Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Cleantech Solutions Gains After Exclusivity Agreement For Potential Takeover Of Inspirit Studio; 22nd Century Group Shares Drop

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.06 percent to 22,759.62 while the NASDAQ declined 0.05 percent to 6,586.81. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.12 percent to 2,546.28.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Monday afternoon, the non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares surged 0.52 percent.

In trading on Monday, healthcare shares fell 0.42 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Davita Inc DVA, down 9 percent, and Endocyte, Inc. ECYT down 7 percent.

Top Headline

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. AXTA lowered its guidance for 2017.

Axalta now projects 2017 sales to increase 6 percent-7 percent. The company also expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $870 million to $900 million. The company earlier expected sales growth of 7 percent to 8 percent, and EBITDA of $940 million to $970 million.

Equities Trading UP

Cleantech Solutions International Inc CLNT shares shot up 102 percent to $6.72 after the company reported an exclusivity agreement for the potential takeover of Inspirit Studio.

Shares of Sphere 3D Corp. ANY got a boost, shooting up 20 percent to $3.03 after the company disclosed that HVE has been awarded a $1 million contract.

Onconova Therapeutics Inc ONTX shares were also up, gaining 31 percent to $2.30. H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Onconova Therapeutics with a Buy rating and a $6 price target.

Equities Trading DOWN

K2M Group Holdings Inc KTWO shares dropped 19 percent to $17.65 after the company issued a weak sales forecast.

Shares of 22nd Century Group Inc XXII were down 12 percent to $3.00 after the company reported a $54 million private placement.

Tandem Diabetes Care Inc TNDM was down, falling around 23 percent to $0.630 after the company reported an approval of 1-for-8 reverse stock split.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.77 percent to $49.67 while gold traded up 0.73 percent to $1,284.20.

Silver traded up 0.92 percent Monday to $16.945, while copper rose 0.10 percent to $3.032.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.19 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.50 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.38 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.16 percent, and the French CAC 40 gained 0.11 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.20 percent.

Economics

On the economics calendar Monday, there is no important data due out.