid a default. The 2-year Treasury yield rose to 4.34%, it highest since March 10, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The 1-month Treasury bill rate BX:TMUBMUSD01M was 5.67%, according to FactSet, while bills maturing right around the so-called "X-date," or around June 1 when Yellen said the government is expected to be unable to pay all of its bills, were north of 6%.
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May 24, 2023
In a note released Wednesday, a team of analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said they see the odds of Washington negotiators failing to reach a deal to lift the debt ceiling by early June at "around 25% and rising." Under such a scenario, they said, there's a "very high likelihood" that Treasury would prioritize principal and interest payments, which would avoid a technical default on government debt. Even so, there would "still be several adverse effects, including a likely downgrade of the U.S. credit rating." They also see the so-called X-date, or time when the government is likely to be unable to pay its obligations, as falling between June 1 and June 7. All three major stock indexes were lower in the final hour of trading on Wednesday, with a lack of progress on the debt ceiling weighing down markets.
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May 24, 2023
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign, filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission before an evening conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. DeSantis, a Republican, is set to join Musk at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Twitter Spaces, the site's platform for audio chats. DeSantis will join former President Donald Trump, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and several others in competing for the GOP nomination.
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May 24, 2023
Oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, finding support after the Energy Information Administration reported a 12.5 million-barrel weekly fall in U.S. crude inventories, the biggest year to date. Meanwhile, analysts said remarks from Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's energy minister, on Tuesday, warning traders about betting on continued declines in oil prices, hinted at the potential for another output cut by major oil producers. The group of producers known as OPEC will hold its next meeting in early June. July West Texas Intermediate crude CLN23 rose $1.43, or 2%, to settle at $74.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of video and audio editing software maker Avid Technology Inc. AVID jumped Wednesday following a report the company has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale. Avid shares rallied as much as 18% following Reuters' reporting of the matter, citing unnamed sources close to the proceedings. Avid has asked Goldman Sachs to begin collecting binding offers, according to the report.
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May 24, 2023
Gold futures tallied a third consecutive session decline on Wednesday to settle at their lowest in nearly a week. Strength in the U.S. dollar pressured prices, leading gold to give up early gains that had been driven by uncertainty surrounding a U.S. debt-ceiling deal. Gold for June delivery GCM23 fell $9.90, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,964.60 an ounce on Comex, the lowest most-active contract finish since May 18, FactSet data show.
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May 24, 2023
Yields on 1-year through 30-year Treasurys jumped Wednesday afternoon as traders assessed comments from Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, which were interpreted as being hawkish. The 1-year rate led the advance, jumping 8 basis points to 5.15%, though the policy-sensitive 2-year rate was up only 1 basis point, at 4.357%. Waller said he would back more rate hikes unless the Fed sees further progress on inflation, and that policy makers need to maintain flexibility between now and their June meeting on the best decision to take. With Waller seen as talking about higher rates for longer, Treasury supply also weighed on the market as traders positioned for the long Memorial Day weekend, said Larry Milstein, senior managing director of government-debt trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co.
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May 24, 2023
First Citizens Bancshares Inc. FCNCA laid off nearly 500 former Silicon Valley Bank staff on Wednesday, Axios reported, with most in the failed bank's commercial banking segment. The move was made after First Citizens Bank in March agreed to buy up virtually all the loans and other assets from the institution set up by the FDIC to replace SVB — Silicon Valley Bridge Bank N.A. A source told Axios the layoffs made up less than 3% of First Citizens' full staff. "Given the challenges faced by SVB in early 2023, it is increasingly clear that we must make decisions to right-size our scope and scale to remain competitive," First Citizens Chief Executive Frank Holding Jr. said in an email to employees, according to Axios. First Citizens did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shares fell 0.5% in midday trade.
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May 24, 2023
The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 12.5 million barrels for the week ended May 19. That compared to an average decline of 500,000 barrels forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The EIA report showed weekly inventory declines of 2.1 million barrels for gasoline and 600,000 barrels for distillates. Analysts had forecast a weekly fall of 800,000 barrels for gasoline and distillates stockpiles were expected to be unchanged for the week. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., Nymex delivery hub rose by 1.7 million barrels for the week, the EIA said.
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May 24, 2023
Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey said there was still a chance the U.K. government could meet its forecast of halving inflation this year, even after data showed a stronger-than-forecast 8.7% year-over-year rise in consumer prices in April. The peak for inflation was 11.1%. Speaking at the WSJ CEO Council event in London, he said the central bank needed to focus on two aspects, food inflation and core inflation. Bailey said "spiral" was not the right word to describe wage inflation as he also said only about 30% of the impact of previous rate hikes has been passed through to the economy. The yield on the 2-year gilt surged 19 basis points to 4.32%.
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May 24, 2023
U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors remained focused on the debt-ceiling negotiations in Washington. The S&P 500 SPX fell by 22 points, or 0.5%, ato 4,123. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA declined by 111 points, or 0.4%, at 32,939. The Nasdaq Composite COMP retreated by 82 points, or 0.6%, to 12,480.
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May 24, 2023
Insperity Inc. NSP said Wednesday that it raised its quarterly cash dividend by 9.6%, to 57 cents a share from 52 cents. The provider of human resources services said shareholders of record on June 8 will be paid the new dividend on June 22. Based on Tuesday's stock closing price of $112.88, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 2.02%, which compares with the implied yield for the S&P 500 SPX of 1.65%. Insperity's stock, which was still unchanged in premarket trading, has slipped 0.6% year to date while the S&P 500 has gained 8.0%.
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May 24, 2023
Citigroup Inc. C announced Wednesday that it will pursue an initial public offering (IPO) of its consumer, small business and middle-market banking operations in Mexico. Citi's stock slumped 1.3% in premarket trading. The banking giant said the business will keep its name Banco Nacional de México, also known as Banamex. The IPO will follow the planned separation of its institutional business, which will remain part of Citi. "After careful consideration, we concluded the optimal path to maximizing the value of Banamex for our shareholders and advancing our goal to simplify our firm is to pivot from our dual path approach to focus solely on an IPO of the business," said Citi Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser. The IPO is expected to occur in 2025. Separately, the company said it expects to resume a "modest level" of share repurchases in the current quarter, but will continue to assess buybacks on a quarter-by-quarter basis given uncertainty regarding regulatory capital requirements. Citi's stock has edged up 1.5% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8.0%.
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May 24, 2023
Petco Health & Wellness Co. Inc.'s stock WOOF fell 2.3% in premarket trades Wednesday after the pet food and health products company beat earnings and revenue expectations, but left its full-year outlook unchanged. The company posted a net loss of $1.9 million, or a loss of 1 cent a share, after net income of $24.7 million or earnings of 9 cents a share, in the prior year's quarter. Petco said this was driven primarily by a 5 cent per share per share increase in interest expense year-over-year. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 6 cents a share, compared to 14 cents a share in the same period last year, but above the FactSet consensus of 5 cents a share. Petco's revenue was $1.56 billion, an increase of 5.4% on the same period last year, which the company said was driven by strength in the company's consumables business and services. However, Petco's supplies and companion animal business was down 7.6% compared with the prior year's quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for revenue of $1.499 billion. Same-store sales grew 5.1%, above the FactSet consensus of 1.1%. "We continue to execute on our strategy amidst the current environment, delivering our 18th consecutive quarter of comp sales growth in the first quarter, driven by the ongoing strength in consumables and record performance in our services business," said Petco CEO Ron Coughlin, in a statement. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2023 guidance of revenue between $6.150 billion and $6.275 billion and adjusted earnings of 40 cents to 48 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are looking for revenue of $6.246 billion and adjusted earnings of 43 cents a share.
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May 24, 2023
Petco Health & Wellness Co. Inc.'s stock WOOF fell 2.3% in premarket trades Wednesday after the pet food and health products company offered soft revenue guidance for the current year. Petco beat analysts' top and bottom line expectations in its first-quarter results, released before market open. The company posted a net loss of $1.9 million, or a loss of 1 cent a share, after net income of $24.7 million or earnings of 9 cents a share, in the prior year's quarter. Petco said this was driven primarily by a 5 cent per share per share increase in interest expense year-over-year. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 6 cents a share, compared to 14 cents a share in the same period last year, but above the FactSet consensus of 5 cents a share. Petco's revenue was $1.56 billion, an increase of 5.4% on the same period last year, which the company said was driven by strength in the company's consumables business and services. However, Petco's supplies and companion animal business was down 7.6% compared with the prior year's quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for revenue of $1.499 billion. Same-store sales grew 5.1%, above the FactSet consensus of 1.1%. "We continue to execute on our strategy amidst the current environment, delivering our 18th consecutive quarter of comp sales growth in the first quarter, driven by the ongoing strength in consumables and record performance in our services business," said Petco CEO Ron Coughlin, in a statement. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2023 guidance of revenue between $6.150 billion and $6.275 billion and adjusted earnings of 40 cents to 48 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet are looking for revenue of $6.246 billion and adjusted earnings of 43 cents a share.
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May 24, 2023
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. SRPT said Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has indicated after talks with the company that it's working toward granting accelerated approval of SRP-9001, its latest treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD. The agency said that's subject to the completion of its Biologics License Application (BLA) review and that it would initially be for use in patients aged 4 to 5 years old. The FDA also told Sarepta that if the confirmatory Phase 3 study of SRP-9001 meets its objectives, it would entertain a non-age restricted expansion of the label. The trial is fully enrolled and top-line data are expected in the fourth quarter. The FDA further said it may require ‘modest additional time" to complete the review, "including final label negotiations and postmarketing commitment discussion." The agency is expecting the review to be complete by June 22. An FDA advisory panel voted 8-6 in favor of accelerated approval for the therapy earlier this month, despite questions about the therapy's clinical benefit and safety. DMD is an inherited disorder of progressive muscular weakness that typically affects boys. Symptoms that appear in early childhood include frequent falls, difficulties getting up or running and learning disabilities, and patients have a life expectancy of about 27. The stock fell 12% premarket.
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May 24, 2023
Cathie Wood's ARK Investment scooped up more than $17.5 million worth of Zoom Video Communications Inc. shares ZM Tuesday, when the stock sold off 8% after the company's latest earnings report. The ARK Innovation ETF ARKK bought up 230,964 shares of Zoom, worth $15.2 million based on Tuesday's closing levels. The Ark Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW added 36,168 shares of Zoom, worth $2.4 billion as of Tuesday's close. ARK disclosed the purchases in a daily trade notice posted to its website, though it didn't specify the price at which it bought stock. ARK disclosed the purchase of about $4 million worth of Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR shares a day earlier.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF rocketed 18.7% toward a seven-week high in premarket trading Wednesday, after the specialty apparel and accessories retailer reported a surprise fiscal first-quarter profit, amid strength in its Abercrombie brand. For the quarter to April 29, the company swung to net income of $16.6 million, or 32 cents a share, from a net loss of $16.5 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 39 cents beat the FactSet consensus for a per-share loss of 1 cent. Sales grew 2.9% to $836.0 million, above the FactSet consensus of $814.9 million, as Abercrombie brand sales rose 13.6% to $436.0 million while Hollister brand sales dropped 6.7% to $400 million. Overall same-store sales rose 3%. Looking ahead, the company expects second-quarter sales growth of 4% to 6%, while the FactSet consensus of $814 million implies 1.1% growth. The company raised its fiscal 2023 sales growth guidance to 2% to 4% from 1% to 3%. The stock has tumbled 20.6% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 4.4%.
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May 24, 2023
Express Inc.'s stock EXPR tumbled 13% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the clothing retailer posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and weaker-than-expected sales . Columbus, Ohio-based Express had a net loss of $73.4 million, or 99 cents a share, for the quarter to April 29, wider than the loss of $11.9 million, or 18 cents a share, posted in the year-earlier period. Sales fell 15% to $383.3 million from $450.8 million. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 79 cents and sales of $389.0 million. Same-store sales fell 14%, "due to a combination of external factors and challenges in our product assortments. The reduced consumer spending, increased price sensitivity in discretionary categories and aggressive promotional activity across the industry that began in 2022 continued into the first quarter of this year and negatively impacted our performance," said CEO Tim Baxter. Express is now in the midst of an overhaul of its business with the aim of restoring it to profitability with partner WHP Global, he said. The company in January committed to cost cuts of $40 million in 2023 and has now identified another $25 million to be cut this year. It also completed the acquisition of Bonobos with WHP, which is expected to boost e-commerce. The company paid owner Walmart $75 million to take over the online retailer. The stock is down 20% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8%.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Analog Devices Inc. ADI were falling about 5% in premarket trading Wednesday after the chip company beat expectations with the results for its latest quarter but fell short with its profit outlook and said revenue could "moderate" in the second half of the year. The company generated fiscal second-quarter net income of $978 million, or $1.92 a share, compared with $783 million, or $1.49 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, ADI earned $2.83 a share, up from $2.40 a share a year before and ahead of the FactSet consensus, which was for $2.75 a share. Revenue rose to $3.26 billion from $2.97 billion, while analysts had been looking for $3.21 billion. For the fiscal third quarter, ADI's management expects $3.0 billion to $3.2 billion in revenue, whereas the FactSet consensus was for $3.16 billion. Executives also model $2.42 to $2.62 in adjusted earnings per share, below the $2.65 FactSet consensus. "Looking to the second half, we expect revenue to moderate given the continued economic uncertainty and normalizing supply chains," Chief Executive Vincent Roche said. "However, I am confident in ADI's ability to navigate short-term business cycles due to the strength and diversity of our franchise, our hybrid manufacturing model, and alignment to secular growth trends."
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May 24, 2023
Children's Place Inc.'s stock PLCE slid 16% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the kids apparel retailer posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and sales that lagged estimates. "Our first quarter results were negatively impacted by the ongoing macro-tension which resulted in outsized pressure on our core customer by limiting their purchasing power," Chief Executive Jane Elfers said in a statement. The company lowered its profit and sales guidance for the rest of the year. Secaucus, N.J.-based Children's Place had a net loss of $28.8 million, or $2.33 a share, for the quarter to April 29, after income of $19.8 million, or $1.43 a share, in the year-earlier period. Its adjusted loss came to $2.00, wider than the $1.83 FactSet consensus. Sales fell to $321.6 million from $362.4 million, also below the $337.0 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales fell 8.2%, while FactSet was expecting a 10% decline. The company is now expecting a second-quarter adjusted loss per share of $2.15 to $2.20 on sales of $340 million to $345 million. The FactSet consensus is for a loss of $1.61 and sales of $356 million. For the full year, it expects adjusted EPS of $1.00 to $1.50 on sales of $1.575 billion to $1.590 billion. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $2.15 and sales of $1.637 billion. The stock is down 35% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8%.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Quanta Services Inc. PWR gained 0.8% in premarket trading after the provider of infrastructure services for utilities and energy companies set a new $500 million stock repurchase program. The new program represents 2.1% of the company's market capitalization of $24.19 billion at Tuesday's close. The company also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 8 cents a share. At Tuesday's stock closing price of $166.61, the annual dividend rate of 32 cents a share, implies a dividend yield of 0.19%, which compares with the yield for the Industrial Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund XLI of 1.68% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 SPX of 1.65%. Quanta's stock has run up 16.9% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.0%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Kohl's Corp. KSS shot up 12.4% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the department-store chain reported a surprise fiscal first-quarter profit, even as sales fell a bit below forecasts. Net income for the quarter to April 29 was $14 million, or 13 cents a share, after income of $14 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago period, as the shares used in calculation of earnings per share fell 14% to 111 million. That beat the FactSet consensus for a per-share loss of 43 cents. Total revenue fell 3.9% to $3.57 billion, but topped the FactSet consensus of $3.55 billion, while net sales declined 3.3% to $3.36 billion to miss expectations of $3.42 billion. Same-store sales declined 4.3%, but that beat the FactSet consensus for a 4.5% drop. Gross margin improved to 39.0% from 38.3% and merchandise inventory fell 5.6% to $3.53 billion as of April 29. The company affirmed its fiscal 2023 guidance ranges for EPS of $2.10 to $2.70 and for net sales to decline 2% to 4%. The stock, which had closed at a 2 1/2-year low as recently as last Friday, has tumbled 34.1% over the past three months through Tuesday while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 4.4%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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May 24, 2023
PPG Industries Inc. PPG said Wednesday it is targeting annual adjusted per-share earnings growth of 8% to 12% through 2026, one of several goals the paint company outlined ahead of an investor day. Pittsburgh, Pa.-based PPG is targeting free cash flow of about $1 billion a year through 2026 and aims to achieve annual organic sales growth of 2% to 4%. Organic sales typically excludes any impact from currency. "Going forward, we will intentionally invest in focused growth opportunities that enhance our customers' productivity and sustainability, elevate our customer relationships and expand PPG's technology leadership positions in the coatings industry," CEO Tim Knavish said in a statement. The company is also committed to returning cash to shareholders, including through increased annual dividends, he added. The company's ESG goals include generating 50% of sales via sustainably advantaged products; achieving a 50% reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions relative to 2019 and a 30% reduction in scope 3 GHG emissions. The stock has gained 9% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 8%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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May 24, 2023
Shares of Nio Inc. NIO slumped 1.9% in premarket trading Wednesday, weighed down by rival China-based electric vehicle maker XPeng Inc. XPEV reported first-quarter results, which missed expectations by wide margins. Shanghai-based Nio is slated to report first-quarter results in early June. Also taking a hit, Texas-based Tesla Inc.'s stock TSLA fell 1.2%, as the EV giant generated 21% of its first-quarter revenue from China. Tesla's stock had lost 1.6% on Tuesday to snap a five-day win streak in which it had run up 13.5%. And Beijing-based Li Auto Inc.'s stock LI shed 1.0% ahead of Wednesday's open. XPeng's stock sank 5.5%, putting it on track to open at a two-month low. The weakness in the EV makers' stocks comes as futures ES00 for the S&P 500 SPX slipped 0.4%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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