Treasury Reveals Details Of Long-Term Securities Auctions

Wednesday morning, the Treasury Department announced the details of this month’s auctions of three-year and ten-year notes and thirty-year bonds.

The Treasury said it plans to sell $58 billion worth of three-year notes, $41 billion worth of ten-year notes and $27 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.

The results of the three-year note auction will be announced next Tuesday, the results of the ten-year note auction will be announced next Wednesday and the results of the thirty-year bond auction will be announced next Thursday.

Last month, the Treasury sold $58 billion worth of three-year notes, $38 billion worth of ten-year notes and $24 billion worth of thirty-year bonds. All three auctions attracted above average demand.

China’s Service Sector Growth Loses Momentum In January

China’s service sector growth slowed at the start of the year as demand was dampened by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, survey results from IHS Markit showed on Wednesday.

The Caixin services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 52.0 in January from 56.3 in December. However, a score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

The reading signaled the slowest rate of growth recorded over the current nine-month period of expansion.

New work received by services companies grew at the slowest rate since last August. New orders from overseas gained at the weakest pace in three months as the recent rise in virus cases weighed on global demand.

Services companies in China added to their staffing levels for the sixth month running, but the rate of job creation eased further.

The rate of cost inflation quickened to the second-sharpest since April 2012. Meanwhile, prices charged by services companies increased at a moderate pace that was the slowest seen for three months, the survey showed.

Although business confidence regarding the 12-month outlook for activity remained strong in January, the degree of positive sentiment weakened since December.

The composite output index came in at 52.2 in January, down from 55.8 in December, to signal only a moderate rise in overall output.

The rate of growth was the softest seen since the current period of expansion began last May, driven by slower rises in both manufacturing and services activity.

Stock Alert: Scotts Miracle-Gro Touches New 52-week High

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (SMG), an Ohio-based maker of consumer lawn and garden products, are rising more than 6 percent or $14.57 in Wednesday’s morning trade at $243.07, after hitting a new 52-week high of $250.00. The company has reported its first-ever profit for the first quarter.

Wednesday, Scotts Miracle-Gro said its first-quarter net income was $24.4 million or $0.43 per share, compared to net loss of $71.4 million or $1.28 per share in the prior year. Adjusted earnings were $0.39 per share, compared to adjusted loss of $1.12 per share, last year. Net sales surged 105 percent to $748.6 million from $365.8 million in the prior-year period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report loss of $0.76 per share for the quarter on revenues of $623.98 million.

For fiscal 2021, Scotts Miracle-Gro expects sales growth of 1 percent to 6 percent, compared to 0 percent to 5 percent previously. The company reaffirmed its outlook adjusted earnings per share of $8.00 to $8.40. The Street expects the company to report earnings of $8.26 per share for the year on 4 percent growth in revenues to $4.29 billion.

Scotts Miracle-Gro has traded in a range of $76.50 to $250.00 in the past 52 weeks.

Stock Alert: Spotify Tumbles 8% After Q4 Results

Shares of Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) are losing more than 8 percent or $29.03 in Wednesday’s morning trade at $316.02 after the music streaming service’s loss for the fourth quarter was reportedly wider than analysts’ estimates and it provided a conservative outlook.

Wednesday, Spotify said its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to 125 million euros or 0.66 euros per share from 209 million euros or 1.14 euros per share in the prior year. Total revenues grew 17 percent to 2.17 billion euros from 1.86 billion euros last year. Total monthly active users grew 27 percent year-over-year to 345 million and premium subscribers grew 24 percent to 155 million.

For the first quarter, Spotify expects operating loss in a range of 28 million euros to 78 million euros, total revenue of 1.99 billion euros to 2.19 billion euros, total monthly active users of 354 million to 364 million, and total premium subscribers of 155 million to 158 million.

For fiscal year 2021, the company projects operating loss in a range of 200 million euros to 300 million euros, total revenue of 9.01 billion euros to 9.41 billion euros, total monthly active users of 407 million to 427 million, and total premium subscribers of 172 million to 184 million.

Spotify has traded in a range of $109.18 to $370.95 in the past 52 weeks.

Stock Alert: Enlivex Therapeutics Up 14% On Positive Data From Its Allocetra

Shares of Enlivex Therapeutics Ltd. (ENLV) are rising more than 14% after the company reported positive top line results from the phase II study of its drug candidate Allocetra in severe and critical Covid-19 patients.

The company expects to submit a summary of the data to regulatory bodies later this month to serve as the basis for a discussion on the next steps in Allocetra’s regulatory pathway in COVID-19 patients with severe or critical illness.

“We believe that Allocetra, if approved, could potentially cover the void that currently exists for the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 vaccines are game-changers in the fight against the pandemic, yet with various surveys demonstrating 25-32% of the population in the United States and major European countries unwilling to get vaccinated, and concerns surrounding various mutant strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, our commercial model estimates continued demand for the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19 patients for years to come,” Oren Hershkovitz, Chief Executive Officer of Enlivex commented.

ENLV, currently at $14.94, has been trading in the range of $3.59- $16.94 in the last one year.