STOCK MARKET NEWS: Target tumbles, retail sales slump and Fed minutes out

Chipmaker Wolfspeed is higher in after-hours trading. The developer of wide bandgap semiconductors, focused on silicon carbide and gallium nitride materials topped Wall Street revenue and profit estimates.

Revenue rose 57% to $228.5 million in the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 26. The analyst estimate was $207.8 million.

The non-GAAP diluted net loss per share was 2 cents versus the estimate of 10 cents.

For its first quarter of fiscal 2023, Wolfspeed targets revenue in a range of $232.5 million to $247.5 million. The GAAP net loss is targeted at $14 million to $21 million, or $0.11 to $0.17 per diluted share.

"Looking forward, we remain very encouraged about the industry's prospects for future growth and the activity we are seeing across our end-markets," said CEO Gregg Lowe.

Cisco Systems beat quarterly revenue estimates on Wednesday as a COVID-19 recovery in China eased supply chain pressures and helped the company meet demand for its networking hardware.

Cisco, which sells routers, switches and communication tools like WebEx, has seen a jump in orders as businesses revive plans to upgrade their infrastructure after a pandemic-induced pause.

The networking major has also benefited from an ease in supply chain shortages after key manufacturing hub China rolled back strict COVID-19 lockdowns imposed since March.

Cisco said it expects first-quarter revenue to rise between 2% and 4%.For the fourth quarter, it posted a revenue of $13.1 billion, compared with the $12.73 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Net income fell to $2.8 billion, or 68 cents per share, from $3 billion, or 71 cents per share, a year ago.

Koninklijke Philips finished lower in Wednesday trading. The Food and Drug Administration said it received more medical device reports (MDRs) in the three months ended July associated with PE-PUR foam breakdown compared to the year-long period between April 2021 to April 2022.

The FDA received more than 48,000 MDRs, including 44 reports of death, associated with the PE-PUR foam breakdown or suspected foam breakdown from May 1 to July 31 compared with 21,000 MDRs, including 124 reports of death from April 2021 to April 30, 2022.

Manufacturers, such as Philips, are required to submit MDRs when information reasonably suggests that their device may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or has malfunctioned and that device or a similar device they manufacture would be likely to cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if the malfunction were to recur.PE-PUR foam is used to lessen sound and vibration in these devices and other medical equipment.

The PE-PUR foam is used to lessen sound and vibrations and was used in some recalled devices including ventilators, BiPAP and CPAP machines.

Market experts Phil Blancato, Gary Kaltbaum and Gina Bolvin provide insight on investing in a volatile stock market during record inflation on 'Making Money.'

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis provides a unique perspective on how the push for electric vehicles has impacted the auto industry on ‘Cavuo: Coast to Coast.’

Blue Water Vaccines share price more than doubled in Wednesday trading before giving back gains.

The biopharmaceutical company said it plans to explore the potential to develop a novel monkeypox vaccine using its norovirus shell and protrusion (S&P) virus-like particle (VLP) platform.

The company’s S&P platform is currently being utilized to develop vaccine candidates across multiple diseases, including influenza, gastroenteritis and malaria.

Over the past year, Blue Water traded as high as $90.90 per share on February 22 and as low as $1.80 per share on July 15.

For sale sign in front of large USA home — iStock

Mortgage applications fell 2.3% for the week ended August 12 to the lowest since 2000, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

“Home purchase applications continued to be held down by rapidly drying up demand, as high mortgage rates, challenging affordability, and a gloomier outlook of the economy kept buyers on the sidelines,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.

Kan said purchase activity may pick up if home price growth slows more significantly and mortgage rates move lower.

The 30-year fixed rate stayed more than two percentage points higher than a year ago at 5.45% but down from the June 2020 high of 5.98%.

Housing construction concept with house and graph — iStock

Fitch Ratings expects a mid-single-digit decline in housing activity next year, followed by a low-single digits decline in 2024.

The ratings agency warns the likelihood of a severe downturn in US housing has increased. A more pronounced downturn scenario would likely include housing activity falling roughly 30%, or more, over a multi-year period and 10% to 15% declines in home prices.

Fitch says growth in gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment, consumer confidence and home affordability are key indicators.

Insider buys are boosting Cassava Sciences. Shares jumped more than 40% Wednesday.

Regulatory filings showed director Sanford Robertson bought 100,000 shares for more than $2 million. He owns 1,024,765 shares. Robertson founded Francisco Partners, a technology buyout fund and is the lead director of Salesforce.

Chief Financial Officer Eric Schoen purchased 2,500 shares for almost $50,000. He owns 19,8000 shares.

Shares are down 35% year to date.

Last month, Reuters reported the Justice Department is probing the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company over research results for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug.

In response, CEO Remi Barbier said: “I have said from the onset that allegations of research misconduct are false. No government agency has informed us that it has found supporting evidence of research misconduct or any other wrong-doing, and for good reason – there is no supporting evidence for allegations of research misconduct.”

Krispy Kreme dropped more than 13% in Wednesday morning trading. The donut maker lowered its full year outlook.

The company expects full year revenue of $1.49 billion to $1.52 billion, down from $1.53 billion to $1.56 billion previously estimated. The forecast for organic revenue growth of 10% to 12% was unchanged.

Krispy Kreme also sees lower profit. The adjusted EBITDA forecast was adjusted downward to $189 million to $195 million from $210 million to $218 million.

The company reported second quarter revenue of $375.2 million, up 7.5%. Operating income fell 17.7% to $7.5 million.

PERSONAL-FINANCE

Retirement accounts take hit with inflation, but investors stay the course

Retirement accounts have taken a brutal beating in the volatile 2022 markets, but a new study shows investors are still committing over the long haul.

American's retirement accounts fell in 2Q amid the inflation driven volatile market but many investors remain committed, according to Fidelity.

Stock image of opioids

Opioid maker Endo International has filed for bankruptcy to limit liability from lawsuits related to opioid addiction and to reduce billions of dollars of debt.

The generic and specialty branded pharmaceutical company filed a so-called pre-arranged bankruptcy Tuesday night in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. A pre-arranged bankruptcy is filed with the support of creditors.

A Target store in Wisconsin

Target Corp. reported a 90% fall in quarterly earnings and missed comparable sales estimates on Wednesday as its inflation-hit customers reined in spending on discretionary goods despite higher discounts.

Target's comparable sales rose 2.6% in the second quarter ended July 30, below analysts' average estimate of a 3.3% increase, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Read the full story: Target profit slumps as discounts fail to spur spending by consumers

A Lowe's store in Massachusetts

Lowe's Cos Inc. reported a surprise drop in quarterly comparable sales on Wednesday, as demand for tools and paint eased from pandemic highs due to rising inflation and offices reopening.

Lowe's same-store sales decreased 0.3% in the second quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 2.4% increase, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Read the full story: Lowe's posts surprise drop in comparable sales on slowing demand

NYSE traders (AP)

U.S. equity futures traded lower ahead of a key report on retail sales and earnings reports from major retailers.

The major futures indexes suggest a decline of 0.5% when the opening bell rings on Wall Street.

Oil prices bounced around on Wednesday, after hitting a six-month low the previous day.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $87.00 a barrel. Brent crude futures were around $92.00 a barrel.

On the economic calendar, economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate retail sales to inch up 0.1% month-over-month, well below June’s stronger-than-expected increase of 1.0%. Excluding the automotive component, spending is seen slipping 0.1% in July compared with a 1.0% rise the prior month.

The parade of retail earnings continues Wednesday morning, with home improvement chain Lowe’s and big box department store chain Target. In the afternoon, the focus will turn to computer networking giant and Dow member Cisco Systems.

Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday as regional markets looked to strong economic signs out of the U.S. and China as drivers of growth.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5% and China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.5%.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, its third straight gain, adding 8.06 points to 4,305.20. The Dow gained 239.57 points, or 0.7%, to 34,152.01. The Nasdaq fell 25.50 points, or 0.2%, to 13,102.55.

Walmart jumped 5.1% after the nation's largest retailer reported strong results that easily topped analysts' forecasts. Home Depot rose 4.1% after also reporting better-than-expected results.

Gas Prices (AAA)

The average price of a gallon of gasoline slipped on Wednesday to $3.943, according to AAA. Tuesday's price was $3.949.

The price dropped below $4 for the first time since March last Thursday, when the price fell to $3.99.

Gas has been on the decline since hitting a high of $5.016 on June 14. Diesel slipped as well to $5.011 from $5.021.

Oil rig at sunrise (Reuters)

Oil prices bounced around after falling to a six-month low on Tuesday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $86.00 a barrel. Brent crude futures were around $92.00 a barrel.

The contracts slumped about 3% on Tuesday as weak U.S. housing starts data spurred concerns about a potential global recession.

Crude stocks fell by about 448,000 barrels for the week ended Aug. 12. Gasoline inventories fell by about 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by about 759,000 barrels, according to Reuters sources.

Bitcoin was trading at around $24,000 after trading lower for three straight days. Bitcoin has gained more than 3% in the past week. For the month, the cryptocurrency has gained 0.7%, but for the year it is down more than 48%.

Ethereum was trading around $1,900, gaining more than 10% in the past week.

Dogecoin was trading lower at 8 cents after rising more than 25% in the past week.