Markets Little Changed Ahead Of 4th Of July Break

U.S. stocks were little changed despite an ADP jobs report showing better-than-expected numbers.

The ADP report comes ahead of the non-farm payrolls due on Thursday. Analysts are expecting the payrolls to confirm 212,000 jobs were added in June.

The markets will close at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday and re-open Monday, giving investors and traders an extra-long July 4th weekend.

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  • The Dow gained 0.12 percent, closing at 16,976.24.
  • The S&P 500 gained 0.13 percent, closing at 1,974.61.
  • The Nasdaq lost 0.02 percent, closing at 4,457.73.
  • Gold gained 0.13 percent, trading at $1,328.30 an ounce.
  • Oil lost 1.04 percent, trading at $104.24 a barrel.
  • Silver gained 0.46 percent, trading at $21.22 an ounce.

News of Note

MBA Mortgage Composite Index declined 0.2 percent after declining 1.0 percent last week.

MBA Mortgage Purchase Index declined 0.7 percent after declining 1.0 percent last week.

MBA Mortgage Refinance Index gained 0.1 percent after declining 1.0 percent last week.

June ADP Jobs Report gained 281,000, higher than the 213,000 expected and May's gain of 179,000.

June Gallup U.S. Job Creation Index remained unchanged from May at 27.

May Factory Orders declined 0.5 percent, worse than the decline of 0.3 percent expected and noticeably lower than April's 0.8 percent gain.

Canada's PMI rose to a six-month high of 53.5 in June.

The rating agency S&P has placed Argentina's CCC-/C long and short-term foreign currency rating on watch as the country may be on track towards defaulting on certain debts.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades of Note

Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on 3D Systems DDD with a price target raised to $54.50 from a previous $37. Shares lost 1.92 percent, closing at $62.24.

Analysts at Barclays upgraded AbbVie ABBV to Overweight from Equal-weight with a price target raised to $69 from a previous $44. Shares gained 2.14 percent, closing at a new 52-week highs of $58.11.

Analysts at CRT Capital maintained a Buy rating on Actavis ACT with a price target raised to $275 from a previous $245. Shares lost 1.03 percent, closing at $221.70.

Analysts at Evercore Partners maintained an Overweight rating on Apple AAPL with a price target raised to $115 from a previous $100. Shares lost 0.07 percent, closing at $93.45.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Bank of America BAC to Buy from Hold with a price target raised to $18 from a previous $16.50. Shares gained 1.60 percent, closing at $15.85.

Analysts at Barclays downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY to Equal-weight from Overweight with a price target lowered to $46 from a previous $65. Shares gained 0.25 percent, closing at $48.24.

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Analysts at JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on EOG Resources EOG with a price target raised to $137 from a previous $106. Shares lost 0.27 percent, closing at $116.23.

Analysts at Northland Securities initiated coverage of FireEye FEYE with a Market Perform rating and $37 price target. Shares lost 4.41 percent, closing at $39.23.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Intercept Pharmaceuticals ICPT with a Neutral rating and $265 price target. Shares lost 0.78 percent, closing at $246.21.

Analysts at Barclays maintained an Equal-weight rating on Johnson & Johnson JNJ with a price target raised to $102 from a previous $99. Shares lost 0.01 percent, closing at $105.86.

Analysts at Barclays maintained an Equal-weight rating on Merck & Company MRK with a price target raised to $61 from a previous $50. Shares gained 0.92 percent, closing at $59.05.

Analysts at Atlantic equities upgraded Oracle ORCL to Overweight from Neutral with a price target raised to $48 from a previous $39. Shares gained 0.44 percent, closing at $40.95.

Analysts at Barclays maintained an Equal-weight rating on Pfizer PFE with a price target raised to $34 from a previous $32. Shares gained 0.96 percent, closing at $30.37.

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage of SolarCity SCTY with a Buy rating and $94 price target. Shares gained 1.25 percent, closing at $72.11.

Analysts at JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating on Stratasys SSYS with a price target raised to $138 from a previous $104. Shares gained 0.05 percent, closing at $116.28.

Analysts at Nomura maintained a Neutral rating on Time Warner TWX with a price target raised to $74 from a previous $72. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $71.19 before closing the day at $70.93, up 0.51 percent.

Analysts at Macquarie upgraded Urban Outfitters URBN to Outperform from Neutral with a price target raised to $43 from a previous $37. Shares gained 1.89 percent, closing at $34.05.

Analysts at Nomura maintained a Buy rating on Walt Disney Company DIS with a price target raised to $95 from a previous $94. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $86.71 before reversing and closing the day at $86.44, down 0.03 percent.

Equities-Specific News of Note

Exxon Mobil XOM plans to invest $1 billion and build a new facility in Belgium that will convert heavy oil into diesel. Shares gained 0.21 percent, closing at $101.57.

The board of directors of both Tyson Foods TSN and Hillshire Brands HSH have officially approved merging together. Shares of Tyson Foods gained 2.88 percent, closing at $38.96 while shares of Hillshire Brands hit new 52-week highs of $62.81 before closing the day at $62.77, up 0.22 percent.

Freeport McMoRan FCX said that it has no plans to enter an international arbitration over its dispute with the government of Indonesia. Shares gained 2.66 percent, closing at $37.83.

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Cliffs Natural Resources CLF offered Casablanca Capital three seats on its reconstituted board which consists of nine directors. IF the activist hedge fund does not accept the offer, the company said that the board will remain at 11 members. The company also said that it believes that at least two Casablanca nominees would be elected. Shares gained 4.80 percent, closing at $15.72.

UPS UPS plans to invest $1 billion over the next three to five years to expand its European operations. Shares gained 0.68 percent, closing at $103.55.

AutoNation AN reported that it sold 25,450 new vehicles in June, representing a one percent rise from a year ago. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $60.43 before closing the day at $60.41, up 1.05 percent.

A spokesman for JPMorgan JPM confirmed that the company has a short-term, medium-term and long-term succession plan for its CEO Jamie Dimon who was diagnosed with throat cancer. Shares lost 1.04 percent, closing at $56.97.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook FB is introducing new tailored ad formats for its users in emerging markets. Separately, Facebook has purchased LiveRail, a video ad tech platform that connects content providers with video ad inventory for an undisclosed sum. Shares lost 2.37 percent, closing at $66.45.

Winners of Note

Kroger KR has agreed to acquire Vitacost.com VITC for $280 million or $8 per share. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter and will provide Kroger with an e-commerce presence and new products for its grocery aisles. Shares of Kroger lost 0.20 percent, closing at $49.43 while shares of Vitacost.com surged 26.91 percent, closing at $7.97.

According to Bloomberg, Shutterfly SFLY is working with a boutique investment bank to explore a buyer for the company. While still in an early stage, sources close to the deal told Bloomberg that Shutterfly could be sold to a private-equity firm or e-commerce and Web storage companies. Shares gained 14.92 percent, closing at $50.00.

According to TechCrunch, Rackspace Hosting RAX is in talks with a private-equity firm to take the company private. TechCrunch also noted that Hewlett-Packard had presented a $43 price per share after a bid from IBM fell through. However, TechCrunch issued an update and said "we've tried to make clear that we're reporting an unconfirmed source here, but an interesting angle nonetheless." Shares of Rackspace Hosting gained 6.31 percent, closing at $35.88.

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Decliners of Note

Delta Air Lines DAL reported that its June passenger revenue per available seat mile rose less than expected at 4.5 percent. Shares lost 5.14 percent, closing at $38.24.

After strong gains following its IPO, shares of GoPro GPRO lost 13.85 percent, closing at $42.04.

Earnings of Note

This morning, Constellation Brands STZ reported its first quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $1.07, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93. Revenue of $1.53 billion beat the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Net income for the quarter rose to $206.7 million from $52.9 million in the same quarter a year ago as the company saw a 14 percent increase in beer sales. As a result, operating margin improved to 26.5 percent from 25.7 percent. The company raised its full year fiscal 2015 EPS guidance to $4.10 to $4.25 from a previous $3.95 to $4.15 as the company expects beer net sales growth to be approximately ten percent translating to an operating income growth of 25 percent to 30 percent. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $94.77 before closing the day at $90.45, up 2.34 percent.

After the market closed, Synnex SNX reported its second quarter results. The company announced an EPS of $1.52, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36. Revenue of $3.45 billion beat the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. Shares were trading lower by 1.33 percent at $72.95 following the earnings report.

Quote of the Day

"Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." -Abraham Lincoln

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Posted In: EarningsNewsEcon #sEconomicsAfter-Hours CenterMovers3D SystemsAbbVieActavisAppleargentinaAutoNationBank of Americabristol-myersCanadaCliffs Natural ResourcesConstellation BrandsDelta Air LinesDiageoEOG ResourcesExxonMobilFacebookFactory OrdersFireEyeFreeport McMoRanGallup U.S. Job Creation IndexGoProHillshire BrandsIntercept PharmaceuticalsJamie DimonJohnson & JohnsonKrogerLiveRailMBA mortgage indexMerck & CompanyOracleOrangePetroChinaPfizerrackspaceS&PshutterflySolarCityStratasysTime WarnerTotalTyson FoodsupsUrban Outfittersvitacost.comwalt disney
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