Market Update: Friday's Mid-Day Market Movers: Amazon Shocks The Markets; Anthem, Cigna, StanCorp, Pandora

The markets are rallying over earnings as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) surpasses Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) as the world’s largest retailer in terms of market capitalization.

Amazon surprised Wall Street with an earnings report containing profits; revenues grew nearly 20 percent to $23.2 billion with net income of $92 million ($0.19 EPS) versus analyst projections of a loss of approximately $0.15 per share. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is pushing the company into a direction of profitability, proving some investors wrong about Amazon’s platform.

Anthem Inc (NYSE: ANTM) agreed to acquire CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI), a deal that been long anticipated, for a total of $48.4 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal, the merged company is anticipated to ring up approximately $115 billion in annual sales of nearly 53.2 million clients.

Moving onto national perspectives, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is eyeing to propose a significant increase in the capital-gains tax rate for those investments held for short terms (a couple years or less). According to the WSJ, under her plan, “investments held between one and two years would be taxed at the normal income tax of 39.6 percent, nearly doubling the existing 20 percent capital gains rate."

The Dow Jones Industrial Index has been heading down nearly four consecutive weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 0.50 percent, the S&P 500 Index down 0.55 percent, the NASDAQ Composite down 0.24 percent, but the U.S. dollar was up 0.20 percent.

The markets continue to move.

Winners

StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: SFG) skyrocketed 48 percent after Japan’s Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company had agreed to buy the holding company for a total of $5.5 billion, or $76.69 per share.

Calithera Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: CALA) soared 27 percent after the pharmaceutical company was initiated by Citigroup with a Buy rating with a price target of $11.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) again was lifted nearly 22 percent in pre-market trading hours and dwindled down to just above a 15 percent increase after the tech retailer giant reported surprising profitability along with a 20 percent revenue jump, surpassing Wal-Mart as the world’s largest retailer.

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE: P) was up 15 percent after the Internet radio services provider reported better-than-expected earnings; it announced earnings of $0.05 per share versus a projected EPS of approximately $0.03, revenues of $285.56 million versus projected approximately $283.86.

LogMeln Inc (NASDAQ: LOGM) soared 12 percent as the cloud-based services company topped Wall Street analyst expectations; adjusted earnings for one-time gains and costs came to 35 cents per share, above the projected 33 cents per share.

Losers

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNSS) dwindled 71 percent after the pharmaceuticals company’s cancer drug was reported it would most likely not have the approval of the FDA; Roth Capital slashed its rating from Buy to Sell and lowered its price target from $5.50 to $1.00.

TrueCar Inc (NASDAQ: TRUE) declined nearly 38 percent as the online company reported that there will be a big loss for its second quarter; it expects losses of about $15.5 million on sales of approximately $65.3 million, versus projected revenues of $252–$258 million.

Spectranetics Corporation (NASDAQ: SPNC) fell 33 percent after the medical devices manufacturer/developer reported worse-than-expected guidance; it lowered its 2015 guidance revenue to a range around $240–$250 million, versus previous projections of $258 million.

Biogen Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) was down 19 percent after the biopharmaceutical company cut its sales growth forecasts in half due to a decline in Tecfidera, its flagship drug, demand.

Constant Contact Inc (NASDAQ: CTCT) was down 18 percent after Baird Capital downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral; analysts also cut its price targets from $40 to $35.

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