Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Portola Climbs On FDA Approval For Bevyxxa; American Software Shares Plunge

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.03 percent to 21,403.48 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.50 percent to 6,267.81. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.24 percent to 2,440.34.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials shares rose by 0.74 percent in the US market on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF, and United States Steel Corporation X.

In trading on Friday, healthcare shares fell by 0.09 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ARNA, down 6 percent, and Omeros Corporation OMER, down 5 percent.

Top Headline

BlackBerry Ltd BBRY reported an unexpected profit for the first quarter. However, sales trailed expectations. The company also announced a stock buyback program.

BlackBerry posted non-GAAP earnings of $0.02 per share versus break-even results a year ago. Non-GAAP revenue came in at $244 million, missing the consensus of $264.51 million.

Equities Trading UP

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AVEO shares shot up 69 percent to $1.23 after the company reported positive CHMP opinion for tivozanib for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Shares of Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. SNCR got a boost, shooting up 34 percent to $16.35. Synchronoss Technologies confirmed the receipt of indication of interest from Siris Capital Group to acquire all outstanding shares for $18 per share in cash.

Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc PTLA shares were also up, gaining 46 percent to $55.68 after the company disclosed that the FDA has approved Bevyxxa, a blood-thinner for acutely ill patients not undergoing surgery. BevyxXa is the first oral drug of its kind to be approved to help prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms..

Equities Trading DOWN

TOP SHIPS Inc TOPS shares dropped 59 percent to $0.995. TOP SHIPS enacted a 1:15 reverse stock split today.

Shares of American Software, Inc. AMSWA were down 12 percent to $10.58. American Software reported preliminary Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.09 per share on revenue of $26.3 million.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY was down, falling around 12 percent to $29.61 after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.26 percent to $42.85 while gold traded up 0.54 percent to $1,256.10.

Silver traded up 0.80 percent Friday to $16.705, while copper rose 0.98 percent to $2.6355.

Eurozone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.23 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.74 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index declined 0.46 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.47 percent, and the French CAC 40 dropped 0.30 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.20 percent.

Economics

The preliminary reading of Markit manufacturing PMI declined to 52.1 in June, compared to 52.7 in May. However, economists were expecting a reading of 53 for June. The preliminary services PMI declined to 53 in June, from 53.6 in May. Economists projected a reading of 53.7 for June.

New-home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 610,000 in May. However, economists were expecting a 597,000 pace.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.