U.S. Hot Stocks: Hot Stocks to Watch

Among the companies with shares expected to trade actively in Wednesday's session are Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), Anthem Inc. (ANTM) and Estee Lauder Cos. (EL) and

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted revenue and earnings that easily topped expectations in the most recent quarter as the Chinese e-commerce giant said it better monetized its growing user base. Shares rose 3.16% to $104.35 premarket.

Estee Lauder Cos. said cost cuts helped lift earnings in the latest quarter as the cosmetics company works through a restructuring amid dwindling department store foot traffic and weakness abroad. However, revenue growth was sluggish. Shares fell 3.24% to $83.50 premarket.

Health insurer Anthem Inc. on Wednesday posted a decrease in profits amid a rise in medical costs. Shares rose 0.46% to $117.96 in premarket trading.

Allergan PLC (AGN) said it would return more cash to shareholders, months after it said it wasn't interested in a mega-deal. The company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results and lowered. Shares fell 2.49% to $203.46 premarket.

Chip maker Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO) said Wednesday it agreed to buy network-equipment firm Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (BRCD) for $5.5 billion, expanding its storage networking offerings amid slowing smartphone sales world-wide. Shares of Brocade Communications Systems rose 8.99% to $12.25 premarket. Shares of Broadcom Ltd. rose 1.96% to $172.11 premarket.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC) unveiled a new $1 billion stock-buyback plan as it closed its fiscal year with a rise in quarterly revenue.

Kate Spade & Co. (KATE) on Wednesday reported results in the latest quarter that topped estimates despite a weak retail landscape.

Time Warner (TWX), which two weeks ago agreed to sell itself to AT&T Inc., raised its outlook for the year and reported solid third-quarter results, powered by growth in its cable TV and film businesses.

Clorox Co. (CLX) lowered its earnings outlook for the year as the company said earnings came in below expectations for the latest period amid less-than-expected tax benefits.

Bunge Ltd.'s (BG) profit dropped below Wall Street estimates in the latest quarter amid continued weakness in its largest segment, though revenue improved.

Health-care information technology firm Cerner Corp. (CERN) on Tuesday gave another cautious quarterly outlook and reported disappointing results in the latest period, though profit climbed.

Hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. (CYH) swung to a loss on impairment charges and another quarter of declining admissions.

Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) swung to a quarterly profit as it slashed expenses and shifted to higher margin production. The company plans to add up to 5 rigs in the U.S. by year's end.

DeVry Education Group Inc.'s (DV) quarterly profit soared as the for-profit educator reported higher enrollment and benefited from cost-cutting efforts.

Etsy Inc. (ETSY) on Tuesday reported a narrower third-quarter loss as it continued to post strong growth in revenue and users.

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) on Tuesday reported a jump in quarterly revenue and nudged up its full-year outlook for revenue and profit, saying it anticipates other videogame publishers will issue fewer competing titles this holiday season.

Herbalife Ltd. Chief Executive Michael Johnson will step down next year to become executive chairman of the embattled nutritional-products maker.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) on Tuesday said sales of hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi slumped in the third-quarter, missing expectations, as the biopharmaceutical company faces competition from rival drugs and pricing pressures.

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) on Tuesday posted a 10% rise in third-quarter revenue, but the genetic-sequencing company cut its annual earnings guidance amid higher research costs.

Match Group Inc.'s (MTCH) third-quarter profit surged 60% from the year earlier as more of its customers opted to pay for online dating services. Match owns such online dating apps as Tinder and Plenty of Fish.

Square Inc. (SQ) on Tuesday raised its revenue projection for the year after reporting a better-than-expected 32% revenue increase in the most recent period.

Tronc Inc.'s (TRNC) third-quarter loss widened as the former Tribune Publishing reported a 11% decline in advertising revenue. The financial report came on the same day as Gannett Co. said it had dropped its attempt to buy the company.

Western Union Co. (WU) on Tuesday reported its top line slid below expectations in the latest quarter amid continued currency headwinds.

U.S. Steel Corp. (X) on Tuesday lowered its full-year guidance as it continues to recover from unplanned outages in the third quarter and invest in additional maintenance spending.

Zillow Group Inc. (Z) on Tuesday again lifted its revenue outlook for the year as the top and bottom lines surged above expectations in the latest quarter.

Write to Chris Wack at [e-mail] or Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2016 09:37 ET (13:37 GMT)

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