Macro Focus
The main U.S. stock benchmarks were on track to open slightly higher on Thursday, but Facebook Inc. was dropping in premarket
action as shareholders booed its latest revenue forecast.
Oil prices rose as a weakening U.S. dollar provided
a lift, but market sentiment remained cautious after data showed U.S. crude inventories made their largest gains in more than
30 years last week.
USA Initial Jobless Claims for Oct 28 265.0K vs 258.00 consensus estimate. The prior reading was 258.0K. USA Continuing Claims
for Oct 21 2.03M vs 2.04M consensus estimate. The prior reading was 2.04M.
- The Markit services PMI for October is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.
- Data on factory orders for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
- The ISM non-manufacturing index for October is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
- The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
- Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
BZ News Desk
-
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) Reports Q3
EPS $1.22 vs. Est. $0.74, Rev. $688M vs. Est. $988.6M
-
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) Reports Q3 Adj. EPS
$1.09 vs $0.97 Est., Sales $7.01B vs $6.92B Est.
-
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) Reports Q4 Adj.
EPS $1.28 vs $1.13 Est., Sales $6.18B vs $5.84B Est.
-
Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM) Reports Q4 EPS
$0.28 vs $0.24 Est., Sales $3.5B vs $3.5B Est.
-
Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) Reports Q2 Adj.
EPS $0.45 vs $0.29 Est., Sales $420.2M vs $402M Est.
-
Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) Reports Q3 EPS $0.19
vs. Est. $0.19, Rev. $503.8M vs. Est. $506M
-
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) Reports Q3
EPS $0.75 vs. Est. $0.78, Rev. $1.1B vs. Est. $1.12B
Sell-Side Themes
Fitbit received at least six downgrades this morning following its 30 percent after-hours drop amid poor guidance.
JPMorgan and Stifel downgraded Cempra (NASDAQ: CEMP) to Hold.
Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls
- Oppenheimer downgraded First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Perform.
- Bank of America upgraded U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to Neutral.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded LendingClub (NYSE: LC) to Overweight.
- Deutsche Bank started Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARIAD) at Hold.
- Piper Jaffray started Theravance Biopharma (NASDAQ: TBPH) at Overweight.
Deal Talk
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) is said
to be exploring a sale of its eye-surgery equipment business for as much as $2.5 billion, according to sources as reported by the
Wall Street Journal. Valeant acquired the business with its purchase of Bausch & Lomb. This follows a report on Tuesday that
Valeant is in talks to sell its Salix Pharmaceuticals stomach-drug business for $10 billion.
Shares of Angie's List (NASDAQ: ANGI)
spiked to a high of $8.13 Tuesday, on unconfirmed market chatter that there are multiple bidders for the consumer review website.
An MKM analyst said Tuesday, "Angie's List could be an attractive asset for a strategic investor/ acquirer from a tangential
space," while an Oppenheimer analyst stated that management is "likely focused on a strategic investment to accelerate growth vs. a
potential sale."
In The News
England's High Court ruled that the British government requires parliamentary approval to trigger the process of exiting the
European Union, a major upset for Prime Minister Theresa May's plans for Brexit. The sterling rose on the news, with many investors taking the view that
lawmakers would temper the government's policies and make an economically disruptive "hard Brexit" less likely.
Secret recordings of a suspect talking about the Clinton Foundation fueled an internal battle between FBI agents who wanted to
pursue the case and corruption prosecutors who viewed the statements as worthless hearsay, people familiar with the matter said.
Blogosphere
"[E]ven with all this negativity there is one measure of risk taking in the market that is showing there is risk taking going
on," writes Greg Harmon of Dragonfly Capital. "It is the ratio
of emerging markets to the S&P 500. This ratio can be thought of as the trade off between buying stable country equity risk
premium vs that of high risk countries."
Trending
FB CHK FSLR JDST SBUX DUST CEMP AMAG AGIO
For the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs are #WorldSeries champions. The Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-6 in 10
innings in a thrilling Game 7 last night.
- This stock traded down around 30% Wednesday after releasing poor guidance in its earnings report.
- It was one of the more popular IPOs of 2015.
- Sympathy plays could include Apple and Nike.
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