S&P 500 Edges Lower; US Crude Oil Inventories Fall

Wall Street experienced a mixed trading session on Wednesday as investors weigh a batch of corporate earnings and fresh economic data.

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, according to advance estimates. This marks a slight deceleration from the previous quarter's 3% pace and falls short of analyst expectations of 3%.

On the employment front, the ADP National Employment report showed private payrolls surged by 233,000 in October —well above the 115,000 forecast and a significant increase from the revised 159,000 in September. This stronger-than-expected job growth underscores the resilience of the labor market ahead of Friday’s official jobs report.

In corporate news, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. dropped 10% after posting quarterly results that met expectations but failed to excite investors. The decline in AMD shares dragged down the broader semiconductor sector, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF sliding over 3%.

In contrast, Alphabet Inc. jumped more than 5% following a robust earnings report that beat Wall Street expectations, boosting optimism around mega-cap tech stocks.

At midday, major U.S. indexes were trading mixed. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 remained flat, while the small-cap Russell 2000 outperformed with a 0.5% gain.

Gold prices extended all-time highs, up 0.5% to $2,787 per ounce. Oil prices surged 2%, fueled by supply concerns.

Bitcoin eased 0.8% to $72,100, pulling back from recent highs.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust  inched 0.1% higher to $582.16.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average  rose 0.2% to $423.25.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series eased 0.2% to $499.18.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF rose 0.5% to $222.76.
• The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund outperformed, up by 1.3%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund lagged, down 0.9%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Super Micro Computer Inc. tumbled 33% after auditors Ernst & Young announced their resignation amid reporting issues, five days ahead of the company’s earnings report.

Large-cap stocks reacting to earnings were:

• Eli Lilly and Company , down 8%,
• Visa Inc. , up 3.6%,
• AbbVie Inc. up over 5%,
• Caterpillar Inc. , down 1.4%,
• Chubb Ltd. , down 1%,
• Mondelez International Inc. , up 1%,
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. , down over 7%,
• Snap Inc. , up 15%,
• Reddit Inc. , up 38%,
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. , up 1%,
• Garmin Ltd. , up 24%,

Major companies reporting earnings after the close Wednesday include Microsoft Corp. , Meta Platforms Inc. , Amgen Inc. , and Booking Holdings Inc. .

Read Next:

• Alphabet’s Earnings Rally Pushes Magnificent 7 Market Cap To Record $16.8 Trillion: 10 Tech-Heavy ETFs Moving Wednesday

Photo via Shutterstock.

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Tharimmune, Inc. shares are moving higher Wednesday after the company announced it received overall positive feedback from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on its TH104 clinical program.

What To Know: TH104 is the company’s lead clinical-stage candidate for treating moderate-to-serve pruritus in primary biliary cholangitis.

The EMA interactions specifically focused on both the Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical program of TH104. EMA found the design and main features of the proposed Phase 2 study overall acceptable and provided some guidance for the design of the Phase 3 study.

“We are pleased with our interactions with both the FDA and EMA,” said Randy Milby, CEO of Tharimmune.

“The recent regulatory feedback from the EMA builds on the previous positive interactions with the FDA while providing a roadmap for TH104 for chronic pruritus in PBC, which continues to be a debilitating symptom for patients suffering from this rare condition. The progress with regulatory agencies is a testament to our continued commitment to advance innovative solutions in inflammation and immunology.”

Tharimmune plans to initiate a Phase 2 multiple-ascending dose trial in the coming months to assess the safety and tolerability of TH104. The company expects topline data in 2025 and continues to engage with regulatory authorities.

Related Link: MicroStrategy, Coinbase Shares Are Rising Tuesday: What’s Going On?

Tharimmune shares have more than doubled on above-average session volume Wednesday. Tharimmune’s average session volume over the past 100 days is about 34,000. Wednesday’s trading volume was around 56,000 at the time of publication, per Benzinga Pro.

THAR Price Action: At the time of writing, Tharimmune stock was up 107.9% at $4.25, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Image: Emilian Danaila from Pixabay

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Reddit RDDT reported third-quarter 2024 earnings of 16 cents per share, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 7 cents per share. Reddit had reported a loss of 13 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Revenues of $348.4 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.31%. The reported figure rallied 68% year over year.

Reddit offered a strong fourth-quarter 2024 guidance. This, along with the solid third-quarter earnings beat, is expected to drive the stock in the near term. Year to date, RDDT shares have surged 62.1%, outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 27.5%.

Reddit Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Reddit Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Reddit Inc. Quote

RDDT shares have also outperformed the Zacks Internet Software industry and peers Snap SNAP and Bumble BMBL over the same time frame.

While Snap and Bumble shares have declined 29.3% and 51.1% year to date, the industry has appreciated 25.6%.

RDDT’s Q3 Revenues Ride on Strong Advertising Growth

Advertising revenues increased 56% year over year to $315.1 million, driven by increased impressions from strong user growth.

Other revenues surged 547% year over year to $33.2 million, led by a new data licensing agreement with Alphabet’s GOOGL Google and OpenAI.

Daily Active Uniques (DAUq) jumped 47% year over year to 97.2 million. U.S. DAUq jumped 51% year over year to 48.2 million, while International DAUq increased 44% to 49 million.

Weekly Active Uniques (WAUq) rallied 53% year over year to 365.4 million. U.S. WAUq jumped 58% year over year to 178 million, whereas International WAUq increased 48% year over year to 187.4 million.

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) moved up 14% year over year to $3.58. U.S. ARPU increased 12% to $5.88, whereas International ARPU climbed 16% on a year-over-year basis to $1.32.

Third-quarter 2024 U.S. revenues (contributed 82.7% to revenues) increased 70% year over year to $288 million. International revenues (17.3% of revenues) rose 57% year over year to $60.4 million.

The adjusted EBITDA was $94.1 million against an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

RDDT’s Balance Sheet Remains Strong

As of Sept. 30, 2024, Reddit had cash and cash equivalents, including marketable securities of $1.745 billion, compared with $1.7 billion as of June 30, 2024.

In the third quarter, Reddit generated $71.6 million of cash from operating activities compared with $28.4 million in the previous quarter.

RDDT posted a free cash flow of $70.3 million compared with $27.2 million in the previous quarter.

Reddit’s Guidance Positive

For the fourth quarter of 2024, RDDT expects revenues between $385 million and $400 million, which indicates growth of 54-60% (57% at the mid-point).

Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $110 million and $125 million, indicating an adjusted EBITDA margin of 30% at the mid-point.

Zacks Rank

Reddit currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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