Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Container Store Drops On Earnings Miss; MacroGenics Shares Climb

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.01 percent to 25,408.42 while the NASDAQ declined 0.37 percent to 7,374.74. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.18 percent to 2,732.68.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Wednesday afternoon, the health care shares climbed 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included MacroGenics, Inc. MGNX up 126 percent, and Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. PTI up 17 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, communication services shares fell 1.4 percent.

Top Headline

General Motors Company GM reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

The automaker achieved $38.4 billion in sales and $1.43 earnings per share against Street estimates of $36.55 billion and $1.22, respectively. The figures represent a decline from last year’s fourth-quarter EPS of $1.65 and an increase from revenue of $37.72 billion. GM delivered 3 million vehicles domestically at an average transaction price of nearly $36,000 to achieve the top-line rates.

The company sees FY2019 adjusted earnings of $6.50-$7.00 per share versus the $6.25 estimate.

 

Equities Trading UP

MacroGenics, Inc. MGNX shares got a boost, shooting up 126 percent to $25.09 after reporting positive results from pivotal Phase 3 SOPHIA study of margetuximab.

Shares of Snap Inc. SNAP shot up 26 percent to $8.85 after the company reported stronger-than-expected earnings and sales for its fourth quarter.

Novelion Therapeutics Inc. NVLN shares were also up, gaining 45 percent to $1.39 after the company announced a licensing agreement in which Novelion's subsidiary company will receive $25 million and 22.5 percent in royalties on JUXTAPID sales in Japan.

Equities Trading DOWN

Arlo Technologies, Inc. ARLO shares dropped 45 percent to $4.14 after reporting a wider-than-expected Q4 loss.

Shares of Container Store Group Inc TCS were down 23 percent to $5.97 after third-quarter earnings and sales missed estimate. The company also guided full-year sales at the lower end of the range.

Calix, Inc. CALX was down, falling around 26 percent to $8.00. Calix posted upbeat Q4 earnings, while sales missed estimates.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.63 percent to $54.00 while gold traded down 0.26 percent to $1,315.80.

Silver traded down 0.64 percent Wednesday to $15.735, while copper rose 0.55 percent to $2.8325.

 

Eurozone

European shares were mixed today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.15 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.10 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.82 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX declined 0.38 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.08 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.06 percent.

Economics

The U.S. trade deficit declined 11.5 percent to $49.3 billion in November, versus a revised $55.7 billion for October. However, economists were expecting a trade deficit of $53.7 billion. Imports slipped 2.9 percent to $259.2 billion, while exports dropped 0.6 percent to $209.9 billion.

Domestic crude supplies increased 1.26 million barrels for the week ended February 1, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a gain of 2.18 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles rose 513,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles dropped 2.26 million barrels last week.

Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles is set to speak in New York at 6:05 p.m. ET.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will speak in Washington D.C. at 7:00 p.m. ET.