After two volatile days that saw stocks fall sharply, then climb back, amid conflicting trade headlines, the major averages are taking a breather with a relatively calm morning. Near noon, the S&P is slightly lower but not changed by much as the next big news on the talks between the U.S. and China is awaited.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 203,000 in the week ended November 30. The trade deficit narrowed 7.6% to $47.2B in October as exports declined 0.2% and imports dropped 1.7%. Factory orders increased 0.3% in October, which alongside a flat print on shipments and a 0.1% gain in inventories was a little shy of expectations.
TOP NEWS: Analysts made stock-moving calls this morning on a number of the largest and most in-focus names on Wall Street, including Facebook (FB), Nike (NKE) and Apple (AAPL).
Stifel analyst John Egbert upgraded Facebook to Buy from Hold this morning, telling investors that he is incrementally positive on the company's ability to sustain above-market ad revenue growth and maintain healthy levels of user growth and engagement following Facebook's Q3 earnings report. Meanwhile, HSBC analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson initiated coverage of Facebook with a Reduce rating and $178 price target, citing his view that current consensus estimates are "overly ambitious" in the face of a "huge regulatory overhang." Goldman Sachs analyst Alexandra Walvis upgraded Nike to Buy from Neutral with a $112 price target and added the shares to her firm's Americas Conviction List, contending that Nike is on the cusp of a "sharp acceleration" in earnings growth. Citi analyst Jim Suva raised his price target for Apple (AAPL) to $300 from $250 after "materially" increasing his sales and earnings estimates.
Shares of Slack Technologies (WORK) are up 3% at midday after the company's quarterly report last night. Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow tells investors that the quarter showed the level of outperformance high growth investors are expecting, and he believes last night "should be the beginning of the comeback story" for the stock. Conversely, Credit Suisse analyst Brad Zelnick lowered his price target for Slack shares to $27 from $35 after the company's Q4 billings guidance fell below the Street's consensus growth estimate.
Verint Systems (VRNT) announced plans to separate its Customer Engagement and Cyber Intelligence businesses into two independent publicly traded companies. Verint also reported mixed fiscal Q3 results and gave initial fiscal 2021 earnings guidance that was slightly below expectations, but the stock is rising 9% following the break-up announcement.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH), which surged 90% after disclosing its AURORA Phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint. Also higher were Signet (SIG) and Sportsman's Warehouse (SPWH), which rose a respective 8% and 9% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Sage Therapeutics (SAGE), which dropped 58% after its Phase 3 study evaluating Sage-217 failed to meet its primary endpoint. Also lower were At Home Group (HOME) and Elastic (ESTC), which fell 35% and 17%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 38.58, or 0.14%, to 27,611.20, the Nasdaq was down 5.82, or 0.07%, to 8,560.85, and the S&P 500 was down 2.17, or 0.07%, to 3,110.59.
Ticker changed to META
+0.04 (+0.02%)
Nike
+1.12 (+1.20%)
Apple
+2.21 (+0.84%)
Bought by CRM
+0.61 (+2.81%)
Verint
+4.54 (+9.49%)
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals
+7.84 (+93.56%)
Signet Jewelers
+1.56 (+9.37%)
Sportsman's Warehouse
+0.67 (+9.10%)
Sage Therapeutics
-86.02 (-57.65%)
At Home Group
-2.94 (-34.39%)
Elastic
-12.98 (-16.55%)