Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Applied Optoelectronics Drops On Q3 Warning; PhaseRx Shares Surge

Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded up 0.18 percent to 22,881.09 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.30 percent to 6,611.35. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.21 percent to 2,556.31.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Friday afternoon, the basic materials shares surged 1.61 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Cleveland-Cliffs Inc CLF, up 9 percent, and ArcelorMittal SA (ADR) MT, up 8 percent.

In trading on Friday, healthcare shares fell 0.32 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Antares Pharma Inc ATRS, down 38 percent, and Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. INFI down 16 percent.

Top Headline

Bank of America Corp BAC posted stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.

Bank of America posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $22.08 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.45 per share on revenue of $22.07 billion.

Equities Trading UP

PhaseRx Inc PZRX shares shot up 28 percent to $1.13 as the company reported corporate restructuring and announced plans to review strategic alternatives.

Shares of Net Element International Inc NETE got a boost, shooting up 47 percent to $5.95. Net Element disclosed that e-commerce and value-added integrated services volumes rose 134 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2017.

Leading Brands, Inc (USA) LBIX shares were also up, gaining 145 percent to $3.31 on no formal news from company. The stock rallied 215 percent over Tuesday and Wednesday of this week amid trader speculation stock could be sympathy play on move higher in Helios & Matheson. However, Leading Brands shares sold off 27 percent on Thursday.

Equities Trading DOWN

Antares Pharma Inc ATRS shares dropped 39 percent to $2.28 after the company disclosed the receipt of an FDA letter that notified the company of deficiencies in its XYOSTED NDA filing.

Shares of Tandem Diabetes Care Inc TNDM were down 37 percent to $2.97 after the company reported a proposed offering of common stock and series A and B warrants.

Applied Optoelectronics Inc AAOI was down, falling around 19 percent to $47.59 after the company offered a warning related to its upcoming third-quarter results Thursday afternoon. Applied Optoelectronics reduced its third-quarter sales guidance from a prior $107 million-$115 million to a new range of $88 million-$89 million. Earnings per share are expected to come in between $1.04 and $1.09, well below the previous guidance figures in the range of $1.30-$1.43. The company announced Thursday afternoon its largest customer, Amazon.com, Inc., is no longer placing orders to buy its components.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.72 percent to $51.47 while gold traded up 0.49 percent to $1,302.90.

Silver traded up 0.57 percent Friday to $17.365, while copper rose 0.37 percent to $3.1315.

Eurozone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.29 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.17 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.07 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX rose 0.07 percent, and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.17 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.28 percent.

Economics

The Consumer Price Index gained 0.5 percent for September, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.6 percent rise

U.S. retail sales rose 1.6 percent for September, compared to economists’ expectations for a 1.7 percent growth

U.S. business inventories increased 0.7 percent for August, versus economists’ estimates for 0.7 percent gain.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbed to 101.10 in October, from prior reading of 95.10. Economists expected a reading of 95.10.

The total number of active U.S. oil rigs slipped by 5 to 743 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.