DAILY US EQUITY OPENING NEWS: Tesla reported an offering of USD 250mln of common stock and USD 750mln of convertible sr notes, due 2022,

US CLOSING PRICES: DJIA: 20950.10 (+0.54%), NASDAQ-100: 5416.25 (+0.63%), S&P 500: 2385.21 (+0.84%)

US EQUITY EARNINGS

Large Cap (>USD 20bln) Stocks​​

Oracle (ORCL) – Q3 EPS USD 0.69 vs. Exp. USD 0.62 and revenue USD 9.21bln vs. Exp. USD 9.24bln.

Dollar General (DG) – Q3 EPS USD 1.49 vs. Exp. USD 1.41 and revenue USD 6.00bln.

Small-to-Mid Cap Stocks (USD 5-20bln)​​

Athene Holding (ATH) – Q3 EPS USD 1.46 vs. Exp. USD 0.98.             

DJIA

Apple (AAPL) – Co.’s competitor Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 is said to use facial recognition for payments. (Newswires)

Boeing (BA) – The Co. has been awarded a USD 3.3bln US Army contract and USD371mln DoD contract. (Newswires)

Goldman Sachs (GS) – The Co. has spent USD 4.5bln on Fannie Mae-owned loans. (Newswires)

Microsoft (MSFT) – The Co. is ending support for its Windows Vista operating system. (Newswires)

Pfizer (PFE) – The Co.’s drug Xeljanz has been approved in China. (Newswires)

S&P 500

Macy’s (M) – Starboard has sold its interest in the Co. (Newswires)

Monsanto (MON) – The Co. faces new questions over the key chemical used in its flagship herbicide, the chemical does not cause cancer, however the Co. is facing new questions in the US over the safety of the weed killer. (Newswires)

Synopsys (SNPS) – The Co. is to replace Harman (HAR) in the S&P 500 as of today’s open. (Newswires)

NASDAQ 100

Alphabet (GOOG) – The Co.’s new Google Pixel phones have been codenamed Muskie and Walleye; the details are very unclear; however, experts have touted Muskie to be the larger of the two. (Newswires)

Amazon (AMZN) – The Co. has been awarded two patents for robotic wings and legs. (CNBC)

Netflix (NFLX) – The Co. is considering mobile-specific versions of its original series and movies to satisfy a growing audience of mobile watchers. (Newswires)

Tesla (TSLA) – The Co. reported an offering of USD 250mln of common stock and USD 750mln of convertible sr notes, due 2022, furthermore, CEO Musk is to purchase USD 25mln of stock. (Newswires)

Viacom (VIAB) / 21^st Century Fox (FOXA) / Time Warner (TWX) – The Co.’s are set to launch a program for advertisers to focus their commercials a specific television audiences, named the OpenAP. (Newswires)

Yahoo (YHOO) – The Co. is likely started with a spear phishing email, according to Ars Technica. (Ars Technica)

OTHER NEWS

GoPro (GPRO) – The Co. is cutting 270 jobs, forecasting charges up to USD 10mln. (Newswires)

KCG Holdings (KCG) – The Co. has confirmed a receipt of acquisition proposal from Virtu Financial. (Newswires)

TSR (TSRI) – Winifred Hughes has reported a 5.5% stake in the Co. (Newswires)

BROKER MOVES

Upgrades

ALLEGHENY TECHNOLOGIES (ATI) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT SEAPORT GLOBAL

ANTERO RESOURCES (AR) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT GUGGENHEIM

BARRICK GOLD (ABX) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM SECTOR PERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL

CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY (CRS) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT SEAPORT GLOBAL

CLEAN HARBORS (CLH) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM PERFORM AT OPPENHEIMER

DBV TECHNOLOGIES (DBVT) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT SOCIETE GENERALE

DELTA AIR LINES (DAL) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM IN LINE AT EVERCORE ISI

ENTERGY (ETR) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT WELLS FARGO

GENTHERM (THRM) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT ARGUS

GOLDCORP (GG) UPGRADED TO SECTOR PERFORM FROM UNDERPERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL

GOLDEN OCEAN (GOGL) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT PARETO SECURITIES

GOPRO (GPRO) UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM SELL AT CITI

HANCOCK HOLDING (HBHC) UPGRADED TO STRONG BUY FROM OUTPERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES

INFINERA (INFN) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN

INOVIO (INO) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT MAXIM

INSTRUCTURE (INST) UPGRADED TO STRONG BUY FROM OUTPERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES

JABIL CIRCUIT (JBL) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT NEEDHAM

LAM RESEARCH (LRCX) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM SECTOR WEIGHT AT PACIFIC CREST

LENDINGCLUB (LC) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT GUGGENHEIM

LUMENTUM (LITE) UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM SELL AT GOLDMAN

NCR CORP. (NCR) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM PERFORM AT OPPENHEIMER

OASIS PETROLEUM (OAS) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT GUGGENHEIM

ORACLE (ORCL) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN

ORACLE (ORCL) UPGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM UNDERPERFORM AT JMP SECURITIES

PERFORMANCE FOOD GROUP (PFGC) UPGRADED TO CONVICTION BUY FROM BUY AT GOLDMAN

SYNAPTICS (SYNA) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT NORTHLAND

TJX (TJX) UPGRADED TO CONVICTION BUY FROM BUY AT GOLDMAN

UMB FINANCIAL (UMBF) UPGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM UNDERPERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES

YPF (YPF) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT UBS

Downgrades

BIOGEN (BIIB) DOWNGRADED TO EQUAL WEIGHT FROM OVERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY

BIOGEN (BIIB) DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT LEERINK

CENTERPOINT ENERGY (CNP) DOWNGRADED TO SECTOR PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL

CIENA (CIEN) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM CONVICTION BUY AT GOLDMAN

EAST WEST (EWBC) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES

GARRISON CAPITAL (GARS) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT WUNDERLICH

INOVIO (INO) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT PIPER JAFFRAY

MASIMO (MASI) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT PIPER JAFFRAY

NEWMONT MINING (NEM) DOWNGRADED TO SECTOR PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL

RUBICON PROJECT (RUBI) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT JEFFERIES

TEXAS CAPITAL (TCBI) DOWNGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM STRONG BUY AT RAYMOND JAMES

TROVAGENE (TROV) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT MAXIM

TROVAGENE (TROV) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT PIPER JAFFRAY

TYSON FOODS (TSN) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT ARGUS

UNITED CONTINENTAL (UAL) DOWNGRADED TO IN LINE FROM OUTPERFORM AT EVERCORE ISI

WILLIAMS-SONOMA (WSM) DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT WILLIAM BLAIR

Initiations

ALLIANT ENERGY (LNT) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT UBS

BIOVERATIV (BIVV) INITIATED WITH AN UNDERPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE

BLACKHAWK (HAWK) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT SUNTRUST

CARBONITE (CARB) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CRAIG-HALLUM

DERMIRA (DERM) INITIATED WITH AN UNDERPERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES

EXELIXIS (EXEL) INITIATED WITH A PERFORM AT OPPENHEIMER

GLOBAL BLOOD THERAPEUTICS (GBT) INITIATED WITH AN OVERWEIGHT AT CANTOR

INSPIRED ENTERTAINMENT (INSE) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT MACQUARIE

JAGGED PEAK ENERGY (JAG) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT STIFEL

SEATTLE GENETICS (SGEN) INITIATED WITH A PERFORM AT OPPENHEIMER

SNAP (SNAP) INITIATED WITH A SELL AT MOFFETTNATHANSON

SYNDAX (SNDX) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT FBR CAPITAL

TIVITY HEALTH (TYTY) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT SUNTRUST

UNITED THERAPEUTICS (UTHR) INITIATED WITH AN UNDERPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE

ZOETIS (ZTS) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CRAIG-HALLUM

16 Mar 2017 - 12:12- Research Sheet- Source: RANsquawk