6 min ago
Shares of CarMax Inc. surged 1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the used car retailer reported a fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations, as improved conversion rates offset lower store traffic. Net earnings for the quarter to Aug. 31 increased to $220.9 million, or $1.24 a share, from $181.4 million, or 98 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings of $1.22 a share. Sales rose 8.6% to $4.77 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.65 billion, as used vehicle sales rose 7.6% to $3.98 billion to top expectations of $3.95 billion. Same-store used unit sales rose 2.1%, beating the FactSet consensus of a 0.6% increase. The stock had edged up 0.7% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.1%.
43 min ago
Canada-based Supreme Cannabis Co. Inc. said Wednesday its 7Acres subsidiary has entered into a supply agreement with Tilray Inc. subsidiary Tilray Canada. Under the 12-month agreement starting Oct. 1, which is estimated to have a value of C$12 million ($9.3 million), 7Acres will provide dried cannabis to Tilray Canada to be used primarily to support medical cannabis patients in Canada. "We are happy to provide 7ACRES premium products alongside Tilray's well-regarded and existing lineup to support medical patients around the world," said Supreme Cannabis Chief Executive John Fowler. Supreme Cannabis shares have rallied 37% over the past three months, while the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF has climbed 31% and the S&P 500 has gained 7.1%.
1 hour ago
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Wednesday an agreement to buy Syntimmune for a total value of up to $1.2 billion. Syntimmune is a clinical-stage biotechnology company, which currently has a treatment for autoimmune hemolytic anemia being evaluated in phase 1b/2a studies. The deal includes an upfront payment of $400 million and up to $800 million in potential additional milestone payments. Alexion plans to finance the deal through cash on hand. Alexion's stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 7.9% year to date, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has rallied 12.6% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 9.1%.
1 hour ago
Pioneer Energy Services Corp. cut its outlook for international drilling utilization, citing unexpected unpaid standby time, and lowered its production services revenue and gross margin guidance ranges because of softer-than-anticipated activity. Shares of the land-based drilling services company for oil and gas production companies were still inactive in premarket trade. The company disclosed that it now expects international drilling utilization of 76% to 80%, down from previous guidance of 85% to 87%. Production services revenue guidance is now expected to decline 5% to 7% versus previous expectations of a 3%-to-5% decline and gross margin as a percentage of revenue is now expected to be 21% to 23% compared with previous expectations of 23% to 25%. The stock has tumbled 35% over the past three months, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has gained 2.8% and the S&P 500 has advanced 7.1%.
8 hours ago
A rare Apple 1 computer, one of only 200 originally built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at fledgling Apple Computer [S:AAPL] in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1976, was sold at auction Tuesday for $375,000, auctioneer RR Auction and auction platform Invaluable said in a press release. The computer is 1 of only 16 of the originals known to still be fully functional, Invaluable CEO Rob Weisberg said. The companies did not identify the seller or the buyer but said the seller originally purchased the machine for $300 and had earlier tried to sell it to Wozniak for $10,000.
8 hours ago
An Arizona prosecutor who specializes in sex crimes has been tabbed by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of a teenage sexual assault when the committee holds an extraordinary confirmation hearing Thursday. Rachel Mitchell, who works in the Maricopa County Attorney's office in Phoenix, was picked for her legal experience and objectivity, according to committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. The 11 Republican members of the committee are all men, but Grassley said the impetus for having just one questioner was to "depoliticize the process." Christine Blasey Ford, a California college professor, has charged that Judge Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when they were both teenagers. "We have hired a female assistant to go on staff and to ask these questions in a respectful and professional way," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R., Ky., told reporters earlier Tuesday. "We want this hearing to be handled very professionally, not a political sideshow"
The Washington Post first reported the selection of Mitchell.
12 hours ago
SVMK Inc. , the parent company of SurveyMonkey, will sell more shares than expected at a higher price than originally targeted in its initial public offering. The company said that it plans to sell at least 15 million shares at a price of $12 a share, after targeting a sale of 13.5 million shares at a price of $9 to $11 a share. SurveyMonkey also planned to sell $40 million in stock to the venture-capital arm of Salesforce.com Inc. , and there are 2.25 million more shares available to underwriters. At the IPO price, and including the Salesforce Ventures sale but not the potential greenshoe, SVMK would pull in $220 million at a valuation of about $1.5 billion. Shares are expected to begin trading Wednesday morning on the Nasdaq exchange, under the ticker symbol SVMK.
14 hours ago
Deutsche Bank AG has looked at merging with UBS Group AG , according to an account by Reuters of a report in German business daily newspaper Handelsblatt. The daily cited people familiar with the matter, according to Reuters. The possible merger, along with a potential merger with Commerzbank AG, was a topic at Deutsche Bank's strategy meeting earlier this month, Handelsblatt said.
15 hours ago
U.S. oil prices headed lower in the electronic trading session Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude supplies rose by 2.9 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 21, according to sources. The API data also showed supplies of gasoline up 949,000 million barrels, but distillates fell by 944,000 million barrels, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the EIA to report a fall of 2.2 million barrels in crude supplies. They also expect supply gains of 256,200 barrels in gasoline and 667,000 barrels in distillates. November crude was at $72.01 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the $72.28 settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
15 hours ago
Shares of KB Home rose more than 4% in the extended session Tuesday after the home builder reported third-quarter per-share earnings well above Wall Street expectations. KB Home said it earned $87.5 million, or 87 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $50.2 million, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 7% to $1.2 billion, from $1.1 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 77 cents a share on sales of $1.3 billion. "Our core homebuilding business continued to perform very well, as healthy demand in our served markets and effective execution on our distinctive customer-centric operating model drove revenue expansion, a 190-basis point improvement in operating margin, and a meaningful increase in net income," Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger said in a statement. KB Home stock ended the regular session down 0.9%.
15 hours ago
The former chief financial officer of Bankrate was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of accounting and securities fraud, the Justice Department said. Edward DiMaria also was ordered to pay restitution of $21 million. DiMaria in June pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to making false statements to a public company's accountants, falsifying a public company's books, records and accounts, and securities fraud; and one count of making materially false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Between 2010 and 2014, millions of dollars in unsupported expense accruals were purposefully left on Bankrate's books and then selectively reversed in later quarters to boost earnings, the Justice Department said. Bankrate is no longer public after being purchased in 2017.
15 hours ago
Shares of Nike Inc. fell more than 2% in the extended session Tuesday after the retailer posted fiscal 2019 first-quarter earnings that were above expectations but said its expenses increased. Nike earned $1.1 billion, or 67 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $950 million, or 57 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 10% to $9.9 billion, from $9.1 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Nike to report earnings of 62 cents a share on sales of $9.9 billion. Selling and administrative expense increased 7% to $3.1 billion, the company said, including "demand creation" expenses of $964 million, up 13%, driven by sports marketing investments, brand campaigns and key sports moments, the company said. "We are delivering stronger global growth and profitability than we anticipated entering this fiscal year," Chief Financial Officer Andy Campion said in a statement. Nike shares ended the regular session up 0.6%.
15 hours ago
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 on Tuesday extended a multisession skid while the Nasdaq booked its second straight gain, highlighting a period of divergence for the benchmarks ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision. The Dow closed off by about 67 points, or 0.3%, at 26,495, the S&P 500 index gave up 0.1% at 2,915. The S&P 500 has ended lower the past three days, while the Dow has posted back-to-back declines. However, the Nasdaq Composite Index eked out a second gain in a row, up 0.2% at 8,007, with the technology and internet-centric gauge following the fortunes of Apple Inc. higher for a second straight session. The Fed is widely expected to deliver its third rate increase of 2018 but investors will follow closely the central bank's projections for future rate increases as well as comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Wednesday afternoon. Wall Street has been fixated on the developments in trade clashes between China and the U.S., but have managed to post positive returns, amid an apparent escalation of tensions between the economic superpowers. Market participants fret a tit-for-tat dispute between Washington, Beijing and other global partners could spiral into a full-blown trade conflict that crimps corporate profits. However, so far stocks have traded within range of all-time highs as investors focus on the domestic economic strength. Equity benchmarks also met some resistance from rising yields, with the 10-year Treasury note hitting above 3.10%, flirting with its highest level in about seven years, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Bond prices fall as yield rise. Climbing rates follow expectations that the Fed will dial up rates, which can make borrowing costs more expensive for corporations, while also undermining the appeal of risk-free government paper against stocks. Market participants also watched President Donald Trump deliver a speech in front of the United Nationals general assembly in New York, where he criticized the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for higher crude-oil prices and defended his administrations hard-line trade tactics.
16 hours ago
Shares of General Electric Co. sank 4.1% in afternoon trade Tuesday, putting them on track to close at the lowest level since July 10, 2009. The industrial conglomerate's stock has now plunged 12% in four sessions, since issues with one of its gas turbines forced Exelon Corp. to shut down a plant, and prompt J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa to cut his price target to a Street low of $10. The latest selloff comes exactly three months after GE's last day in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on June 25, which ended its record 111-year run in the blue-chip barometer. GE's stock has now plunged 55% over the past 12 months, while the Dow has gained 19%.
17 hours ago
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to session lows Tuesday afternoon as a decline in shares of 3M Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. more than offset a sharp advance in those of McDonald's Corp. . Declines in UnitedHealth and 3M's shares were exacting a roughly 45-point toll on the Dow , which was outweighing a 25-point lift the blue-chip was garnering from fast=food giant McDonald's. A $1 move in any one of the price-weighted Dow's 30 components equates to a 6.8-point swing in the index. Most recently, the Dow was down by about 70 points, or 0.3%, at 26,492. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was trading 0.1% lower at 2,915, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was bucking the trend, gaining 0.1% at 8,004.
17 hours ago
Shares of Jaguar Health Inc. more than tripled in extremely volatile trade Tuesday, after the pharmaceutical company announced a distribution, license and supply agreement with Canada-based specialty pharmaceutical company Knight Therapeutics Inc. , in which Jaguar could receive up to $18 million in milestone payments from Knight. Jaguar stock, which closed Monday at 65 cents, had been up as much as 285% at its intraday high of $2.50 before paring some gains, to be up 206% in afternoon trade. Volume spiked to 38.9 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 150,000 shares. The stock has been temporarily halted no less than 13 times for volatility throughout the day. The agreement with Knight grants Knight the exclusive right to commercialize Jaguar's Mytesi for the treatment of noninfectious diarrhea and related products in Canada and Israel, and the right to negotiate commercialization in Latin America. Despite the rally, Jaguar's stock was still down 5.1% year to date, while Knight shares have slipped 0.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.1%.
17 hours ago
Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison on Tuesday. The sentence is related to his assault of Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby was declared a "sexually violent predator" ahead of the sentencing, which he and his attorneys are expected to appeal, according to reports. The 81-year-old comedian was sentenced by Pennsylvania judge Steven O'Neill for drugging and sexually assaulting Constand amid allegations that he had similarly drugged other women. Being deemed a "sexually violent predator" means Cosby must undergo monthly counseling in perpetuity and report quarterly to authorities, according to the Associated Press. His name will appear on a sex-offender registry. Cosby was convicted in April of molesting Constand -- a former Temple University administrator -- about 14 years ago. The octogenarian actor is best known for "The Cosby Show."
17 hours ago
Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. is getting rid of the "Donuts" and shortening its name to simply Dunkin'. In a blog post, Tony Weisman, chief marketing officer for Dunkin' US, said the company is "moving to a first-name basis with America" with a name that's "simpler, shorter, more modern." New branding will appear starting January 2019. Dunkin' is up 1.2% in Tuesday trading, and up 14.3% for the year to date. The S&P 500 index has gained 9.1% for 2018 so far.
17 hours ago
Shares of China-based Viomi Technology Co. Ltd. shot up as much as 22% above the initial public offering price of $9 in its public debut, before pulling back sharply. After the initial run up to an intraday high of $10.95, the stock fell to a low of $8.97, or 0.3% below its IPO price, before bouncing slightly to be up 0.7% in afternoon trade. The company raised $102.6 million in the IPO, which valued the company at $811.8 million. Viomi has gone public at a time that the Renaissance IPO ETF has gained 2.2% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has advanced 7.3%.
18 hours ago
The Information reported Tuesday that Facebook Inc. looks likely to make Adam Mosseri the new head of Instagram, following the resignations of cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The report, which cites multiple anonymous sources, said that Mosseri's promotion is likely to come in the next few days. Mosseri currently serves as Instagram's vice president of product. The Information reported that sources say it's possible but unlikely that Facebook will pick another internal candidate for the position. Facebook shares have pared back most of their losses following the announcement that Systrom and Krieger would be leaving, but analysts have expressed concern about the departures. Shares are up 1.4% over the past 12 months, as the S&P 500 has gained 17%.
18 hours ago
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday introduced legislation to address the affordable housing gap. The bill, called the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act, would direct about $500 billion, primarily to build and rehabilitate housing for low- and moderate-income Americans. It would also create incentives for local governments to eliminate land use restrictions that drive up costs. It would also steer down payment assistance monies to communities historically denied mortgages by the government - people living in formerly redlined or officially segregated areas. And it would invest $2 billion "to support borrowers" who owe more in a mortgage than their homes are worth. If passed, the bill is projected to create 3.2 million new housing units and reduce rents by 10%, according to an independent analysis from Moody's Analytics. Warren proposes to pay for the policies by increasing the estate tax back to Bush-era levels.
18 hours ago
Square Inc. rolled out a new, dedicated payroll app on Tuesday, which will allow employers to approve time cards and pay employees. Over the past few quarters, merchant services such as payroll have helped contribute to the company's strong growth. Square has been successful in convincing merchants to pay for additional services beyond payment processing, including instant access to funds and invoicing. The new app puts the payroll service in a dedicated place. Shares of Automatic Data Processing Inc. turned negative in midday trading Tuesday, and they're now down 0.8%. Shares of Paychex Inc. are currently off 1.7%. Square stock continues to add to its gains, and it's now up 8.3%. Earlier Tuesday, an analyst raised his price target on the stock to $125, which is the highest listed on FactSet. The stock is up 240% over the past 12 months, as the S&P 500 has gained 17%.
19 hours ago
President Donald Trump will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Eastern, according to press secretary Sarah Sanders. In a tweet, Sanders said Trump will discuss the United Nations General Assembly trip as well as "news of the day." Trump is set to meet Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday, as his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is due to face questions about an allegation of sexual assault. Trump's position on whether he will sign a bill keeping the government open past September is also unclear.
19 hours ago
Prices for U.S. benchmark crude pared much of their earlier gains on Tuesday as President Donald Trump again pressured OPEC to lower oil prices and said the U.S. won't put up with "horrible" prices much longer. In a tweet, Javier Blas, chief energy correspondent at Bloomberg, suggested that additional barrels on the market could come from a U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve release. November West Texas Intermediate oil edged up by 3 cents to $72.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange--down from a high of $72.78. November Brent crude climbed 75 cents, or 0.9%, to $81.95 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
20 hours ago
Kohl's Corp. said Tuesday that it will launch a new women's private-label plus-size brand, EVRI, in spring 2019. EVRI, which stands for easy, versatile, real (value) and inspiring, will include sizes 0X to 4X in tops and 14W to 30W in bottoms. The line will be available both in stores and online. Kohl's will also roll out the Nike Plus brand in spring 2019, with merchandise for the entire family. The retailer also announced that it will launch Scott Living, a home lifestyle brand created through a partnership with HGTV's "Property Brothers," Drew and Jonathan Scott. The collection will include furniture, kitchen décor items, and more. It will be available in stores and online in fall 2019. Kohl's shares have rallied 37.4% for the year to date outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 9.3% for the period.
20 hours ago
The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges Tuesday with SG Americas Securities LLC, the registered broker-dealer and subsidiary of Paris-based Société Générale S.A., [ s: scgly] for the alleged improper handling of "pre-released" American Depositary Receipts or ADRs, predominantly by its predecessor entity, Newedge USA LLC. SG Americas was fined more than $800,000 for improperly providing thousands of pre-released ADRs over a more than three-year period when neither the broker nor its customers had the requisite shares. Such practices can potentially artificially inflate the total number of a foreign issuer's tradeable securities, diluting existing shareholders' equity. Some of the pre-released ADRs were also used for short selling that may not otherwise have occurred, potentially suppressing the price of the issuer's securities. SG Americas did not admit or deny the SEC's findings, and agreed to return more than $480,000 of alleged ill-gotten gains plus $82,000 in prejudgment interest and a $250,000 penalty. This is the fifth SEC action against a depository bank or broker for abusive pre-release ADR practices.
20 hours ago
CFRA analyst Scott Kessler reiterated his hold rating Facebook Inc. shares Tuesday, after Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger said that they would be leaving the company. "Our sense is the duo may have wanted to run Instagram more independently than their parent company wanted," wrote Kessler, who sees "more and more promotional activity" on Instagram nowadays. "We think Systrom's and Krieger's departures are a notable negative for Facebook." Instagram has become a major focus for Facebook given that many younger users in North America have soured on the core Facebook platform. Facebook shares are down 0.8% in Tuesday trading, though they're up 0.8% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 has risen 17% in that time.
20 hours ago
Shares of Snap Inc. are up 2% in Tuesday morning trading after Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger said they would be leaving their company, which is now owned by Facebook Inc. . Snapchat user growth has struggled since Snap went public in early 2017, as Facebook and Instagram continue to borrow the service's most popular features and win over more young users. Systrom most recently served as Instagram's chief executive, while Krieger was the chief technology officer. Facebook shares are down 1.4% in Tuesday's session, while Twitter Inc.'s stock is up 0.9%. Snap shares have tumbled 30% over the past 12 months, compared with a 17% gain for the S&P 500 [s:spx].
21 hours ago
BTIG analyst Brandon Ross said Tuesday that a Sirius XM Holdings Inc. offer for Live Nation Entertainment Inc. would make sense, following Sirius' announcement that it would be acquiring Pandora Media Inc. in an all-stock deal. "This transaction is likely the first of multiple deals involving SiriusXM, particularly as the all-stock nature of the Pandora acquisition did nothing to address Sirius' growing access to cash," Ross wrote. "We continue to believe Sirius' controlling shareholder, Liberty Media Corporation, wishes to eventually control a combined SiriusXM, Pandora and Live Nation, and that this will become reality with a Sirius acquisition of Live Nation and a clean-up of Sirius' share structure." Ross asked Sirius about the potential for a Live Nation transaction on Monday's conference call following the Pandora announcement. Sirius Chief Executive Jim Meyer said that Sirius has "done the math" and "certainly [has] the firepower to do other things if we want to" but that such other deals are "not on my mind right now." Sirius shares are down 0.2% in Tuesday morning trading, while Live Nation's stock is up 0.8%. Live Nation shares have gained 26% over the past 12 months, compared with a 17% gain for the S&P 500 .
21 hours ago
EBay Inc. said Tuesday that it had begun to "intermediate," or manage, payments on its U.S. marketplace platform. The move is the first step of the online marketplace's plan to shift away from PayPal Holdings Inc. for payment processing. EBay announced earlier this year that it would make European payments company Adyen NV its main payments partner once eBay's PayPal deal expired in 2020 and relegate PayPal to a lesser role on the site. The online retailer said Tuesday that only certain sellers are participating in this first phase of eBay's managed-payments rollout and that those who buy from these merchants will be able to select Apple Inc.'s Apple Pay as a payment option. PayPal said in a statement that it "remains an important partner to eBay" and reiterated that the company has an agreement with eBay that will allow PayPal to remain a payment option on the site through 2023. Shares of eBay are down 1.2% in Tuesday trading, while PayPal shares are up 0.5%. EBay's stock is down 12% over the past 12 months, as the S&P 500 has gained 17%.