3 Stocks to Watch on Wednesday: Alcoa Corp (AA), Cree, Inc. (CREE) and Seagate Technology PLC (STX)

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U.S. stocks surged ahead on Tuesday led by big gains in materials, which were up 2.5% as a group. As far as the major indices went, the S&P 500 Index finished 0.7% higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite improved by 0.9%.

3 Stocks to Watch on Wednesday: Alcoa Corp (AA), Cree, Inc. (CREE) and Seagate Technology PLC (STX)Earnings season is speeding up in a hurry, with a number of companies reporting their latest financial results. Among some of the movers this morning are Alcoa Corp (NYSE:AA), Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE), Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX)

Here’s what investors need to know heading into today:

Alcoa Corp (AA)

AA shares were on the rise Wednesday morning despite an earnings miss for its first report as a split company.

Alcoa lost $125 million in the first quarter, or 68 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, a profit of 14 cents per share was well off expectations for 22 cents. That backed out items related to properties in Suriname and western Australia.

However, revenues of $2.54 billion were enough to beat estimates for $2.54 billion. That was driven largely by higher rolled products volume and aluminum pricing.

In November, Alcoa spun off its smelting and refining divisions as a new company, which kept the Alcoa name. The rest of the business — specifically aerospace and automotive products — was renamed Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC).

AA shares were up more than 2% before Wednesday’s bell.

Cree, Inc. (CREE)

CREE shares also are up following its fiscal second-quarter report.

The light emitting diode (LED) product specialist topped expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Profits of $6 million, or 6 cents per share, were less than half the year-ago period’s earnings. However, adjusted profits of 30 cents per share were slightly higher year-over-year, and far better than expectations of 8 cents per share.

Meanwhile, revenues of $347 million also easily beat estimates for $325 million.

Looking ahead, CREE is targeting Q3 revenues of $340 million to $370 million, and adjusted earnings of 10 to 18 cents per share.

CREE shares were 3% higher in early Wednesday trade.

Seagate Technology PLC (STX)

Last, but certainly not least, is STX, which is up by double digits ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell.

Seagate’s earnings came in ahead of expectations. Net income came to $297 million, or $1 per share. Excluding certain items, Seagate earned $1.38 per share, topping projections by 30 cents per share. Revenues of $2.89 billion were off 3.1% year-over-year, but still topped expectations for $2.82 billion.

The software developer’s Q2 was successful thanks to high demand for its cloud-based storage products.

Seagate also announced several months ago that it would eliminate 6,500 jobs, or 14% of its workforce. This reduction should be complete by the end of the year.

For its third quarter, Seagate expects to rake in revenue of $2.7 billion, better than the $2.61 billion Wall Street predicts on an average basis.

STX stock was up 13% as of this writing.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/01/3-stocks-to-watch-on-wednesday-alcoa-corp-aa-cree-inc-cree-and-seagate-technology-plc-stx/.

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