Thursday was an up day for the broader U.S. stock indices, led by financials, which were up a solid 1.2%. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite were also better by 0.3% apiece.
As the earnings season comes to a close, a few companies like BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) and Voxeljet AG (ADR) (NYSE:VJET) were trickling in their fourth-quarter results. Meanwhile, Akari Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:AKTX) should be one of Friday’s hottest stocks thanks to news on the medical front.
Here’s what you need to know going into the final day of the quarter:
BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY)
BBRY shares should close out the calendar first quarter on a high note thanks to a Street-beating fiscal fourth quarter.
BlackBerry earned a 4-cent adjusted profit in Q4 to top expectations for a breakeven quarter. That also flipped the company — which is transitioning from a hardware company that produced its iconic BlackBerry phones into a software and services firm — into the black following a 3-cent loss in the year-ago period.
The company still lost 9 cents per share on a GAAP basis, though that was far thinner than the 45 cents of red ink it recorded this time in 2016.
Adjusted revenues of $297 million were enough to beat the consensus mark of $289.34 million. GAAP revenues of $286 million were off 38% year-over-year, but that was widely expected given the shift away from hardware production, which delivered much more to the top line, but at lower margins.
Indeed, gross margins expanded significantly from 45.3% in the year-ago quarter to 60.1%. However, the figure was down sequentially from the 66.8% margins recorded in fiscal Q3.
Said CEO John Chen: “Looking ahead to fiscal 2018, we expect to grow at or above the overall market in our software business. We also expect to be profitable on a non-GAAP basis and to generate positive free cash flow for the full year.”
Chen also highlighted an all-time best software billings quarter, FedRAMP certification for the U.S. government and the company’s entry into the CPaaS market.
BBRY stock is rocketing more than 12% higher in early Friday trade.
Akari Therapeutics PLC (ADR) (AKTX)
Akari Therapeutics shares are roaring higher this morning amid good news from drug regulators.
The Food and Drug Administration granted the company a fast-track route for its drug Coversin. The drug is being evaluated in two Phase 2 clinical trials.
The medication itself is a second-generation and best-in-class complement inhibitor, which helps prevent the release of C5a and the formation of C5b-9, or the membrane attack complex (MAC). It also helps to inhibit LTB4 activity, which is an agent that causes inflammation.
Right now, the company is targeting three ailments: paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH), atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), and Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS).
Coversin is a protein engineered from the saliva of the Ornithodoros moubata tick, helping to keep the immune system protected from the parasite.
AKTX is set to open Friday’s trade some 15% higher.
Voxeljet AG (ADR) (VJET)
Lastly, 3D printing company Voxeljet rose as the company unveiled its latest quarterly earnings results.
VJET posted a fourth-quarter net loss of 80 euro cents per share, widened from 65 cents in the year-ago period.
Revenue came in at 6.28 million euros, which came in under estimates for 6.83 million euros. Moreover, it marked a 24.2% decline year-over-year. Gross profit, however, was up to 875,000 euros from a loss of 337,000 euros.
For its first quarter of fiscal 2017, Voxeljet expects to bring in revenue in the range of 4.25 million euros to 4.75 million euros. Full-year revenue will be in the range of 26 million euros to 28 million euros.
VJET shares are popping 4% this morning.
