Among the companies whose shares are expected to actively trade
in Friday's session are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Royal
Bank of Scotland (RBS), and ING Groep NV (ING, INGA.AE).
J.P. Morgan's fourth-quarter earnings fell 23% as revenue from
its investment banking arm declined. As the first major bank to
report for the fourth quarter, J.P. Morgan's results offer a
glimpse into what is largely expected to again be a bleak quarter
for the nation's largest financial institutions. Revenue at the
bank missed expectations, and shares slipped 2.5% to $35.93 in
premarket trading.
As thousands of employees at Royal Bank of Scotland's investment
bank are told that their job has been put at risk--as part of a
large-scale restructuring announced Thursday morning--nine senior
directors will be keeping one eye on the troubled U.K. bank's share
price. Should the bank--which is majority-owned by the U.K.
taxpayer--be able to hit analyst expectations and increase its
share price by 50% by the end of the year, the nine directors could
stand to gain more than GBP20 million, according to analysis by
Financial News. Shares were up 3.4% to $7.41 premarket.
Dutch financial services company ING Groep may sell more of its
banking assets if it is to repay the state aid it received during
the financial crisis, Chief Executive Jan Hommen said Friday. ING
Groep also said it will take more time to repay state aid as it
seeks to protect its capital base amid current market turmoil and,
in another sign of worsening conditions, scaled down the financial
targets for its banking unit. The Amsterdam-based group, which
previously aimed to return the state funds by May, said it may now
repay the money in 2013. SNS Securities feels comfortable with its
buy rating on ING Groep as in the brokerage's view, the fundamental
attractiveness of the share will remain in the medium term, it
says. However, news that the company would postpone the repayment
of state aid is disappointing, the brokerage says. Shares fell 2.8%
to $7.77 in premarket trading.
Slot-machine maker International Game Technology (IGT) confirmed
plans to acquire social-media developer Double Down Interactive LLC
for up to $500 million, placing another big bet on the future
revenue potential of online gamers. Shares edged slightly higher
0.3% to $17.84 in premarket trading.
Metabolix Inc. (MBLX) announced that Archer Daniels Midland Co.
(ADM) was terminating its Telles joint venture with the bio-science
company. Shares plunged 48% to $3.10 in premarket trading.
After surging in the first half of the week, Thursday's decline
in Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) shares is picking up steam premarket as
Bloomberg reports the imaging company "is in advanced discussions"
with Citi (C) to provide bankruptcy financing, citing people
familiar with the matter. Eastman Kodak may seek bankruptcy
protection "within weeks" and then sell its patent portfolio at
auction, Bloomberg reports. The added detail to last week's Wall
Street Journal reporting about a possible filing has investors
jittery anew. Shares declined 27% to $0.49 premarket.
Shutterfly Inc. (SFLY) said its financial chief was departing to
"pursue a personal passion" with a medical technology company,
saying its chief executive and top accounting executive would split
his duties until it names a successor. The pending departure is
another reason to be skittish about the online-photo company at the
moment, says Roth Capital. It contends the move will pressure
shares "near-term and give investors pause in regards to the
duration of the enhanced competitive environment the company began
experiencing" in the fourth quarter. Last month, the company cut
guidance as it blamed heavy competitor discounting to contributing
to a revenue shortfall. Meanwhile, Janney highlights the potential
of "even more-conservative guidance" from Shutterfly. Shares fell
9% to $21.90 premarket.
Watch List:
Cardica Inc. (CRDC) suspended enrollment in a European clinical
trial of its MicroCutter Xpress 30 surgical cutting device because
in a subset of uses it didn't perform satisfactory in thicker
tissue.
CPI Corp. (CPY) said its same-store holiday sales sank amid
weakness in its PictureMe Portrait Studio and Sears Portrait Studio
brands. The company runs about 3,000 portrait photography studios,
with most of its locations in Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) and
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) stores. Sears last month said it plans
to close about 100 stores in a bid to revitalize its business and
reduce expenses.
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) agreed to sell some of its Gulf
Coast-area property to privately held producer Petro Harvester Oil
and Gas for $155 million, continuing its plan to shed noncore
assets this year.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded Enterprise
Products Partners LP's (EPD) investment-grade ratings by a notch,
citing the pipeline company's increased scale and diversity and its
high proportion of fee-based revenue.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.'s (GWR) fourth-quarter traffic rose
7.9%, though the railroad operator's December traffic edged up just
0.6% as the company continued to report fewer coal shipments.
JDA Software Group Inc. (JDAS) issued a cautious fourth-quarter
revenue view Thursday as the supply-chain company's software and
subscription revenue declined in the Americas.
New York & Co. (NWY) expects to post a fourth-quarter loss
amid a bigger-than-anticipated decline in same-store sales and
weaker margins caused by significantly higher levels of
promotions.
Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Ratings
Services put Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) on review for
possible downgrade after the wealth manager agreed to buy brokerage
Morgan Keegan from Regions Financial Corp. (RF), citing worries
about debt burden and integration risks. On Wednesday, Raymond
James's bid to take over the regional brokerage succeeded over a
competing offer from Stifel Financial Corp. (SF). Moody's said
Thursday that the acquisition would increase Raymond James's debt
burden and cash flow leverage, a departure from the firm's historic
financial profile.
Thoratec Corp. (THOR) said Thursday it received a warning letter
from U.S. drug regulators for filing two reports about California
manufacturing plants late.
-Edited by Maya Pope-Chappell and Ian Thomson; write to
maya.pope-chappell@dowjones.com and ian.thomson@dowjones.com