Market Pulse: JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Infosys, Orchard Supply

Crumbs Bake Shop

12/04/2013 18:42

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April 12 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks on the move on Friday:

WALL ST DOWN AFTER DATA, BANKS' RESULTS; S&P UP ABOUT 2 PCT FOR WEEK

U.S. stocks fell, pulling back from record levels set a day earlier, after retail sales unexpectedly dropped last month and results from major banks failed to impress investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average  .DJI  was down 20.60 points, or 0.14 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index  .SPX  was down 7.36 points, or 0.46 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index  .IXIC  was down 12.95 points, or 0.38 percent.  N

** ORCHARD SUPPLY HARDWARE STORES  OSH.O , $2.19, down 44 pct (1322 ET)

The hardware and garden chain spun off from Sears Holdings Corp  SHLD  in 2012 has hired restructuring lawyers as it faces an impending debt payment and pursues talks with lenders, the Wall Street Journal reported. (http://r.reuters.com/ryx37t)

** BARRICK GOLD CORP  ABX.N   ABX.TO , $23.45, down 5 pct (1154 ET)

** MCEWEN MINING INC  MUX.N   MUX.TO , $2.28, down 8 pct (1146 ET)

** IAMGOLD CORP  IAG.N   IMG.TO , $5.77, down 7 pct (1154 ET)

** YAMANA GOLD INC  AUY.N   YRI.TO , $13.19, down 7 pct (1154 ET)

** GOLDCORP INC  GG.N   G.TO  , $29.91; down 4 pct (1155 ET)

** ALAMOS GOLD INC  AGI.N   AGI.TO ; $11.41, down 7 pct (1156 ET)

** HARMONY GOLD MINING LTD  HMY.N   HARJ.J , $5.61, down 6.5 pct (1156 ET)

Shares of North America's gold miners slid as the spot price of bullion dropped more than 4 percent, falling below $1,500 an ounce to its lowest point since July 2011.

Gold  XAU=  touched a low of $1,493.35, more than 20 percent below its record peak in September 2011, weighed down in part by a draft plan for Cyprus to sell bullion, and outflows from exchange-traded gold funds.  GOL/   ID:nL2N0CZ16V

** JPMORGAN CHASE & CO  JPM.N , $49.19, down 0.3 pct (1152 ET)

JPMorgan Chase posted a higher first-quarter profit on Friday as it spent less money on litigation, but most of its major businesses turned in tepid performances, and the bank's overall revenue declined.  ID:nL2N0CZ0CT

** WELLS FARGO & CO  WFC.N , $36.89, down 2 pct (1153 ET)

The No. 4 U.S. bank by assets reported a higher-than-expected 23 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Friday, but its mortgage business showed further signs of slowing and net interest margins continued to shrink.

ID:nL3N0CZ88O

** CRUMBS BAKE SHOP INC  CRMB.O , $1.99, down 34 pct (1158 ET)

The cupcake specialty store chain's fourth-quarter loss widened and net sales fell 2 percent, as Hurricane Sandy hit the critical Halloween selling season. The company lowered its sales forecast for 2013 to about $57 million from its earlier estimate of $73 million.

"The Company's projected sales are predicated on continued weakness at street-level stores offset by positive contributions from newer mall-based stores and kiosks," Crumbs said. ID:nASB00RKW   ID:nBwvcBgFa

** CLEANTECH SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL INC  CLNT.O , $4.42, up 41 pct

The company, which makes metal components for the clean energy industry, said adjusted fourth-quarter income more than tripled to $2.7 million, due to strong demand for its dyeing machines and higher sales of products to its wind power customers.  ID:nPnCN93445

** INFOSYS LTD  INFY.N , $43.09, down 21 pct (1211 ET)

** COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP  CTSH.O , $74.39, down 4 pct (1211 ET)

** WIPRO LTD  WIT.N , $8.62, down 6 pct (1211 ET)

Infosys forecast full-year sales growth that missed analysts' expectations by a margin of  to 50 percent, dimming investor hopes that India's No.2 software services company

INFY.NS  will soon start reaping the benefits of its strategic revamp.  ID:nL3N0CZ0SS

** ALVARION LTD  ALVR.TA   ALVR.O , $3.33, down 15 pct (1156 ET)

Chief Executive Hezi Lapid, who headed the Israeli wireless broadband technology firm for just a year, resigned from his post. Robin Hacke, a board member, also resigned. The company did not offer any reason for these resignations.  ID:nGNX7dc966

ID:nGNXc1wcpr

Alvarion, whose chief financial officer resigned in December, is in the process of selling its broadband wireless access business to telecom equipment provider Telrad Networks.

ID:nL6N0BO0YU

** BANKRATE INC  RATE.N , $12.80, up 7 pct (1201 ET)

Stifel upgraded the stock of the online personal finance content publisher to "buy" from "hold."  ID:nWNBB0082Z

** RALLY SOFTWARE  RALY.N , $18.17, up 30 pct (1228 ET)

** EVERTEC INC  EVTC.N , $21.00, up 5 pct (1230 ET)

Shares of Rally Software rose as much as 31 percent in their market debut after the software company priced its IPO of 6 million shares at $14 per share.

Shares of Evertec Inc rose as much as 10 percent in their market debut, valuing the payment processor at $1.75 billion a day after it priced its IPO at the top end of the expected price range. More than 8 million shares had changed hands by 1115 ET, making the stock the most heavily traded on the New York Stock Exchange.  ID:nL3N0CZ5P5

** INTEROIL CORP  IOC.N , $74.55, up 8 pct (1157 ET)

Raymond James analyst Alex Morris said the stock was up on market reports that Royal Dutch Shell Plc  RDSa.L  would buy into the liquefied natural gas producer's proposed LNG terminal in Papua New Guinea. Shell confirmed last year that they have had discussions with InterOil.  ID:nL4E8IQ794

**PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT INC  PNK.N , $17.04, up 4 pct (1202 ET)

Deutsche Bank raised its rating on the casino operator's stock to "buy" from "hold". The brokerage cited a number of favorable catalysts for the upgrade, including a compelling valuation relative to peers and an underappreciated potential for operating synergies.

Pinnacle acquired Ameristar Casinos Inc  ASCA.O  for about $869 million in December 2012.  ID:nL4N09V3W3

** EURONET WORLDWIDE INC  EEFT.O , $26.09, down 7 pct (1034 ET)

Sterne Agee cut its rating on the electronic payment services provider's stock to "neutral" from "buy," saying the stock met its $28 price target and "it will be more difficult for the shares to outperform the S&P 500 from here over the coming months".

** RITE AID CORP  RAD.N , $2.25, up 6 percent (1200 ET)

Raymond James upgraded its rating on the third-largest U.S. drugstore chain's stock to "outperform" from "market perform," saying the company poised to reap the benefits of its recent refinancing and is on track to generate meaningful free cash flow.

Shares of Rite Aid rose to their highest in more than three years to $2.31 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

** BLACKBERRY  BB.TO   BBRY.O , $13.73, up 1.3 pct (1159 ET)

The Canadian company said on Friday it would ask securities regulators in Canada and the United States to probe a report about retail return rates for its new Z10 smartphone that it called "false and misleading." The company said return rates were at or below its forecasts and in line with industry norms.

ID:nL2N0CZ0KC

** FOREST OIL CORP  FST.N , $4.95, down 1.4 pct (1001 ET)

** SCHLUMBERGER LTD  SLB.N , $75.82, down 2 pct (1001 ET)

Forest oil said Schlumberger, the oilfield services sector leader, will pick  a 50 percent working interest in the oil and gas producer's Eagle Ford shale acreage by paying $90 million towards future drilling costs.

** M&T BANK CORP  MTB.N , $100.96, down 4 pct (1200 ET)

** HUDSON CITY BANCORP INC  HCBK.O , $8.32, down 5 pct (1200 ET)

The two banks said on Friday it may take more time than expected for the U.S. Federal Reserve to rule on M&T's proposed $3.7 billion purchase of its smaller rival because of concerns over M&T's anti-money laundering program.  ID:nL2N0CZ0NU

** ARCH COAL INC  ACI.N , $5.40, down 4 pct (1201 ET)

** PEABODY ENERGY CORP  BTU.N , $20.60, down 1 pct (1201 ET)

** CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC  CLF.N , $19.18, down 4 pct (1202 ET)

** ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES INC  ANR.N , $7.96, down 2 pct (1202 ET)

Australian thermal coal benchmark prices recovered slightly to around $89 per tonne this week as Japanese utilities struck a deal with global miner Xstrata  XTA.L  for their annual coal contract.

Australia's Newcastle spot index  GCLNWCWIDX  rose to $88.90 per tonne on Wednesday,  from $86.71 per tonne a week earlier, data from online trading platform globalCOAL showed. ID:nL3N0CZ3OD

** WALTER ENERGY INC  WLT.TO   WLT.N , $24.06, down 0.3 pct (1203 ET)

The coal miner, which is locked in a proxy fight with an activist hedge fund, said on Thursday that its first-quarter performance had improved from that of the fourth quarter of 2012.  ID:nL2N0CY24A

** MANNKIND CORP  MNKD.O , $3.90, down 9 pct (1203 ET)

An article on the Seeking Alpha website said the medical device maker's diabetes therapy will not be approved by health regulators as it is likely to have lesser efficacy when compared to a placebo. (http://link.reuters.com/rew37t)

The therapy, called Afrezza, is intended for the treatment of adult patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The therapy consists of a powder loaded into a cartridge which is used as an inhaler.

** MASTERCARD INC  MA.N , $533.16, down 1.5 pct (1204 ET)

** VISA INC  V.N , $166.23, down 1 pct (1204 ET)

Brokerage Sterne Agee graded both the payment processors' stocks to "neutral" from "buy." MasterCard is expected to face tough competition from Visa due to its margins, Sterne Agee analyst Greg Smith wrote in a note to clients. He also said that regulatory and political risks could have a greater impact on the share price of Visa.

** XENOPORT INC  XNPT.O , $7.08, down 3 pct (1204 ET)

The pharmaceutical company said its marketing partner, GlaxoSmithKline  GSK.L , experienced delays in production of XenoPort's restless leg syndrome drug, Horizant, which resulted in the drug being out of stock.

XenoPort said it expects Horizant to be available in pharmacies in June. The company is also evaluating the impact, if any, on the company's financial expectations for Horizant. ID:nBw7dqqmca

** CALLAWAY GOLF CO  ELY.N , $6.57, down 6 pct (1205 ET)

Raymond James graded the golf equipment retailer to "market perform" from "outperform," citing the sudden and significant devaluation of the Japanese Yen, and to a lesser extent similar challenges with the British Pound.

Callaway generated 48 percent of revenues from the United States, while Japan and Europe represented 19 percent and 14 percent of total revenues, as of end of 2012.

** ASHLAND INC  ASH.N , $84.00 up 7 pct (1205 ET)

Activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC picked  a 7.4 percent stake in Ashland, saying the chemicals maker's stock was "undervalued." Jana Partners said Ashland's current value represents "an attractive investment opportunity," according to a regulatory filing.  ID:nL3N0CYCQ6

** J.C. PENNEY CO INC  JCP.N , $14.39, down 3 pct (1207 ET)

** BLACKSTONE GROUP LP  BX.N , $20.93, up 0.8 pct (1206 ET)

Troubled Penny has hired Blackstone's financial advisory arm to explore how best to position the firm financially, three sources said on Thursday, while key investor William Ackman said shareholders were willing to put  more capital.  ID:nL3N0CZ0N8

** HARRIS CORP  HRS.N , $44.11, down 5 pct (1206 ET)

The satellite operator estimated third-quarter results below analysts' expectations and cut its forecast for the year ended June 29 on government budget uncertainty and the likelihood of "key international tactical radio orders" being delayed. Harris is scheduled to report third-quarter results on April 30.

The company also said it is restructuring its operations such as workforce reduction, facility consolidation, and prepayment of debt mainly in the fourth quarter, resulting in pre-tax charges of between $65 million and $115 million.

ID:nBwrZYkba

**RUBY TUESDAY INC  RT.N , $9.07, up 3 pct (1232 ET)

Raymond James raised its price target on Ruby Tuesday's stock to $9.00 from $8.50 and said that despite slightly disappointing results in the third quarter, the casual dining chain's recent changes in menu and marketing strategy were showing signs of early traction.

** HOME DEPOT INC  HD.N , $73.33, up 2 pct (1208 ET)

Jefferies & Co graded the home-improvement chain's stock to "buy" from "hold," saying it has a bullish view on sales for the near and intermediate terms. "Our recent checks continue to come back favorable, so while it may be chilly outside, we think weather will not impede Home Depot's ability to post strong comparable-store sales in Q1," Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder wrote in a note.

** J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT SERVICES INC  JBHT.O , $71.84, down 3 pct (1208 ET)

The U.S. trucker's first-quarter profit missed analysts' estimates, hurt by higher costs at two of its businesses that contribute about 30 percent of the company's total revenue.

ID:nBw4NB4fCa

At least three brokerages raised their target price on the stock on Friday. "The earnings miss confirms our thesis that the company will continue to see solid top-line trends, but will likely continue to do so at the expense of pricing and margins," Amit Daryanani, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a research note published on Friday.

(Compiled by Aditi Shrivastava in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)

((Aditi.Shrivastava@thomsonreuters.com)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5783)(Reuters Messaging: aditi.shrivastava.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS USA STOCKS/PULSE