Energy stocks surged ahead by more than 1% on a day of otherwise modest days for the broader stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%, the S&P 500 finished 0.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite wafted up 0.2%.
The second-quarter earnings season is cranking into high gear today as we close out the week, starting with the financial space, where JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) delivered a strong report. However, CyberArk Software Ltd (NASDAQ:CYBR) and Nutanix Inc (NASDAQ:NTNX) should be on investors’ radars this morning as well, as the pair are moving fast on their own headlines.
Here’s what you need to know as we enter the final trading day of the week.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
JPM shares are sliding Friday morning despite the bank putting up a record performance in its fiscal second quarter.
JPMorgan earned $7 billion, or $1.82 per share, in Q2. That was well ahead of estimates for $1.58 per share. On the top line, JPM delivered $26.41 billion, powered by an 8% jump in net interest income to $12.5 billion. Revenues were better than the $24.96 billion expected by Wall Street’s pros.
The quarter featured record-setting figures from its commercial banking unit (profits of $902 million) and asset and wealth management ($624 million).
But a few issues lingered that had Wall Street more bearish than not on JPM.
The company’s NII forecast for 2017 has been lowered by $500 million, with JPMorgan now expecting to bring in $4 billion more year-over-year.
And fixed-income trading was decimated, off 19% to drag market revenues down by 14%.
JPM stock is off 1% this morning on what looks like will be an off day for the finance sector. Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) are both tracking slightly lower after the former topped profit expectations but missed on revenues, and the latter beat on both lines.
CyberArk Software Ltd (CYBR)
It looks like CyberArk Software will have a rough end to the week after the IT security firm lowered its second-quarter guidance.
Non-GAAP earnings will be in the range of $8.5 million to $8.9 million, which is well below the range of $10.9 million to $11.7 million it previously predicted. This figure would represent anywhere between flat to 4.7% better performance than the year-ago period.
Revenue expectations have been lowered, too, to a range of $57 million-$57.5 million from its prior outlook of $61 million to $62 million. The new forecast would be 14% to 15% higher year-over-year.
“The primary reason for our revenue shortfall was our performance in (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) EMEA, where certain deals that we anticipated would close did not close by the end of the quarter,” CEO Udi Mokady said.
He added that CyberArk is working toward implementing a system that will enhance execution, raking in better returns in the EMEA region.
CyberArk’s earnings report will be released Aug. 8, 2017, but for now, shares are plunging 17% on the sour news.
Nutanix Inc (NTNX)
Lastly, enterprise cloud player Nutanix is jumping ahead of Friday’s bell following a big nod from Goldman Sachs analysts.
Goldman has upgraded NTNX shares to its “Conviction Buy” list, slapping it with a $31 price tag that implies 53% upside from Thursday’s close. However, analyst Simona Jankowski said the company actually could be worth $36 per share in a merger deal based on its software alone.
The praise was high, with Jankowski calling the company a “once-in-a-decade tech infrastructure play.”
Potential drivers for the stock include strong fundamentals such as high gross margins and operating leverage, as well as a leading place in hyperconverged appliances that would make it an attractive M&A target.
NTNX shares are up more than 6% this morning, helping the stock cut into roughly 24% losses year-to-date.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
