Wall Street’s main stock indexes rose as earnings season continues and vaccination efforts coupled with the prospect of a stimulus package boosted investor appetite for riskier assets.
Pick the best stocks and maximize your portfolio:
- Discover top-rated stocks from highly ranked analysts with Analyst Top Stocks!
- Easily identify outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%. The S&P 500 Index added less than 0.1%.
In earnings news, shares of Coty plunged 16% after the cosmetic maker’s quarterly sales fell short of analysts’ expectations. In the three months ended Dec. 31, Coty’s revenue slipped 15.9% to $1.415 billion, lagging the Street consensus of $1.433 billion, as sales in the US and EMEA regions were hit most due to pandemic-led store closures and a decline in make-up usage events. Meanwhile, adjusted EPS declined to $0.17 from $0.27 in the year-ago period, but came in ahead of the $0.7 per share expected by analysts.
Take-Two Interactive Software stock dipped 6.5% as the video game company sees a decline in 4Q net bookings, due to lower digital delivery net bookings. Meanwhile, in the third quarter ending Dec. 31, 2020, the company’s earnings and net bookings beat analysts’ estimates. Revenue declined 7.4% to $860.9 million year-over-year, as net bookings fell 8.3% to $814.3 million but topped the Street consensus of $752.8 million.
KKR & Co. raised a record $44 billion in new capital in 2020 and invested a record $12.5 billion during the fourth quarter as the private equity company took advantage of deal-making opportunities during the coronavirus pandemic. The private equity firm’s flagship private equity funds posted a gross return of 32% last year. After-tax distributable earnings per adjusted share in 4Q increased 11% to $0.49 year-on-year, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.41 as transaction and management fees leaped. In 2020, assets under management grew 15% to $252 billion. Shares advanced 3.5%
Real estate company Simon Property Group reported 4Q revenue and provided a fiscal 2021 earnings outlook, which beat Street estimates. The company’s funds from operations (FFO) came in at $2.17 per share, reflecting a negative impact of $0.95 per share due to lower revenues from the company’s domestic and international operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by cost reduction initiatives. BMO Capital analyst John Kim, who has a price target of $97 and a Hold rating on the stock, noted, “we believe SPG has high-quality assets (and a creative management) that are well-placed given demographic shifts to suburbia.” Shares increased 4.6%.
In M&A news, shares of DoorDash soared 7.6% after the delivery company announced the acquisition of robotics startup Chowbotics. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Chowbotics’ fresh food robot can create customized snacks and dishes such as salads and poke bowls, and is already in use at universities, hospitals and grocery stores. The technology is expected to help DoorDash’s merchant partners offer more items on their menus and attract new customers without having to add a store in a new location.
In healthcare news, Heat Biologics spiked 63% as the biopharma company reported positive interim data from the Phase 2 trial of its lung cancer treatment. The Phase 2 trial tested Heat’s HS-110 in combination with Bristol Myers Squibb’s opdivo (nivolumab) as a therapy for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). HS-110 is Heat’s “off-the-shelf” cell-based therapy tailored to activate a patient’s immune system and induce a robust response against tumor cells.
