>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: ZUMZ -10.4%, (Zumiez beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 below consensus; reports May same store sales -7.6% vs -6.4% Retail Metrics consensus)


Other news: WRES -25.9% (continued weakness following reports that the company has filed for bankruptcy protection),  IMMU -17.5% (removed from ASCO this weekend because it has no new update to its breast cancer data), ONTY -7.4%  (enters into sales agreement to sell up to $50 mln of its common shares from time-to-time), BLDP -2.9% ( files for $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering ), CC -2.7% (Chemours responds to the report by Citron Research issued today; reaffirms 2016 outlook), ISR -2.2% (provides update on its pending securities lawsuit; Judge Suko entered an order denying IsoRay's motion to dismiss)

Analyst comments: PCAR -0.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: AMBA +10.1%, BV +8.5%, AVGO +7.2%, GPS +3.9%, COO +3%, SHOS +2.3%, FIVE +1.8%, SB +1%, OESX +0.8%

M&A news: AVH +32.8% (being weighed as a potential acquisition by United (UAL) & Delta (DAL), according to the WSJ), TLN +15.1% (to be acquired by Riverstone for $14.00/share in cash in a transaction valued at $5.2 bln, agreement provides for a go-shop period), NRF +5% (NorthStar Asset Mgmt, Colony Capital (CLNY), and NorthStar Realty Finance (NRF) confirm entry into all-stock merger of equals), NSAM +4.1% (NorthStar Asset Mgmt, Colony Capital (CLNY), and NorthStar Realty Finance (NRF) confirm entry into all-stock merger of equals), CLNY +3.5%

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: IAG +7.7%, FCX +1.9%, MT +1.8%

Other news: NURO +11.1% (enters into securities purchase agreement with an institutional investor in connection with a 21,300 share private placement of series C convertible preferred stock at $1,000/share for gross proceeds of $21.3 mln), RETA +3.9% (Novo A/S (NVO) discloses 35.7% active stake), GPRO +2.7% (in sympathy with AMBA), TWTR +1.1% (met with Yahoo (YHOO) to discuss a possible merger, but talks never advanced past an early stage, according to the NYPost), BP +0.9% (settles GoM explosion Securities Litigation for $175 mln), ADPT +0.9% (prices offering of 2.45 mln shares by co and selling shareholders at $62.00 per share)

Analyst comments: GWPH +4.9% (initiated with Buy at Canter Fitzgerald), SHPG +2.2% (resumed with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley), WFT +1.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray), UNP +1.2% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley), DE +0.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), WUBA +0.5% (initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital) 

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: TLN +17.9%, OESX +13.4%, NURO +11.1%, AMBA +10.6%, BV +8.5%, AVGO +8.3%, IAG +7.7%, RETA +3.9%, GPRO +3.9%, GWPH +3.7%, GPS +3.5%, COO +3%, SHOS +2.3%, MT +2.2%, SHPG +2.1%, TWTR +1.9%, WFT +1.9%, FIVE +1.8%, FCX +1.6%, SB +1%, BP +0.5%

Gapping down: IMMU -18.9%, ZUMZ -5.4%, BLDP -2.9%, CST -2.1%, OPTT -1.4%, SAN -1.3%, CTLT -1.1%, SIG -0.8%, DB -0.8%, VRX -0.5%

(TechCrunch) Uber: We’ll be China’s number one taxi app within a year

Uber: We’ll be China’s number one taxi app within a year

Uber says it is on course to topple bitter rival Didi Chuxing and become China’s most popular ride-on demand service within a year.

That’s according to Zhen Liu, SVP of Strategy at Uber China who oversees the company’s business in the country. During an interview at Converge in Hong Kong, Liu stated her firm would overtake Didi on overall marketshare within the next twelve months.

Liu claimed Uber is growing rapidly in China, to the point that it is only a matter of time before it snatches the top spot.

“Last year, we were only operating in eight cities and we were [at] about one percent marketshare. A year later, we are about one-third of the marketshare and operating in over sixty cities across China,” she said.

A change at the top would represent a remarkable achievement for Uber. The firm has only been in China for just over two years and, as its own CEO has acknowledged, it has poured billions into a fierce rivalry with four-year-old Didi — which itself was created via a merger when China’s top two ride-sharing firms abandoned an expensive subsidies battle to join forces in 2015.

Generally speaking it is hard to find accurate data that measures how Uber and Didi, which is present in over 400 cities, are performing in China, although most reports and watchers peg Didi as being a large margin ahead. Nevertheless, China remains the most important market for Uber worldwide, Liu said. Six of Uber’s top ten busiest cities are located in China, and she expects that China will continue to account for even more of its top locations.

Uber China earlier this year raised more than $1 billion at a $7 billion valuation, and Liu said that the company is actively raising funding once again. She added that some of that round will come from parent company, Uber Inc, which just closed a $3.5 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Didi, by contrast, is backed by local Chinese giants including Alibaba and Tencent, while Apple recently joined the party with a landmark $1 billion investment in the firm last month. Interviewed separately at Converge, Didi’s Senior Director for International Strategy, Li Zijian, was more diplomatic on the rivalry, pointing out that his firm isn’t concerned with others.

“There’s lot of competition in the ride-sharing market, that’s true [but] what we are really doing is to focus on what’s in front of us,” Li said. “It’s like running a hurdles race, if you want to win a hurdles race the only thing you need to focus on is what’s in front of you. You don’t really look over your shoulder to see what other athletes are doing.”

(Inc.com) He Sold His Business for $2 Billion. Now He's an Uber Driver. Huh?

He Sold His Business for $2 Billion. Now He's an Uber Driver. Huh?

If you see Kayak co-founder Paul English behind the wheel of his Tesla, don't get too friendly. He may be working.

Last year, Paul English, a co-founder of the travel booking site Kayak--which Priceline bought for $1.8 billion in 2012--looked at his calendar. Ninety percent of his meetings and outings, he realized, were with people in tech or nonprofits. He wanted to broaden his circle. So he started driving for Uber. In his Tesla Model S. On Halloween. After hosting a costume party.

"I went out driving from midnight to 2 a.m.," English says. "People thought it was kind of hilarious that someone dressed up like a vampire was driving a Tesla."

It's a gig English still does a few hours a week in and around his hometown of Boston. "If anyone asks what I do for a living, I usually say I'm an engineer, and then I ask what they do," English says. "It's more interesting to hear about other people."

English doesn't soup up his ride with bottled water or candy. But he keeps a notebook and writes down a sentence about every rider. One of his more memorable passengers was a 13-year-old girl from China, who was visiting high schools in Boston. She hoped that attending one would make it easier to get into Massachusetts Institute of Technology--where English is a part-time instructor at the business school. He mentioned that to her.

"She kind of didn't believe me," he says. "She said, 'Why are you driving a car if you teach at MIT?' I told her I have many lives."

Ubering has helped English understand how service-economy professionals are rated. His newest startup, Lola, which has raised $19.7 million and, as of this writing, is nearing its launch, will have travel agents create itineraries for consumers, who will rate their experience from one to five. At presstime, English's Uber rating was a sterling 4.97. "Being a competitive person," English says, "I wonder: Who didn't give me five stars? What did I do wrong?"

Which is exactly why he set up Lola that way. "I want my agents to be competitive," he says. "Having ratings allows you to say, 'I want to get better.' "

English has a new hobby in mind. "There's a bar right next to my office. We've talked about my helping out behind the bar on Mondays as a bar back," he muses. "It would be a cool way to get to know new people." And he could be blessedly free of worrying about his rating while he does it.