Tuesday marked the sixth straight day of gains for U.S. markets, while the dollar also experienced a boost by day’s end. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average wafted up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% better by day’s end.
Several companies made headlines for a variety of reasons, including Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A,NYSE:BRK.B), Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ:FOSL) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK).
Here’s what you should know:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway may be making noise entering Wednesday as the firm has been investing in a certain type of company. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett had previously stated his intention to invest in airlines, and it appears as if his firm is doing exactly that in recent days.
A 13-F filing saw the company assume a new position in Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) as the firm now owns a 43.2-million share stake worth approximately $2.15 billion. The move is a departure from a comment that Buffett made four years ago, referring to airlines as a death trap in the stock market.
Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake on Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) to 60 million shares worth $2.95 billion. Here are some Warren Buffett stocks you should buy as we continue to see what the presidency of Donald Trump brings us.
BRK.B grew a fraction of a percentage after the bell, but is down 50 basis points on Wednesday.
Fossil Group Inc (FOSL)
Fossil Group was down in the dumps following the company’s earnings call. For its fourth quarter, the watch maker reported earnings that amounted to $49.7 million, which came at $1.03 per share. The company earned $1.46 a share the previous year, while analysts were calling for earnings of $1.12 a share.
Earnings was not Fossil Group’s only weak spot as revenue was at $959.2 million for the period, missing the year-ago period by $33.3 million. It missed expectations by $17.8 million based on data compiled by FactSet. For its current first quarter, the company expects to post a loss in the range of 25 cents a share to 10 cents a share, which is weaker than the four cents per share analysts posted in their outlook.
Fossil excels on a number of luxury accessories and watches in the Americas, Europe and Asia, selling items from brands such as Relic, Burberry and Diesel.
FOSL stock posted a 15.3% loss after hours Tuesday and is now down 17.5% in early trading Wednesday.
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)
Merck was another company that saw its shares decline following some unfortunate news.
The pharmaceutical company was making progress in one of its clinical studies that examined a drug designed to help Alzheimer’s patients, but the research was stopped recently.
In its report, Merck announced that verubecestat is the drug in question, and the study was halted prematurely as a committee looking at the research determined that there was no chance of a positive outcome emerging from the use of verubecestat.
The company is working toward another study for another medication that could have a positive effect on Alzheimer’s. Merck also has a segment that helps in the discovery and development for medications that help out animals, including vaccines and other treatments.
MRK stock fell 2.1% in the evening and is now trading down by 43 basis points.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
