Market Pulse: HP, Bioreference, Bioscrip, Tilly's, Infoblox, Marathon

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27/11/2013 19:29

(For more market insights, including options activity, click on STXNEWS/US ; for the Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, http://link.reuters.com/nex49s) U.S. stock indexes edged higher on Wednesday as a round of positive data boosted optimism about the pace of global growth and Hewlett-Packard Co  HPQ.N  rallied after announcing its results. The Dow Jones industrial average  .DJI  was up 0.12 percent at 16,091.84, the S&P 500  .SPX  was up 0.19 percent at 1,806.22 and the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC  was up 0.44 percent at 4,035.412.  .N  ** HEWLETT-PACKARD CO  HPQ.N , $27.01, +7.65 pct  Signs that Hewlett-Packard's turnaround plan is finally yielding results put the company's stock on track for its biggest one-day jump in a year on Wednesday. HP shares rose 9 percent to $27.33 in early trading, after at least one brokerage raised its rating on the PC maker's shares and another nine raised their price targets.  ID:nL4N0JC2WC  ** BIOREFERENCE LABS INC  BRLI.O , $30.42, -19.37 pct ** QUEST DIAGNOSTICS INC  DGX.N , $61.26, -1.32 pct  ** LABORATORY CORP OF AMERICA HOLDINGS  LH.N , $102.79, -2.15 pct Laboratory services provider Bioreference forecast fourth-quarter and full-year earnings well below Wall Street estimates, citing the proposed changes in Medicare and Medicaid Services reimbursement rates and the challenges related to the Affordable Healthcare Act. The company said it expects earnings of about 40 cents per share for the fourth quarter and about $1.65 per share for the full year.  ID:nGNXUZIEHa  Jefferies & Co analyst Brian Tanquilut said the company's forecast highlighted the cloudy reimbursement outlook for laboratory service providers like Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corp of America. ** BIOSCRIP INC  BIOS.O , $7.045, +19.41 pct Shares of the company, which provides drug infusion therapies at patients' homes, jumped after drugstore chain operator and pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark Corp  CVS.N  said it will buy Apria Healthcare Group Inc's  SKYACA.UL  infusion services and nutrition business for $2.1 billion. ID:nL2N0JC0QX  ** TILLY'S INC  TLYS.N , $12, -24.43 pct ** ZUMIEZ INC  ZUMZ.O , $27.37, -7.15 pct The teen apparel retailer forecast a much lower-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter, citing weak customer traffic amid increased promotions in the holiday season.  ID:nL4N0JB3WP  ** INFOBLOX INC  BLOX.N , $34.44, -23.40 pct The network equipment maker forecast second-quarter results below analysts' expectations. Infoblox's shares have almost tripled in the past year, spurred by strong demand for its automation products that help telecom companies manage internet traffic more efficiently.  ID:nL4N0JB47N   ** ELTEK LTD  ELTK.O , $3.14, +47.42 pct The Israeli printed circuit board maker reported a 350 percent jump in third-quarter profit helped by higher gross margins.  ID:nPn2PQBlK  Earlier this month, Eltek said it sold a majority stake in the company to peer Nistec Ltd for $4.2 million.  ID:nPn4M5V1V  ** MILLER ENERGY RESOURCES INC  MILL.N , $8.14, +5.44 pct Analysts at Casimir Capital upgraded the oil and gas producer's stock to "buy" from "hold", citing the acquisition of assets in Alaska. Miller Energy reported the acquisition of the North Fork Unit and affiliated assets from Armstrong Cook Inlet by its subsidiary for $59.975 million in cash and $5 million in the company's Series D Preferred Stock on Monday. ID:nMKWJctMxa  ** RUCKUS WIRELESS INC  RKUS.N , $13.34, +5.45 pct  Stifel Nicolaus started coverage of the Wi-Fi equipment maker with a "buy" rating and a price target of $17, citing customer growth at the company. The company's service provider customers include KDDI, O2, Sprint, PCCW, BSkyB, and Time Warner Cable. WiFi hot spots are increasingly being deployed by overburdened cellular networks to offload traffic and complement network coverage, and by enterprises to enable corporate network access. ** GW PHAMACEUTICALS PLC  GWPH.O , $37.05, +5.86 pct The company said its cannabis-based drug, Sativex, recieved Swiss regulatory approval for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients who have not responded to conventional treatment. Sativex will be marketed in Switzerland by GW's European partner, Almirall SA  ALM.MC . Sativex now holds approval in 23 countries, the company said in a statement. ID:nPn1TrNDy  Piper Jaffray initiated coverage of the stock with an "overweight" rating.  ** AEROVIRONMENT INC  AVAV.O , $29.645, +10.12 pct The maker of unmanned aircraft systems late on Tuesday forecast 2014 results above Wall Street expectations as its order backlog rose 56 percent to $133.8 million during the second quarter. The company also reported second-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates.  ID:nBw32wyrCa  Sterne Agee & Leach raised its price target on the company's stock to $25 from $21 while Benchmark Co raised its price target to $30 from $26.92. ** 58.COM INC  WUBA.N , $33.83, -9.30 pct  The Chinese online classified ads provider forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $41-$43 million, largely below the $42.9 million estimated by Pacific Crest analyst Cheng Cheng. The company reported a 77.6 percent jump in third-quarter revenue in its first earnings statement as a public company.  ** MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP  MPC.N , $27.01, +7.65 pct  ** HOLLYFRONTIER CORP  HFC.N , $48.5, +3.92 pct  ** VALERO ENERGY CORP  VLO.N , $46.01, +3.74 pct  ** PHILLIPS 66  PSX.N , $70.13, +2.01 pct  The closely watched spread between U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and European benchmark Brent  CL-LCO1=R  was trading at about $18 per barrel on Wednesday, the widest since March. A wide spread will boost margins for U.S. refiners, which process cheap U.S. crude into gasoline, diesel and other products to be sold at prices linked to the more expensive Brent. ** NEWFIELD EXPLORATION CO  NFX.N , $28.06, down 5 pct (2:04 p.m. ET) ** NOBLE ENERGY INC  NBL.N , $69.53, down 5 pct  ** CONTINENTAL RESOURCES INC  CLR.N , $107.11, down 4 pct ** CARRIZO OIL & GAS, INC  CRZO.O . $39.98, down 4 pct Energy stocks were down as U.S. crude oil futures fell by nearly $2 on Wednesday, hit by a higher-than-expected build in inventories. Brent crude  LCOc1  was down 28 cents at $110.60 a barrel by 1:26 p.m. ET, reversing course after earlier hitting $111.54. U.S. oil  CLc1  fell $1.72 to $91.96 a barrel after going as low as $91.77. ID:nL2N0JC1C7  ** FRONTLINE LTD  FRO.N , $2.55, +8.51 pct The crude tanker arm of shipping tycoon John Fredriksen's business empire is looking to restructure after heavy losses, it said on Tuesday. Frontline expects some improvement in the fourth quarter thanks to improved market conditions, it said. ID:nL5N0JC1IZ  ** GENCO SHIPPING AND TRADING LTD  GNK.N , $2.28, +7.55 pct  ** EAGLE BULK SHIPPING INC  EGLE.O , $3.61, +3.74 pct  ** PARAGON SHIPPING INC  PRGN.O , $5.392, +3.30 pct  ** DRYSHIPS INC  DRYS.O , $3.259, +5.44 pct  ** BALTIC TRADING LTD  BALT.N , $4.77, +2.36 pct  ** STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP  SBLK.O , $9.14, +5.18 pct  The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index  .BADI , which gauges the cost of shipping bulk commodities such as iron ore, grain, coal and fertiliser, rose for a third day on Wednesday on higher capesize and panamax rates. The overall index, which factors in the average daily earnings of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, rose more than 60 points or 4 percent to 1,573 points.   ** REPROS THERAPEUTICS INC  RPRX.O , $16.31, +7.30 pct Piper Jaffrey initiated coverage of the drug developer with an "overweight" rating. ** GLOBAL BRASS AND COPPER HOLDINGS INC  BRSS.N  $15.9, -5.97 pct The metal components supplier said Halkos Holdings LLC, the beneficial owner of 34.4 percent of its common stock, was selling 7.31 million shares.  ID:nWNBB036Y0  ** DURATA THERAPEUTICS INC  DRTX.O , $12.6, +16.67 pct The company said U.S. health regulators granted priority review to its experimental skin drug, Dalvance, and set a review date of May 26, 2014.  ID:nGNXUZIBUa  This status allows for an expedited review process for medicines that are considered potentially significant therapeutic advancements over existing therapies. ** ARIAD PHARMA  ARIA.O , $4.47, -4.49 pct The drugmaker's shares lost some of the gains since Friday, when it said European regulators recommended the continued use of its leukemia drug, Iclusig. Shares of the company had risen nearly 68 percent since then up to Tuesday closing. More than 23 million shares have been changed hands on Wednesday. ** LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC  LYG.N , $5.06, +3.27 pct  Britain's biggest retail bank  LLOY.L  will probably sell a significant proportion of its remaining 22 percent stake in wealth manager St James' Place Plc  SJP.L  in the first two weeks of December, Bloomberg reported, citing Panmure Gordon & Co. (http://link.reuters.com/byk94v) ** FOSTER WHEELER AG  FWLT.O , $30.47, +6.06 pct British engineer Amec  AMEC.L  is looking at Swiss-based rival Foster Wheeler among a number of potential acquisition targets, but is not currently in talks with the company, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday.  ID:nL5N0JC282  ** ANALOG DEVICES INC  ADI.O , $47.08, -5.69 pct The chipmaker reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and forecast current-quarter results below analysts' expectations as customers remain cautious about spending. ID:nBw4JlrJpa   ** CROCS INC  CROX.O , $13.81, +1.99 pct The shoemaker, known for its brightly colored clogs, is in talks with buyout firms including Blackstone Group LP  BX.N  about a possible investment, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. (http://link.reuters.com/mak94v)   ** SHANDA GAMES LTD  GAME.O , $4.07, -0.97 pct The Chinese online game developer's third-quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates on Tuesday due to falling sales of its massively multiplayer online games - Mir II, Dragon Nest and Woool. The company also reported a fall in average monthly paying users due to the conversion of some lower-spending paying accounts into free accounts and the discontinuation of its unpopular "RIFT" game.  ID:nPn6mnjWP  (Compiled by Avik Das in Bangalore; Edited by Don Sebastian) ((avik.das@thomsonreuters.com)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780)(outside U.S. +91 80 6749 1130)(Reuters Messaging: avik.das.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS USA STOCKS/PULSE