After-Hours Center

Fed Tapering Could Hurt This ETF...And It's Not One You'd Expect

ETF Professor — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:24:19 +0000

One of this week's most prominent themes has been speculation that the Federal Reserve is either going to wind down or soon end its $85 billion per month asset-buying activities. Not surprisingly, that has not been particularly good news for U.S. stocks and other riskier assets.

Beyond the usual ETF suspects such as mortgage-backed securities, mortgage REIT funds and high beta sector plays that could be harmed by the end of quantitative easing, a surprising candidate for end-of-QE vulnerability has entered the conversation. That ETF is the iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: TUR), one of 2013's emerging markets ETF stars.

Barclays published a list of investments that could be hit if QE ends and Turkish stocks made that dubious cut.

"Investors who are concerned about the reversal of Fed easing should consider short positions in assets with high elasticities to the Fed and expensive valuations versus history. Turkish equities and US defensives appear vulnerable," according to part ...

Aeropostale Falls on Weak Q2 Guidance; Q1 Results Top Estimates

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:10:27 +0000

Clothing retailer Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Thursday. In late trading the stock was last down around 4 percent to $15.85. The company topped Wall Street earnings and revenue estimates, but issued second-quarter guidance which was substantially below current consensus.

For Q1, Aeropostale reported a net loss of $12 million or $0.16 per share, compared to net income of $10.6 million or $0.13 per share, in last year's corresponding period. This came in slightly ahead of street consensus EPS estimates calling for a ...

Marvell Jumps After Beating Q1 Estimates; Company Delivers Upbeat Outlook

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:07:36 +0000

Chip-maker Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell.

The company reported earnings per share and revenue which was above Wall Street analysts' consensus estimates and also delivered an upbeat outlook. In late trade, MRVL was last up a little less than 8 percent to $12.16.

"Our results in the first quarter were at the high-end of our guidance mainly due to better than normal seasonal demand and share gains in our storage and networking end markets," said Dr. Sehat Sutardja, Marvell's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

For the first-quarter, the ...

Sears Holdings Plummets on Q1 Results

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:02:28 +0000

Retailer Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) was trading down sharply in Thursday's after-hours session after the company released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results.

Sears reported a much wider than expected loss for the quarter, but revenue actually came in above consensus. In Thursday's after-hours session, SHLD was last trading down more than 11 percent to $51.54 in the wake of the company's large loss for the first-quarter.

The company reported a net loss of $279 million or $2.63 per share, ...

Salesforce.com Falls on Wider Q1 Loss

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:57:17 +0000

Cloud computing and customer relationship management company Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Thursday.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share that were in-line with Wall Street estimates and sales that topped expectations. Salesforce also provided guidance for the second-quarter and the full-year. In late trading, the stock was last down a little more than 6 percent to $42.73.

For the first-quarter, Salesforce reported a net loss of $67.7 million or $0.12 per share compared to a loss of $19.5 million or $0.04 per share, in last year's corresponding period.

On an ...

Ross Stores Reports Higher Q1 Profit, Lifts Full-Year EPS Guidance

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:51:28 +0000

Discount retailer Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Thursday.

The company reported earnings per share that were in-line with Wall Street consensus and revenue that topped expectations. Ross also lifted its full-year EPS view, although the updated guidance is still below street consensus. In late trading, ROST was last trading up a little less than 1 percent to $65.65.

For the first-quarter, the Pleasanton, California-based company reported net earnings of $234.6 million or $1.07 ...

Pandora Jumps on Q1 Results, Increased Guidance

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:49:14 +0000

Internet radio company Pandora Media (NYSE: P) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell.

The company reported in-line earnings per share and revenue which was above Wall Street expectations.

Pandora also lifted its fiscal 2014 earnings and revenue outlook, sending the stock up around 8 percent in after-hours trading. Ahead of the report, during regular trading hours, Pandora shares rose better than 4 percent. The stock is now sitting at a new 52-week high of $18.54.

For the first-quarter, Pandora reported a net loss of $28.6 million or $0.16 per share, compared to a net loss of $20.2 million or $0.12 per share, in last year's corresponding period.

On an adjusted basis, which is comparable ...

Gap Q1 Results Beat Wall Street Estimates

Scott Rubin — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:46:18 +0000

Clothing retailer Gap (NYSE: GPS) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell.

The company reported earnings and revenue which came in ahead of Wall Street consensus expectations and reaffirmed its full-year guidance. In late trading, the stock was last down a little less than 1 percent and was close to unchanged on the day.

Gap reported net income of $333 million or $0.71 per share, compared ...

Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday May 23, 2013

Charles Gross — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:50:57 +0000

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday May 23, 2013:

rue21 to be Acquired by Apax Partners for $42.00/Share in Cash

The Deal:
rue21 (NASDAQ: RUE) and Apax Partners, announced Thursday, a definitive agreement under which funds advised by Apax Partners will acquire rue21 for $42.00 per share in cash. That will value the transaction at approximately $1.1 billion. As part of the agreement, a Special Committee will conduct an initial 40-day "go-shop" process during which it will actively solicit, evaluate and potentially enter into negotiations with any parties willing to offer a superior acquisition proposal. ...

Nigeria ETF Gets Good News on Glum Day For Global Markets

ETF Professor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:24:55 +0000

On Thursday, China sneezed, Japan caught the cold, and ETFs tracking a plethora of global markets closed lower.

Predictably, emerging markets sagged with the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE: VWO) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (NYSE: EEM) closing down. Developed markets offered little refuge as the iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (NYSE: EFA) lost about 1.5 percent.

In the sea of red of global ETFs Thursday, at least one surprising fund held up relatively well. Believe it or not, on a day when so-called traditional developed and emerging markets ETFs were being taken to task, the newly-minted Global X Nigeria Index ETF (NYSE: NGE) fell 0.9 percent. Notably, NGE's loss occurred on volume that was about 30 percent above ...

PetSmart Beats Q1 Earnings Estimates, Lifts Outlook

Scott Rubin — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:39:09 +0000

Pet supply company PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings estimates after the closing bell on Wednesday.

The company topped Wall Street earnings estimates, but its sales were slightly below consensus expectations. The Phoenix-based company also lifted its full-year earnings view, triggering a roughly three percent rise in the shares during Wednesday's after-hours trading session.

PetSmart reported first-quarter net income of $102.4 million or $0.98 per share, compared to $94.7 million or $0.85 per share, in last year's corresponding quarter. This came in above analysts' consensus EPS estimates of $0.96 by two cents.

Sales ...

Hewlett-Packard Soars After Q3 Results; Lifts Full-Year Outlook

Scott Rubin — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:36:52 +0000

Struggling diversified technology company Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) released its fiscal second-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday.

Over the last five years, the company's share price has been more than halved as a secular decline in the PC business and a failure to innovate have weighed on sales and income.

Nevertheless, the stock has been rallying in recent months ahead of Wednesday's report. Prior to the company's second-quarter financial update, Hewlett-Packard shares had climbed nearly 50 percent in 2013.

In Q2, Hewlett-Packard reported earnings that came in well ahead of estimates, but sales that missed Wall Street expectations. In Wednesday's after-hours trading session, however, HPQ is soaring after lifting its full-year earnings guidance. At last check, the stock was up more than 13 percent to a new 52-week high of $24.05.

In its most ...

Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday May 22, 2013

Charles Gross — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:56:12 +0000

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday May 22, 2013:

Clearwire Board Recommends Shareholders Approve $3.40/Share Offer from Sprint

The Recommendation:
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) announced Wednesday that its Special Committee of the Board of Directors and its Board of Directors have approved the revised offer from Sprint (NYSE: S) to acquire the approximately 50 percent stake in Clearwire it does not already own, for $3.40 per share.

The Special Meeting of Stockholders will take place on Friday, May 31, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET.

Clearwire closed at $3.38 Wednesday, a loss of $0.02 on 6 times average volume.

Le Gaga Receives 'Going Private' Proposal of $4.01/ADS

The Offer:
Le Gaga Holdings (NASDAQ: GAGA) announced Wednesday that it has received a ...

An ETF For Elon Musk Fans

ETF Professor — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:20:20 +0000

Few U.S. chief executive officers are as hot as Elon Musk these days. Musk is the CEO of not one, but two of the highest flying publicly traded companies in the U.S. SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY), the maker of solar energy systems for business and residential customers, has seen its shares more than double in the past month.

Musk's other company, electric car maker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is up about 74 percent in the past month. Indeed, it is a good time to be Elon Musk and it is has been a good time for his fans that have bought shares of SolarCity or Tesla.

Despite the popularity of Musk and his companies, accessing both stocks via one ETF is currently difficult. One ETF can be considered the Tesla ETF, that being the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ: QCLN). QCLN allocates over 15 percent of its weight to Tesla.

Solar City for all ...

Intuit Earnings Beat Estimates; Company Updates Full-Year Guidance

Scott Rubin — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:25:45 +0000

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) released its fiscal third-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday.

The company reported revenues which were in-line with expectations and a profit which beat analysts' estimates. In late trade, shares were up a little less than one percent to $58.31.

The company reported net income of $822 million or $2.71 per share, compared to $734 million or $2.42 per share, in the year ago period.

On an adjusted basis, net income rose to $901 million or $2.97 per share, versus $763 million or $2.52 per share, in last year's third-quarter. This came in ahead ...