Nutanix stock tanks after weak earnings forecast

Shares of Nutanix Inc. NTNX, -5.97% plunged 20% in aftermarket trading Wednesday after the software company issued a disappointing forecast in conjunction with its latest earnings report. Nutanix posted a net loss of $217.6 million, or $1.13 a share, compared with a loss of $122.8 million, or 68 cents a share, in the year-prior quarter. The company’s adjusted loss per share came in at 60 cents compared with 23 cents a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were modeling 69 cents. Nutanix’s revenue for the quarter rose to $346.8 million from $335.4 million, while analysts had been calling for $341.5 million. For the third quarter, Nutanix expects an adjusted loss per share of 89 cents, as well as revenue from software and support total contract value (TCV) of $300 million to $320 million. Analysts were expecting an adjusted loss of 74 cents a share and revenue for software and support (TCV) of $352 million. For the full fiscal year, Nutanix models software and support (TCV) revenue of $1.29 billion to $1.36 billion, while analysts had been looking for $1.395 billion. Shares have added about 4% so far this year, through Wednesday’s close, compared with a 3.5% drop for the S&P 500 SPX, -0.38% over the same span.

Ann Coulter may have just given the American people ‘the best reason to vote for Elizabeth Warren’ yet

Right-wing lightning rod Ann Coulter surely is not endorsing Sen. Elizabeth Warren, but don’t tell that to supporters of the Massachusetts Democrat.

That is the tweet that sent Coulter flying up Twitter’s TWTR, -1.65% trending list in the wake of the latest Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night. Judging from the spirited response, her comment probably didn’t strike its intended note:

Apparently, the Boston Globe editorial board agrees — sort of — with Coulter.

The paper endorsed Warren on Wednesday for basically the very same “worrisome” reason inspiring the Coulter tweet: that Bernie Sanders is “less likely to deliver” the “profound changes” that both candidates are pushing to enact.

“Warren is uniquely poised to accomplish serious reform without sacrificing what’s working in our economy and innovation ecosystem,” the Globe editorial argued. “She would get under the hood to fix the engine — not drive off a cliff, but also not just kick the tires.”

The newspaper announced its endorsement via this video:

Trump to hold coronavirus news conference as he says U.S. in ‘great shape’

President Donald Trump said early Wednesday he’ll hold a 6:30 p.m. Eastern news conference about the coronavirus. Saying the U.S. is in "great shape," he accused media outlets including CNN and MSNBC of trying to make the outbreak look as bad as possible, "including panicking markets." Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, +0.04% were up about 25 points following the index’s Tuesday finish nearly 880 points lower. That marked its sharpest-ever two-session slide in point terms. Click here to watch a livestream of Trump’s news conference here.

Gilead announces more trials for drug aimed at COVID-19, stock up 4%

Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD, +6.56% rose nearly 4% in the extended session Wednesday after the pharma company said it had started two clinical studies to gauge the safety and efficacy of its remdesivir drug in adults diagnosed with COVID-19. Beginning in March, the studies will enroll about 1,000 patients at medical centers primarily in Asian countries as well as countries with a high numbers of diagnosed cases, Gilead said in a statement. The initiation of these studies follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s rapid review and acceptance of Gilead’s investigational new drug filing for remdesivir. The new studies expand ongoing research into remdesivir, including trials in China and Japan and a NIH-sponsored study announced earlier this week that is the first in the U.S. Remdesivir, a broad-spectrum anti-viral drug, is not yet licensed or approved anywhere. Shares of Gilead ended the regular trading day up 6.6%.

Peacock In Licensing Deal With A&E, History Ahead Of Launch

NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service Peacock Wednesday announced a licensing deal with A+E Networks for hundreds of hours of episodes of A&E and History series.

The A&E  series include First 48, Storage Wars and Cold Case Files. History offerings range from Pawn Stars, to American Pickers, Ancient Aliens, Curse of Oak Island and Project Blue Book.

“We are excited to make some of A+E Networks’ most popular shows available on Peacock later this year,” said Frances Manfredi, president, Content Acquisition and Strategy, Peacock and NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises. Aggregating content from other networks and studios beyond NBCUniversal programming “maximizes the breadth and depth of choice for our customers.”

The free ad-supported streaming service with subscription tiers will launch in April for Comcast video customers and nationally across platforms in July.

“We are excited to partner with Peacock,” said Steve MacDonald, president, Global Content Licensing and International, A+E Networks. “We of course strongly believe in the power of the A+E Networks’ library of content, and that it will prove to strengthen Peacock’s offerings.”

Sprout Social stock skyrockets after first post-IPO quarterly results

Sprout Social Inc. SPT, -6.20% shares rose more than 29% in the extended session Wednesday after the social-media management company posted a narrower-than-expected adjusted quarterly loss and sales were above Wall Street expectations. Sprout Social said it lost $25.9 million, or $1.11 a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $4 million, or 24 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2018. The company pinned the wider loss to a $20 million stock-based compensation charge related to its December initial public offering. Adjusted for one-time items, Sprout Social lost $5.9 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4 million, or 24 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2018. Revenue rose 26% to $28.1 million, Sprout said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Sprout Social to report an adjusted loss of 34 cents a share on sales of $27.3 million. Sprout in December priced an IPO of 8.82 million shares at $17 a share, the midpoint of its range. The company guided for full-year revenue between $131.7 million and $133.7 million, and an adjusted EPS loss between 57 cents and 50 cents for the year. Shares of Sprout Social ended the regular trading day down 6.2%.