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U.S. stocks were lower near midday on Wednesday, weighed down bya sharp decline in the energy sector on the latest weakness inoil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average was down0.86 percent at 17,647.51, the S&P 500 was down 0.76percent at 2,044.21 and the Nasdaq Composite was down0.65 percent at 4,735.57.
** GLAXOSMITHKLINE PLC, $43.22, -2.02 pct
Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its rating to"underperform" from "neutral" on Britain's biggest drugmaker, citing near-term margin pressures, lower long-termexpectations for new respiratory products and reduced buybacksgiven lower earnings.
** SEVENTY SEVEN ENERGY INC, $4.81, -14.87 pct
** REX ENERGY CORP, $5.17, -5.40 pct
** SANCHEZ ENERGY CORP, $7, -7.53 pct
** HALCON RESOURCES CORP, $1.735, -8.68 pct
** WHITING PETROLEUM CORP, $31.25, -6.86 pct
** BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP, $9.36, -8.50 pct
** CALIFORNIA RESOURCES CORP, $5.68, -7.19 pct
Oil and gas companies' stocks fell as global oil pricestouched a five-year low and at least 4 brokerages cut ratingsand price targets on about 50 companies. Brent crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel to a new five-year low on forecaststhat oversupply would keep building until next year after OPECdecided not to cut output.
** CONOCOPHILLIPS, $63.37, -2.45 pct
** CHEVRON CORP, $103.708, -3.09 pct
** ENERGY XXI (BERMUDA) LTD, $2.95, -7.81 pct
** GOODRICH PETROLEUM CORP, $3.53, -13.69 pct
** OASIS PETROLEUM INC, $11.6, -8.37 pct
** CONTINENTAL RESOURCES INC, $33.82, -6.52 pct
** HESS CORP, $68.85, -4.61 pct
U.S. oil and gas producers are scaling back capital spendingplans for 2015, following a sharp decline in oil prices over thepast six months. Global oil and gas exploration projects worthmore than $150 billion are likely to be put on hold in 2015 asplunging oil prices render them uneconomic, according to datafrom Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy.
** YUM! BRANDS INC, $71.58, -4.84 pct
At least three brokerages, including Barclays Capital, cutprice targets on the stock after the company on Tuesday loweredits full-year profit forecast for the second time, hurt by aslower-than-expected recovery in China after a food safety scarein July.
"The question remains whether the China segment will everreturn to full strength," Barclays analyst Jeffrey Bernsteinwrote in a note, cutting his price target to $74 from $75.
** AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC, $49.8784, +3.25 pct
** UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS INC, $65.5, +4.77 pct
** DELTA AIR LINES INC, $46.95, +1.34 pct
** SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO, $42.5, +4.35 pct
** JETBLUE AIRWAYS, $15.46, +2.76 pct
** UNITED CONTINENTAL, $65.5, +4.77 pct
U.S. airline operators' shares rose after Barclays saidlower oil prices may help companies next year. Airlines stand tosee a decline of about $10 billion in fuel costs in 2015,analyst David Fintzen wrote in a note.
** LANDS' END INC, $46.75, -7.72 pct
The apparel retailer's third-quarter revenue fell 3 percentdue to lower international sales and weaker sales at its shopswithin Sears Holdings Corp outlets. Lands' End was spunoff from Sears last year.
** SYNTHESIS ENERGY SYSTEMS INC, $0.9975, +16.00pct
The clean energy company's China joint venture partner,Zhangjiagang Chemical Machinery Co Ltd, securedorders worth more than $105 million for three industrial syngassupply plants.
** ALLOT COMMUNICATIONS LTD, $8.2, -9.29 pct
BofA Merrill Lynch downgraded the Israel-based bandwidthmanagement services company's U.S.-listed shares to"underperform" from "buy" and cut its target price to $10.5 from$17.
"We have concerns over Allot's key fundamentals, weakcarrier spending, uncertainty surrounding Title 2 reform (thatenables FCC to enforce net neutrality) in the US and recentmanagement departures," BofA analysts wrote in a note.
** COMSTOCK RESOURCES INC, $5.76, -11.52 pct
FBR & Co cut its price target to $8.50 from $20 on the oiland gas producer's shares, citing low commodity prices andexpectations of continued volatility.
** FRANCESCA'S HOLDINGS CORP, $15.485, +2.35 pct
The women's apparel and accessories retailer's third-quarternet sales rose 9 percent to $87.1 million, driven by a 53percent rise in e-commerce sales. Suntrust Robinson Humphreyanalyst Pamela Quintiliano said the company's fourth-quarterprofit forecast of 13-19 cents per share reflects a realisticbar for new Chief Executiver Michael Barnes.
** LAYNE CHRISTENSEN CO, $8.13, +13.07 pct
The water management company's third-quarter net loss fromcontinuing operations narrowed to 19 cents per share from 79,while analysts on average expected a loss of 50 cents per share.The company also appointed Michael Caliel from Invensys Ltd as Chief Executive after Rene Robichaud quit in June.
** VAALCO ENERGY INC, $4.66, -18.25 pct
The oil and gas company shut its Etame 8-H well offshoreGabon due to the production of hydrogen sulfide during initialtests. The company said investigations are underway to determinethe cause of sulfide production.
** CHC GROUP LTD, $3.88, -11.42 pct
The commercial helicopter operator reported second-quarterrevenue below the average analyst estimate as some customers inthe oil and gas industry delayed or canceled projects.
** YAMANA GOLD INC, $4.385, +1.98 pct
The Canadian gold miner said it will place some ofits Brazilian assets that have been deemed non-core into asubsidiary dubbed Brio Gold and will explore a potential salealong with other options for the unit in 2015.
The company said the assets being parceled off into BrioGold include Fazenda Brasileiro, C1 Santa Luz and Pilar, and itsAgua Rica project.
** PETROQUEST ENERGY INC, $3.74, -6.27 pct
FBR Capital Markets cut its price target to $6 from $8 onthe oil and gas producer's stock, citing weak oil and gasprices, slower production growth and lower capex levels.
** HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES INC, $4.23, +8.46 pct
The U.S. homebuilder's fourth-quarter revenue jumped 18percent and orders rose 8 percent as the U.S. housing marketrecovery picks up.
** TUNIU CORP, $11.96, +5.84 pct
** CTRIP.COM, $43.461, -1.11 pct
The companies announced an agreement to expand collaborationon shared travel resources. Ctrip bought $15 million of TuniuClass A shares in May; it currently owns over 3 percent ofTuniu's outstanding shares.
** BEMIS CO INC, $42.87, +4.15 pct
BMO Capital Markets raised its rating on Tuesday to"outperform" from "market perform" and price target to $47 from$39 on the packaging material maker's stock.
An expected fall in the price of resin, which accounts for alarge part of costs, to boost company's margin, analysts wrotein note.
** SILICON GRAPHICS INTERNATIONAL CORP, $10.09,+5.43 pct
Needham & Company LLC upgraded the supercomputing servermaker's stock to "buy" from "hold".
"We are encouraged that Congress seems to be activelyworking together regarding the upcoming Federal Budget deadlineof Dec. 11, and this should provide relief to companies like SGI(Silicon Graphics) that are closely tied to Federal spendingcycles" - Needham analysts.
** CIVEO CORP, $7.64, -15.02 pct
The workforce accommodation provider's stock is to bereplaced by KLX Inc in the S&P MidCap 400 index aftermarket close on Dec. 16. Civeo gave a weak forecast lateSeptember and dropped plans of converting to a REIT.
** SEVCON INC, $8.7792, +12.41 pct
The controls maker for electric and hybrid vehicles won acontract to supply motor controllers to a "Tier-1 automotivesupplier" in Southeast Asia. The company said the contract couldresult in $50 million in revenue through 2020.
** CYREN LTD, $2.28, +30.73 pct
The Israeli cloud-based cyber security provider said some of its technology will be used in China-based mobileapplication security provider Bangcle's products. Bangcle'ssecurity software covers 500 million mobile phones worldwide.
** WARREN RESOURCES INC, $1.42, -11.80 pct
The oil and gas producer said it was deferring crude oildevelopment in Wilmington oil field due to weak prices. Warrensaid it expects capital spending to drop to about $80 million in2015.
** ENERGOUS CORP, $7.45, -6.88 pct
The company, which is developing technology to chargeelectronic devices wirelessly, priced a public offering of 2.9million shares at $7 per share, a discount of 12.5 percent tothe stock's Tuesday closing.
** BELDEN INC, $80.43, +7.35 pct
The networking and cable product maker said on Tuesday thatit would buy Portland-based cyber security firm Tripwire for$710 million. The deal is expected to add 65 cents per share toBelden's adjusted income from continuing operations in 2015.
** ARCA BIOPHARMA INC, $0.9688, +20.95 pct
ARCA said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted itsexperimental drug orphan drug status as a potential treatmentfor viral hemorrhagic fever after exposure to the Ebola virus.
** JPMORGAN CHASE & CO, $61.32, -1.81 pct
Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer says the bank will needmore than $20 billion of additional capital to comply with theproposed extra capital cushion for the largest U.S. banks.
"While we're still reviewing the Fed's proposal, we are wellcapitalized and intend to meet their requirements and timeframes...," JPMorgan spokesman Andrew Gray said.
** CYTORI THERAPEUTICS INC, $0.5225, +12.39 pct
The U.S. FDA granted conditional approval for a key clinicaltrial to evaluate the company's cell therapy as a potentialtreatment for impaired hand function in scleroderma patients.Cytori's technology, called the Celution System, needs asuccessful pivotal trial and FDA approval before it can bemarketed in the United States.
** LINN ENERGY LLC, $13.3101, -8.96 pct
Stifel analysts cut their price target on the oil and gascompany's stock to $22 from $27, citing a lower commodity priceenvironment. The median price target on stock is $25, accordingto Thomson Reuters data.
** SEADRILL LTD, $11.53, -5.26 pct
UBS cut its price target on the Norway-based offshoredriller's Oslo-listed shares to NOK 85 from NOK 210,citing lower oil prices. Analysts expect Brent to average below$70/bbl in 2015 and also cited current market condition having anegative affect on demand for deepwater units.
** KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS INC, $18.48, -8.42 pct
The doughnut retailer on Tuesday reported third-quarterprofit and sales below expectations, hurt by higher promotionsto boost traffic and lower sales at company-owned stores,compared with a year earlier.
** GOLDMAN SACHS, $193.84, -1.55 pct
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday proposed requiring eightof the largest U.S. banks to hold an extra capital cushion, andsaid the firms will need more equity if they rely on risky typesof debt. Most of the banks, which include Citigroup and GoldmanSachs, would be held to higher capital requirements than under asimilar rule by global regulators, officials said.
** COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP, $36.7, -5.78pct
The communications equipment maker decided to remainindependent after completing review of strategic alternatives.Comtech had begun its review in August, saying that merger orsale of the company was possible.
** CITIGROUP INC, $55.3, -0.98 pct
Citigroup will record $2.7 billion in litigation expensesand another $800 million in repositioning charges, leaving thethird-largest U.S. bank "marginally profitable" in the fourthquarter, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday.
** FREEPORT-MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC, $24.89, -0.96pct
The U.S. miner has agreed to pay 16.3 percent more in annualprocessing charges to large Chinese copper smelters in 2015,with the 10-year high fee likely to set the benchmark for China. (Compiled by Lehar Maan in Bengaluru,; Editing by SimonJennings)
