Tuesday’s big news was the announcement of an impending Snapchat initial public offering as tech shares surged 1.3%. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.3% higher and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.1% better.
The day’s news was dominated by Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ACRS) succeeding in its most recent clinical trial, Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) beating earnings estimates and La-Z-Boy Incorporate (NYSE:LZB) making some acquisitions to expand.
Here’s what you need to know about yesterday’s action:
Aclaris Therapeutics Inc (ACRS)
Aclaris shares were on the rise Tuesday as the company shared the results of its most recent clinical trial.
The pharmaceutical company conducted two Phase 3 trials for its new drug A-101 40% Topical Solution (A-101), which is a new medication designed to treat seborrheic keratosis (SK), a type of benign skin tumor.
Aclaris noted that the use of A-101 over an extended period of time showed 51.3% fewer lesions on the 467 patients who received the medication compared to the 470 patients who were administered with a placebo.
Aclaris’ two trials — called SEBK-301 and SEBK-302 — took place in 34 centers in the U.S. and they took place at the same time. There are four ratings that determine how thick a lesion is, and more than half of these patients were at the lowest or below the second-lowest rating by the end of their treatment.
SK lesions affect more than 83 million Americans every year, most of which appear on the face or neck.
ACRS stock popped 6.3% after hours Tuesday.
Agilent Technologies Inc (A)
It was a positive day for Agilent Technologies as the company’s quarterly data beat expectations.
The tech company earned 38 cents per share over the course of its fourth quarter. When excluding acquisition-related costs and other items, the company’s earnings came in at 59 cents per share, topping last year’s earnings by nine cents.
Agilent’s net sales were 7% higher year-over-year, coming in at $1.11 billion. Both earnings and revenue came in ahead of expectations, while costs were 6% higher.
A strong China showing and a positive forecast in Europe helped the company top expectations. Meanwhile, fiscal-year earnings are slated to be in the range of $2.10 per share to $2.16 a share in adjusted profit, lower than the $2.19 per share that analysts expect.
Revenue is slated to be between $4.35 billion to $4.37 billion, which is in line with the $4.35 billion Wall Street predicts.
CEO Mike McMullen added that the company has a line of new offerings for 2017, including a pipeline.
A stock crawled 0.8% after Tuesday’s market close.
La-Z-Boy Incorporated (LZB)
La-Z-Boy stock grew as the company announced a major acquisition.
The company announced that it bought nine furniture galleries stores in the U.S., as well as a UK location. The deal will be in effect as of Jan. 1, 2017, and the impact it will have on earnings will be seen in the company’s upholstery segment.
The nine stores acquired by La-Z-Boy are expected to be profitable, and they will be included into the company’s retail segment. The acquisitions took place back on Nov. 1.
The company’s 2016 revenue amounted to $1.53 billion, topping its 2015 figures by $100 million. Earnings per share tallied up to $1.57, while diluted earnings came in at $1.55 per share.
LZB shares surged 5% after the bell Tuesday.
