2 hours ago
Apple Inc. has committed to spending more than $6 billion on original content for its upcoming streaming-video service, which it expects to launch within two months, the Financial Times reported Monday. That would beat the launch of rival Disney+ from Walt Disney Co. , which is set to debut Nov. 12. Apple has not yet announced a price for its TV+ service, nor many other details, though a separate Bloomberg News report Monday said Apple is weighing a price of $9.99 a month, with a likely free trial period. The FT reported the first-year budget for TV+ has grown from $1 billion to more than $6 billion as it attempts to create a strong library of content to compete with a growing field of rivals. In comparison, streaming leader Netflix Inc. spent $13 billion on original content last year, and is expected to spend even more this year. The FT report said Apple is winning support in Hollywood with deals offering more money earlier in the production process.
4 hours ago
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. shares fell in the extended session Monday after the drug maker said the Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about its muscular dystrophy treatment. Sarepta shares fell 12% after hours, following a 3.7% decline in the regular session to close at $120.31. The FDA cited a risk of infections in the intravenous sites where the drug was administered and concerns about kidney toxicity. "We are very surprised to have received the complete response letter this afternoon," said Doug Ingram, Sarepta president and chief executive, in a statement. "Over the entire course of its review, the agency did not raise any issues suggesting the non-approvability of golodirsen, including the issues that formed the basis of the complete response letter." Sarepta said it was immediately requesting a meeting with the FDA to determine its next steps.
4 hours ago
iQiyi Inc. , a streaming platform in China commonly compared with Netflix Inc. in the U.S., passed the 100-million-subscriber milestone in an earnings report released Monday, but shares fell more than 10% in late trading as financial results came in a bit lighter than expected. iQiyi reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of 2.3 billion renminbi ($339 million), or RMB3.22 a share, on sales of RMB7.1 billion, roughly $1 billion in U.S. currency. Analysts on average expected the company to report a loss of 3.17 renminbi on revenue of RMB7.16 billion. Total number of subscribers was 100.5 million, up nearly 50% from 67.1 million a year ago with 98.9% paying for the service. The company also undershot analysts' expectations with its second-quarter forecast, guiding for revenue of 7.21 billion to 7.63 billion renminbi, while the average analyst forecast was for 7.98 billion renminbi, according to FactSet. U.S. ADS's for iQiyi closed with a 5.9% gain at $18.08, but fell lower than $16 in after-hours trading following the report.
5 hours ago
Fabrinet shares dove in extended trading Monday after the fiber-optics company suggested its first-quarter performance will not live up to analysts' expectations. In a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, Fabrinet on Monday afternoon reported net income of $33 million, or 88 cents a share, on sales of $405.1 million, up from $345.3 million a year before. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other effects, the company claimed earnings of $1 a share, up from 81 cents a share in the same quarter the prior year. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of 94 cents a share on sales of $400 million, according to FactSet. For the first quarter of its new fiscal year, though, Fabrinet guided for a sequential decline, with adjusted earnings of 80 cents to 84 cents a share on sales of $386 million to $394 million. Analysts on average were expecting adjusted earnings of 95 cents a share on sales of $407 million, according to FactSet. After closing with a 1.6% advance at $56.46, shares were selling for less than $50 a share in after-hours trading Monday.
5 hours ago
U.S. shares of Baidu Inc. rallied in the extended session Monday after the after the Chinese internet search company topped Wall Street estimates. Baidu American depositary receipts rose 5% after hours, following a 7.8% gain in the regular session to close at $104.22. The company reported swinging to second-quarter net income of $351 million, or 96 cents a share, compared with a loss in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $1.47 a share. Revenue rose 1% to $3.84 billion from the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 88 cents on revenue of $3.66 billion. Baidu expects third-quarter revenue of $3.84 billion to $4.07 billion, while analysts had forecast on revenue of $3.99 billion.
5 hours ago
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. said late Monday that Nancy A. Walsh has been named its chief financial officer, effective Sept. 9. Walsh replaces interim CFO Timothy Mulvaney, who will return to his role as chief accounting officer. Walsh most recently served as Pier 1 Imports Inc. CFO, and also held positions at other retailers. Lumber Liquidators announced the resignation of its previous CFO, Martin Agard, in March. The company was fined earlier that month by the Securities and Exchange Commission for lying to investors in connection with emissions issues with some of its flooring products.
5 hours ago
Shares in Moderna Inc. jumped 7% in extended trading Monday, after the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration had approved its potential vaccine for the Zika virus for a fast track to approval. Zika, a disease spread by mosquitoes, spread in 2016, and many companies are attempting to develop vaccines to the disease. Moderna's attempt at a vaccine is currently in a Phase 1 study, and is being especially targeted to avoiding transmission of the disease from a mother to an unborn child. "Protecting against Zika virus transmission, particularly in women during pregnancy, continues to be an area of high unmet need. Fast Track designation supports our belief in the clinical potential of mRNA-1893 and the importance of developing an effective vaccine that can be rapidly developed and deployed," Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks said in Monday's announcement. Moderna went public late last year in the biggest initial public offering from a biotechnology company, raising more than $600 million at a valuation of more than $7 billion. Shares have struggled in recent months, closing Monday at $13.40, well short of the $23 price charged in the IPO but still enough for a $4.4 billion market cap.
6 hours ago
Stocks ended sharply higher Monday, further paring their August pullback as investors cheered talk of additional stimulus from global policy makers and a respite from negative trade-war headlines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 250 points, or 1%, to end near 26,136, according to preliminary figures, while the S&P 500 advanced around 35 points, or 1.2%, to close near 2,924. The Nasdaq Composite advanced around 107 points to end the day near 8,003, a gain of 1.4%. Analysts said trade concerns were soothed after the Commerce Department gave Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. another 90-day reprieve during which it can continue doing business with U.S. companies. Support was also tied to a move by the People's Bank of China to overhaul its interest-rate mechanism, which economists said would pave the way to lower borrowing costs for businesses. Also, Berlin indicated it was willing to employ fiscal stimulus if Germany's economy continues to slow.
6 hours ago
Walmart Inc. said Monday that it has partnered with BuzzFeed's Tasty video site for "shoppable" recipes, which will add the entire list of ingredients into a viewer's Walmart online grocery cart. Items can be picked up at any of more than 2,500 stores nationwide, or arranged for delivery from 1,100 stores. Tasty has more than 4,000 recipes. Walmart will also launch Tasty-branded products in a number of departments including deli and frozen meats. Walmart stock is up 22.3% for the year to date while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 12.1% for the period.
7 hours ago
Twitter Inc. tweeted Monday that it has found "coordinated account activity" linked to state-backed information operations from mainland China that have attempted to manipulate the public conversation regarding the protest movement in Hong Kong. Twitter said it has suspended the accounts. "These covert, manipulative behaviors have not place on our service--they violate the fundamental principles on which Twitter was built," the social media company tweeted. "We're adding the relevant information to our archive of information operations -- the largest of its kind in the industry." Twitter's stock rallied 3.1% in afternoon trading. It has run up 45.5% so far in 2019, while the S&P 500 has gained 16.8%.
7 hours ago
Shares of Yuma Energy Inc. rocketed nearly five-fold (up 366%) in very active afternoon trading Monday to bounce off a 40-year low, after the troubled Houston-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company reported audited second-quarter financial results, and said it has taken "significant steps to arrest the recent declines" of daily production. Trading volume topped 18 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 316,000 shares. The company had disclosed earlier a net loss that narrowed to $4.0 million, or $2.55 a share, from $4.4 million, or $2.86 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales of natural gas and crude oil dropped 71% to $1.67 million, as total production fell 68% to 53,873 barrels of oil equivalent. The company said it has "substantial doubt" in its ability to continue as a going concern for the 12 months following the release of results. Yuma said discussions regarding its restructuring and debt are "ongoing," and management is "hopeful" that it can reach an accord with its lenders. The stock, which closed Friday at the lowest level since August 1979, has not gained 32% over the past year, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has tumbled 20% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.
8 hours ago
Shares of Health Catalyst Inc. ran up 5.0% in afternoon trading Monday, after the Wall Street analysts who started coverage of the health data and analytics company were unanimously bullish. The company went public on July 25 at an initial public offering price of $26. Since closing that day at $39.17, the stock has now rallied 14%. In comparison, the Renaissance IPO ETF has shed 6.1% over the same time and the S&P 500 has declined 2.6%. All 7 analysts surveyed by FactSet who started covering Health Catalyst have the equivalent of buy ratings, while the average price target of $50.67 is 14% above current levels. Analyst Anne Samuel at J.P. Morgan, who initiated the company at overweight with a $50 stock price target, said Health Catalyst has less than 5% penetration of an $8 billion addressable market, "leaving significant runway for growth." SunTrust Robinson Humphrey's Sandy Draper started the company at buy with a $53 stock price target, citing an expected "long runway for growth," reinforced by an attractive revenue mix shift that should help improve gross margin as revenue grows.
8 hours ago
Shares of DXC Technology Co. rallied 4.8% in afternoon trading Monday, after the technology consulting company said it won a $666 million award in its dispute with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. . Under terms of the award by an arbitration panel, the $666 million will consist of $631.8 million in damages and $34.3 million in pre-award interest. In addition, the award includes post-award interest at an annual rate of 3%, compounding quarterly, until the award is paid out. Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares (HPE) rose 2.4%. DXC shares have plunged 40.9% over the past three months and HPE's stock has declined 10.3%, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has rallied 5.6% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 2.4%.
8 hours ago
Estee Lauder Cos. stock soared more than 11% in Monday trading after the beauty and skincare company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The upbeat result also gave competitor E.L.F. Beauty Inc. a bump, with that stock jumping 6.4%. Estee Lauder brands, including its namesake, Clinique and La Mer, operate on the high-end of the beauty spectrum. While E.L.F., which sells many items priced at $10 and below, is more affordable. Estee Lauder stock is up 53% for the year to date. E.L.F. shares are up more than 102%. And the S&P 500 index is up 16.8% for the period.
9 hours ago
The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it will launch its new streaming service Disney+ in Canada and The Netherlands on the same day, Nov. 12, as the U.S., followed on Nov. 12 by Australia and New Zealand. The company said the service will be priced at C$8.99 ($6.75) a month in Canada, or C$89.99 a year. It will be priced at 6.99 euros ($7.75) a month in the Netherlands or €69.99 a year. In Australia, the service will cost AUD$8.99 ($6.09) a month of AUD$89.99 a year, and in New Zealand, it will cost NZD$9.99 ($6.41) a month or NZD$99.99 a year. In the U.S. the company will offer a bundled product of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for just $12.99 a month. Shares were up 1.3% Monday and have gained 25% in 2019, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 17%.
10 hours ago
President Donald Trump on Monday criticized Fed Chairman Jerome Powell ahead of the central banker's highly anticipated speech later this week. In a series of tweets, Trump said the economy was very strong "despite the horrendous lack of vision by Jay Powell." The president repeated his call for the Fed to slash interest rates to bolster the U.S. and global economy. He urged the Fed to buy bonds and expand its balance sheet, a policy known as quantitative easing. Powell will speak Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern at the central bank's summer retreat at Jackson Hole.
10 hours ago
PG&E Corp.'s stock plunged 28% to a 7-month low in active morning trading Monday, after a court ruling that the California utility will have to face a jury trial over whether it is liable for damages from the Tubbs fire in 2017. Trading volume ballooned to 31.5 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 6.5 million shares. The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that although California investigators concluded that PG&E equipment didn't spark the Tubbs fire, lawyers for insurers and victims said they can prove that it did. Separately, a judge ruled that PG&E can control its own bankruptcy exit plan. The stock has tumbled 56% year to date, while the SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF has rallied 17% and the S&P 500 has climbed 17%.
11 hours ago
Shares of Nvidia Corp. shot up 5.5% in active morning trading Monday, after the graphics chip maker said "Minecraft" and other games now support real-time ray tracing, which will enhance visualizations. Trading volume topped 6.5 million shares within an hour after the open, already more than half the full-day average of about 10.1 million shares. Nvidia said its GeForce RTX graphics processing units are the only GPUs capable of playing games with real-time ray tracing. Nvidia said an update Minecraft to support ray tracing will be available for free. Among other games supporting ray tracing are "Dying Light 2," "Metro Exodus--The Two Colonels," "SYNCED: Off-Planet." Thes tock has climbed 7.6% over the past three months, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has advanced 7.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.1%.
12 hours ago
Lowe's Cos. said Monday that it will launch NFL-branded items like chairs, grills, drinkware, pet collars and holiday ornaments. Items will be online and select merchandise will be in stores. The retailer will also introduce an online video series, "NFL Homegating Makeovers by Lowe's," offering suggestions to fans about how they can host "homegating" events rather than go tailgating. Lowe's has also renewed a partnership with the Carolina Panthers and added a new partnership with the Dallas Cowboys. The partnership will bring Lowe's experiences to NFL home games throughout the season. Lowe's stock is up nearly 3% for the year to date while the S&P 500 index is up 16.5% for the period.
12 hours ago
U.S. stocks opened higher, putting key equity benchmarks on course for a third straight positive session, after reports that Germany was open to the use of deficit spending in the event of a recession. President Donald Trump's remarks that the U.S economy was doing well also helped to draw investors into risky assets. The S&P 500 rose 1% to 2,918. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 323 points, or 1.2%, to around 26,209. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.4% to 8,010. In company news, shares of Estee Lauder Cos. climbed 10% on Monday after its earnings beat expectations and the skincare company issued upbeat guidance.
13 hours ago
Plant-based protein company Beyond Meat Inc. and HelloFresh SE said Monday Beyond Burgers will become part of the meal kit business' Craft Burger collection. The first recipe will be Goudalicious Beyond Burgers with potato wedges and creamy mustard aioli, which will be available nationwide the week of September 14. The Beyond Burger launched on the Canadian HelloFresh menu in July. Beyond Meat stock has climbed 62% over the past three months, HelloFresh stock has gained 11.7%, and the S&P 500 index is up 1% for the period.
13 hours ago
Avnet Inc. said Monday it was increasing its dividend by 5% and adding $500 million to its stock repurchase program. The electronic components company's new quarterly dividend of 21 cents a share, up from 20 cents a share, will be payable Sept. 25 to shareholders of record on Sept. 11. Based on Friday's stock closing price of $40.99, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 2.05%, compared with the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 2.02%. The company said it now has $675 million available to buy back stock, which based on Friday's closing prices would represent about 16% of the shares outstanding. The stock has lost 5.5% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.0%.
13 hours ago
Sonos Inc. shares are up more than 5% in premarket trading Monday after Raymond James analyst Adam Tindle upgraded the stock to strong buy from outperform, citing favorable comparisons to peers. "Consider, Sonos currently trades in the same zip code as niche product company GoPro , and unprofitable company Arlo , yet Sonos has a two year revenue [compound annual growth rate] that is essentially double these companies and has done so while improving Ebitda margin and generating positive cash flow," he wrote. "We think this narrative changes as Sonos scales beyond its existing markets." He sees "early indications" that Sonos is gaining traction in some newer areas, including a partnership with Ikea. The stock has gained 13% over the past three months, as the S&P 500 has risen 1%.
13 hours ago
Shares of DPW Holdings Inc. are up 300% in premarket trading Monday after the company announced that it completed a beta test of MonthlyInterest.com, a financial technology portal for income-generating investments. The company, which had a market value of just over $2 million as of Friday's close, expects that the MonthlyInterest product "will be disruptive by providing investors the opportunity to invest directly into companies and technology that will have a global impact, bypassing traditional banking and lending institutions." DPW's stock is seeing the heaviest premarket volume among U.S. stocks. Shares have dropped 67% over the past three months, as the S&P 500 has risen 1%.
13 hours ago
Shares of Aramark shot up 12% toward a 10-month high in premarket trading Monday, after hedge fund Mantle Ridge L.P. disclosed that it had taken a large equity stake in the food and uniform services company. In a 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday, Mantle Ridge disclosed that it owned 24.1 million Aramark shares, or 9.8% of the shares outstanding. That would make Mantle Ridge the largest shareholder, according to FactSet data. Including cash-settled forward transactions and call options, Mantle Ridge sad it has "economic exposure" of a total of 49.3 million Aramark shares, or 20% of the shares outstanding. Mantle Ridge said in the 13D filing that it intends to have "conversations, meetings and other communications" with Aramark's board of directors, management and certain shareholders to discuss the company's business, strategies, governance and composition of the management team and board, regarding "possibilities" for changes. In a statement following the 13D, Aramark said it is "focused on maximizing long-term value for all of our shareholders, and welcomes open communication and constructive dialogue with our shareholders toward that goal." Stifel Nicolaus and Instinet both upgraded Aramark to buy on Monday. Aramark's stock has run up 28% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.
13 hours ago
Kroger Co. said Monday that it will expand its Kroger Express and Kroger Pickup pilot program to 35 stores in the Knoxville, Tenn. area. These stores will feature items that vary by location, but will include merchandise from Kroger's Our Brands. Other items can include fresh meat and produce and Home Chef meal kits. Most will feature all of the 2,300 items found at a Kroger Express, some will include as many as 2,700 items. Kroger Pickup allows customers to order digitally and pickup in stores. The Knoxville pilot will also include an expansion of a pilot that will put Walgreens' owned-brand items like No7 in 17 Kroger stores this fall. The original pilot for this program launched in northern Kentucky last year. Kroger stock has fallen 17.6% for the year to date, Walgreens stock has has taken a 26.8% tumble, and the S&P 500 index is up 15.2% for the period.
13 hours ago
A bomb detonated in County Fermanagh early Monday close to the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, according to Irish media reports. Nobody was injured, but police have closed roads on the southern side of the border at the request of of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Irish Times reported. Police officers and members of a bomb disposal team that had been called to investigate a suspicious device close to the area narrowly avoided injury, the paper said. Police believe the officers and bomb-disposal experts were deliberately lured to the scene in an attempt to hurt them. "While this investigation is at a very early stage I am of the firm belief this was a deliberate attempt to lure police and ATO colleagues into the area to murder them," the paper quoted PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin as saying.
13 hours ago
Shares of all 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average are gaining ground ahead of Monday's open, as upbeat comments on trade and the economy out of the White House and increasing hopes for stimulus out of China and Europe boosted investor sentiment. Among the biggest premarket Dow gainers, shares of Apple Inc. rose 1.8%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gained 1.8% and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. climbed 1.7%. The combined implied price gains of those stocks would add about 62 points to the Dow's price. Dow futures rose 264 points.
14 hours ago
Target Corp. said Monday that it is launching its largest privately-owned food and beverage brand, Good & Gather, in stores and online on September 15. By the end of 2020, the brand will include more than 2,000 products, including dairy, granola bars, and sparkling water. Target plans to phase out its existing brands, Archer Farms and Simply Balanced, and cut the number of items in the Market Pantry brand. Target is scheduled to announce its second-quarter earnings on August 21. Target stock is up 1.4% in premarket trading, and up 27.4% for the year to date. S&P 500 index is up 15.2% for 2019 to date.
14 hours ago
Troubled Canadian cannabis company CannTrust Holdings Inc. said Monday it has received notice from the Ontario Cannabis Store, the Crown corporation in charge of wholesale cannabis distribution to licensed cannabis retailers in the province, and operator of Ontario's biggest online recreational cannabis store, that some of its products are non-conforming under the master agreement between the two parties. As a result, the OCS is returning product worth about C$2.9 million ($2.2 million). The news sent CannTrust shares down 3.3% in premarket trade. The stock has lost 65% of its value in the last three months, ever since Health Canada seized five metric tons of product after discovering it was growing in unlicensed rooms. The company fired its Chief Executive Peter Aceto for cause and pushed out President Eric Paul, after The Globe and Mail uncovered emails showing management were aware of the unlicensed grow and that some of the illicit cannabis had been exported to Denmark, a breach of Canadian drug laws. Health Canada has since discovered irregularities at another CannTrust facility in Ontario.