Mid-day market update: HCA Healthcare surges on upbeat results, Ardelyx shares slide

Midway through trading Tuesday, the Dow traded up 1.54% to 34,486.30 while the NASDAQ rose 1.04% to 14,424.02. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.35% to 4,316.02.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 34,133,830 cases with around 609,260 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 31,174,320 cases and 414,480 deaths, while Brazil reported over 19,391,840 COVID-19 cases with 542,750 deaths. In total, there were at least 191,010,440 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,098,560 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Financial shares climbed 2.6% on Tuesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Silvergate Capital Corporation SI 13.44%, up 7%, and Equity Bancshares, Inc. EQBK 6.61%, up 6%.

In trading on Tuesday, consumer staples shares rose by just 0.4%.

Top Headline

Philip Morris International Inc. PM 3.07% reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed views.

Phillip Morris reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.55 per share. The company’s revenue came in at $7.59 billion, versus expectations of $7.67 billion.

Phillip Morris said it now expects FY21 adjusted EPS of $5.79 to $5.89.

Equities Trading UP

HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA 14.85% shares shot up 13% to $245.96 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results. The company also raised its FY21 EPS and sales guidance.

Shares of NeuroMetrix, Inc. NURO 199.53% got a boost, shooting 50% to $4.90. NeuroMetrix’s Quell device received Breakthrough Designation from the FDA to treat fibromyalgia symptoms in adults.

Immunome, Inc. IMNM 19.11% shares were also up, gaining 36% to $22.67 after the company reported the pre-clinical testing results of its antibody cocktail. Immunome announced that its three-antibody cocktail, IMM-BCP-01, demonstrated neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. The company also said that IMM-BCP-01 showed in-vitro activity via non-neutralizing mechanisms.

Equities Trading DOWN

Ardelyx, Inc. ARDX 74.03% shares tumbled 76% to $1.88 after the company announced it received an FDA letter regarding the NDA for tenapanor indicating deficiencies that preclude discussion of labeling and post-marketing requirements/commitments at this time. Piper Sandler and Wedbush downgraded the stock to Neutral.

Shares of Intrusion Inc. INTZ 51.41% were down 46% to $4.58 after the company said CEO Jack B. Blount has left the company. The company also reported weak preliminary sales for the second quarter.

Datasea Inc. DTSS 36.54% was down, falling 30% to $3.1050 after the company priced 2.437 million shares at $3.48 per share.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.6% to $66.80, while gold traded down 0.1% to $1,807.50.

Silver traded down 1.1% Tuesday to $24.875 while copper rose 1.3% to $4.2540.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.7%, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.64% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.78%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.72%, French CAC 40 surged 1.15% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.7%.

German producer prices increased 8.5% year-over-year in June compared to a 7.2% rise in the prior month. The Eurozone recorded a current account surplus of EUR 4.3 billion in May versus a EUR 0.7 billion deficit in the year-ago month.

Economics

US housing starts surged 6.3% to an annual rate of 1.643 million in June, while building permits fell 5.1% to an annual rate of 1.598 million.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index jumped 14.5% year-over-year during the first two weeks of July.