Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
- MAT -12.2%, CMPR -11.4%, (very light volume - also announces intention to implement organizational changes aimed at decentralizing its operations)
- MCK -6.1%, (also enters into agreement to acquire CoverMyMeds for approx $1.1 bln), EURN -6.1%, VAR -5.9%, SWK -5.9%, FFIV -5.2%, POT -4.8%
- LVS -4.7%, UN -4.7%, EFII -4.6%, WHR -4.3%, ADS -4.1%, CTXS -3.9%, (also increases buyback $500 mln; LogMeIn stockholders approve issuance of shares of its common stock to equityholders of Citrix Systems in connection with its proposed merger with Citrix; merger is expected to be completed on January 31, 2017)
- QCOM -3.9%, RTN -3%, KNX -2.9%, BMY -2.8%, NG -2.5%, QTM -2.2%, GDX -2.2%, WASH -2.1%, CLFD -2.1%, LYTS -1.8%, LRCX -1.6%, LANC -1.6%
- CAT -1.4%, SXC -1.3%, CMO -1.2%, (light volume), NUTR -1.2%
M&A news:
- JNJ -0.5% (to acquire Actelion (ALIOY) for $280 per share; will spin-out of new R&D Co)
Select LVS peers showing weakness:
- WYNN -1.5%, MPEL -1.5%, MGM -1.4%
Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:
- AGI -7.5%, HMY -4.4%, ABX -3.2%, AU -3.1%, KGC -3%, SLW -2.8%, AUY -2.8%, GOLD -2.8%, GFI -2.6%, NEM -2.6%,GDX -2.3%, BBL -1.7%, RIO -1.5%, SLV -1.5%, BHP -1.2%
Other news:
- DRWI -23.8% (reduced the exercise price of its outstanding six-month warrants issued August 2016)
- ENTL -10.8% (prices 3.53 mln shares of common stock at $17.00 per share)
- AGI -7.5% (announces $250 mln bought deal offering; to sell 31.45 mln common shares at $7.95/share)
- HAS -3.8% (following MAT earnings/guidance)
- ABC -3.3% (following MCK earnings/guidance and acquisition news)
Analyst comments:
- UTX -0.9% (downgraded to Hold ratings from Buy at Argus)
Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:
- NURO +16.4%, URI +9.6%, (will acquire NES for approximately $965 million in cash; acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to United Rentals' adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow generation for the full year 2017)
- QSII +7.4%, NOW +7.4%, EBAY +7.2%, TER +6.6%, (also quarterly dividend increased 17% to $0.07 beginning 1Q17),SHW +6.1%, MEOH +5.4%
- CRR +5.3%, STM +4.9%, DEO +4.2%, LUV +3.7%, NVMI +3.3%, RCL +3%, IVZ +2.9%, XLNX +2.4%, FCAU +2.4%,FCAU +2.4%, PHM +2.3%
- BGG +2.1%, CMCSA +2%, RDN +1.9%, DOW +1.9%, ERIC +1.7%, BIIB +1.6%, VRTX +1.5%, ASX +1.5%, ABMD +1%
M&A news:
- MGI +30.5% (near a deal to be acquired by an Alibaba (BABA) affiliate, according to the WSJ)
- WGL +3.3% (WGL Holdings to be acquired by AltaGas for $88.25/share in cash, or approximately CAD$8.4 bln)
Other news:
- AVGR +37% (Avinger announces positive two-year clinical data from the pivotal VISION study of the company's Lumivascular technology)
- EGY +4.3% ( reported Q4 production results)
- RBS +3.6% (provides update to write-downs related to RMBS investigations and litigation)
- NOK +2.6% (in sympathy with ERIC)
- WTW +2.3% (Kraft Heinz and Oprah Winfrey announce joint venture called Mealtime Stories)
- PULM +1.8% (following 65%+ move higher on Wednesday)
- FCH +1.5% (following late move higher on sale speculation)
- PYPL +1.2% (in sympathy with EBAY)
Analyst comments:
- BANC +4.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at FBR & Co)
- SGMS +2.9% (upgraded to Buy at BofA/Merrill)
- ABB +1.1% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Nordea)
Mead Johnson Nutrition misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides FY17 EPS in-line
- Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.78 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.81; revenues fell 6.8% year/year to $901.6 mln vs the $923.43 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
- Co issues in-line guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $3.35-3.50 vs. $3.45 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; expects full year net sales to be in the range of -3% to 0% compared to 2016 on a reported basis, vs. consensus of -1%, and in the range of -1% to +2% compared to 2016 on a constant dollar basis. Based upon recent spot rates, the estimated adverse foreign exchange impact is approximately 2%.
- Net sales were 7% below the prior year quarter on a reported basis and 3% below the prior year quarter on a constant dollar basis. The difference between gross sales and net sales growth rates reflects increases in ongoing trade investments.
- "2017 will see us complete our strategic transition program. We expect some pressure on both topline and costs in the beginning of the year, and the impact of currency and rising dairy costs will likely weigh on results. The impact will be partially offset by momentum behind productivity initiatives in both cost of goods and operating expenses. As previously stated, we expect only very modest growth in both Sales and EPS on a constant dollar basis - with performance strengthening through the second half of the year."
Comment l’État a voulu vendre 50% de ses parts dans Roissy et Orly
En fin d’année, Bercy a étudié une cession de 25% du capital des Aéroports de Paris à la Caisse des Dépôts.
L’État est aux abois. D’ici l’été prochain, il doit trouver 7,5 milliards d’euros pour financer les sauvetages d’EDF et d’Areva. Il vient de céder 4% d’Engie et 2,6% de Safran pour un total de 1,9 milliard d’euros, mais il lui manque encore au moins 1,5 milliard d’euros. Après avoir privatisé les aéroports de Nice et de Lyon, il s’est récemment penché sur ceux de Paris.
Selon plusieurs sources, Bercy a réfléchi il y a quelques mois à vendre la moitié de ses parts dans les Aéroports de Paris. La société qui gère Roissy et Orly est contrôlée à 51% par l’État. La loi interdisant au secteur public de perdre le contrôle de l’entreprise, le ministère de l’Économie a imaginé un montage subtil consistant à ce que l’État vende une partie de sa participation à la Caisse des Dépôts (CDC). Une solution qui lui permettait de ne pas enfreindre la loi puisque l’institution est elle-même contrôlée par l’État. Contacté, le ministère n’a pas souhaité commenter les informations de BFM Business.
Cela aurait donc permis de remonter du cash pour financer les augmentations de capital d’EDF et d’Areva. "Le schéma consistait à vendre la moitié des parts de l’État, soit 25%, à la Caisse, explique une source proche de la CDC. L’opération aurait rapporté 2,5 milliards d’euros". Sauf que la réflexion a vite été stoppée par la sensibilité du dossier. Les Aéroports de Paris sont une entreprise où les syndicats sont très forts. "Ils l’auraient sans aucun doute pris comme le début d’une privatisation", explique un proche d’ADP. C’est ce qui a refroidi les ardeurs des financiers de Bercy.
Macron avait déjà essayé de privatiser
Ce sont précisément les syndicats qu’il faudra ménager chez ADP. Car la privatisation de Roissy et d’Orly est un serpent de mer au sommet de l’État. Le ministère de l’Économie rêve de la lancer alors que le groupe vaut 10 milliards d’euros en Bourse. Après le succès financier des privatisations des aéroports de Toulouse, Nice et Lyon, celle des deux aéroports parisiens est sur la liste. Déjà, en 2015, Emmanuel Macron avait tenté de la faire passer dans le cadre de la loi qui portait son nom. Mais le ministre des Transports, Alain Vidalies et le Premier ministre Manuel Valls, s’y étaient opposés. "Malgré cela, il a continué à y réfléchir jusqu’à son départ de Bercy l’été dernier", ajoute un bon connaisseur du dossier.
Ce tour de passe-passe a déjà été expérimenté à deux reprises. Et à chaque fois en douceur. À l’automne dernier, EDF a vendu 49% du Réseau de transport d’électricité (RTE) à la Caisse des Dépôts. Là aussi, la loi oblige à ce que les actionnaires restent publics. En 2011, Engie -ex GDF Suez- avait vendu 25% du réseau de transport de gaz, GRT Gaz à… la Caisse des Dépôts. La même loi s’imposait déjà. Dans ces deux cas, le corps social n’a pas trop mal réagi alors que la CGT est très forte, aussi bien chez RTE que chez GRT Gaz.
Quoi qu’il arrive, la privatisation des Aéroports de Paris est dans toutes les têtes. Elle est l’une des rares participations de l’État qui vaut cher. "Le dossier reste ouvert, explique une source proche du ministère. Après l’élection, on le relancera".
Phone giant AT&T on Wednesday said it signed up more than 200,000 new DirecTV Now streaming video subscribers through Dec. 31 — but posted a net decline in traditional pay-TV subs in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, 13 Democratic senators asked the Dallas company to explain how its proposed $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner is in the public interest. The deal is being vetted by federal regulators.
Overall, AT&T’s fourth quarter was in line with Wall Street estimates, despite a net loss of 27,000 traditional pay-TV subs — the result of its AT&T-branded U-verse losing 262,000 subs and DirecTV gaining 235,000.
The DirecTV Now gains left it with more video subs than a year ago.
Chief Executive Randall Stephenson is walking a financial tightrope with AT&T’s DirecTV Now service. Wall Street fears the country’s No. 1 pay-TV provider is undercutting itself.
When DirecTV Now debuted on Nov. 8, it offered a $35-per-month promotion for 100 channels. It threatens to steal business from U-verse.
Stephenson, asked about how a new regulatory and tax environment would affect AT&T, said he hopes that corporate tax reform would stimulate economic growth, leading to increased investment by the firm.
Stephenson, who met with President Trump earlier this month, told investors on the earnings call: “If we want to get off a 1 to 2 percent growth plain, nothing will trigger that like tax reform. We have the highest tax rate in the developed world.”
AT&T, the No. 2 wireless provider, said revenues were $41.8 billion, down from $42.1 billion last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 66 cents, in line with analyst expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.
Net profit was $2.4 billion compared, with $4 billion last year.
AT&T shares gained 11 cents in after-hours trading, to $41.50.
Dutch regulator mistakenly reveals Soros short positions
Website error reveals hedge fund bets against ING, other local companies
The Dutch market regulator mistakenly published the details of hundreds of previously private short selling trades by international hedge funds, including bets against Dutch banks by George Soros and the positions of Renaissance Technologies’ enigmatic Medallion fund.
An error by the AFM, Holland’s market regulator, meant that details of hedge fund short trades going back to 2012 were published on its website on Tuesday evening before being quickly removed.
European market regulations introduced after the financial crisis require hedge funds to report their short positions — effectively bets that a company’s shares will fall in value — to regulators. But only those that are larger than 0.5 per cent of a company’s outstanding shares are supposed to be made public.
The Dutch regulator instead published details of all short trades reported in Holland since the new regulations came into force, meaning hundreds of previously non-public trades were briefly released into the public domain.
A spokesman for the AFM said the watchdog had made a mistake and moved quickly to correct it.
Hedge funds whose trades were included in the release were angry. “When a bank or hedge fund makes a mistake they are fined — who will fine the Dutch regulator?” asked one manager.
Hedge funds typically jealously guard the details of their short trades. Some deliberately keep their positions just below the 0.5 per cent threshold to avoid them being made public. Some fund managers do not want to tip off rival funds, while others prefer not to show their hands to the management teams of the companies they are betting against.
A list of the trades seen by the Financial Times included a number of previously unreported short positions including George Soros’ family office betting against the Dutch bank ING, a trade that chimes with its existing public bet against Germany’s Deutsche Bank. The position against ING was opened in June and was increased to as much as 0.3 per cent of the lender’s shares before being scaled back a month later.
Other previously private trades in the list include bets by the computer-driven Medallion fund operated by the US hedge fund Renaissance Technologies. The fund, which was launched in the early 1980s by mathematician and code breaker James Simons, has long been closed to outside investors and only manages the fortunes of the Renaissance partners.
As a private vehicle, it is not required to disclose its positions unless they are so large they are caught by general market rules. Any details of Medallion’s trading strategy, no matter how small, are closely scrutinised by investors.
The Dutch regulator’s list shows that the Medallion fund has taken out multiple bets against small Amsterdam-listed companies since 2012. Those that are still outstanding include the specialty metals company Advanced Metallurgical Group, Ordina, an IT company with a market value of under €200m, and the closed-ended real estate company Wereldhave N.V.
Short positions are often used to hedge against for other trades meaning it is not always possible to tell their full purpose without having information about a hedge fund’s whole portfolio.
MainFirst Pre Mkt Indications
*CS-Said to consider Dublin expansion as Brexit nears...............+0.5%
*RBS-Said to unveil $4bln provision to cover DOJ claims - Press.....+1%
*STM-Rev 1.86b(1.85),GM 37.5%(37.2),NI 112m(110.4),O.Inc 153m(152)..+2%
*NORDEA-NII 1.21b(1.2),Fee Inc 867m(836.4),CET1 18.4%(18)...........+1%
*TELE2-Ebitda 1.46b(1.27),Sales 8.22b(7.88),FY Div 5.23(5.35).......+3%
*SOFTWARE-Q4 Rev 263.9m(265.5),Margin 28.5%,Confident on FY.........-4%
*ACTELION-To get $280 per share from J&J,Spin out R&D Co............+20%
*SUNRISE-Confirms preliminary stages of Telco Towers sale...........+1.5%
*ERICSSON-Net Sales 65.2b(59.2),OP 4.4b(3.35),GM 29.4%(29.4)........+2%
*FREENET-Owns 24.5% of Sunrise,spinning off Towers..................+0.25%
*ZOOPLUS-Pre-released FY Rev 908m(916),Guides 1.125b+(1.14).........+3%
*UNILEVER-Q4 S/Grth 2.2%(2.6),FY Rev 52.7b(52.8),EPS 1.88(1.86).....-2%
*TOD'S-FY Sales 1b(1.01),Retail Same-Store -12.2%(-12),SI 25.3%.....-2%
*SWATCH/CFR-Swiss Watch Exports -9.9% in 2016 & -4.6% in Dec........+0.5%
CS:
Actelion R Johnson & Johnson to buy Actelion for CHF280.08/Share
Admiral -1% CS INITIATE with UNDERPERFORM (Least preferred)
Ashtead +3-4% US peer UNITED RENTALS +9% after hours, EPS ahead
Card Factory +2-3% Good xmas trading period, confident on FY
Daily Mail -5% Organic growth in Q1 was weaker, CS is corp broker
Diageo +1% 1H organic net sales growth beats estimates
Dufry +1% Dufry/Dfass JV wins new concession in Colombia
Ericsson UNCH Q4 Sales SK 65.2bln est SK 59.2bln, gross margin inline
Esure +1% CS INITIATE with OUTPERFORM (self help, top line growth)
Great Port UNCH Leasing activity slightly above ERV, cautious on London
IMI +1% CS UPGRADE to OUTPERFORM (Margin recovery)
KPN +1-2% Positive read from Tele2 stronger numbers
Meyer Burger +3% Awarded orders of about CHf18m
Miners +0.5% Copper +0.25%, Brent +0.15%, Iron Ore +1.95%, China +0.40%
Nordea +2% Underlying net profit beat c.8%,k NII 1% beat
Paypoint +1% Parcels and card payments all better
Rank M/P 1h revs 378.6mln cons 379mln, see's FY results inline
RBS +1-2% Will take further GBP3.1b provision for RMBS investigations
Renishaw UNCH H1 revs inline, operating profit inline
Richemont M/P Watch Exports Fall 4.6%; 18th Monthly Decline
Rotork M/P CS DOWNGRADE to NEUTRAL (Valuation)
RSA +1% CS INITIATE with OUTPERFORM (self help, top line growth)
Sage M/P Confirms guidance. Sees FY at least 6% organic growth
Sky M/P 1H revenue rises to GBP6.41b vs. GBP6.04b y/y
Software -1% Q4 revs €263.9m is inline, EBIT €90m is slightly light
STM +2-3% Q4 Rev $1.86 bln est $1.85 bln, sees momentum continuing
Sunrise +1% Confirms preliminary stages of telco towers sale
Swatch M/P Watch Exports Fall 4.6%; 18th Monthly Decline
TDC +1-2% Positive read from Tele2 stronger numbers
Teliasonera +1-2% Positive read from Tele2 stronger numbers
Tele2 +5% Revs 5% ahead of cons, EBITDA 15% ahead
Unilever -2% 4Q sales up 2.2% vs est 2.6%, EPS EU1.88 vs EU1.86
Whitbread M/P Q3 lfls Costa +4.3%, CS est +2%
Zooplus M/P 2016 sales slightly light, 2017 sales €1.13bn is inline