U.S. Hot Stocks: Hot Stocks to Watch

Among the companies with shares expected to trade actively in Tuesday's session are Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI), Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARLZ), and AstraZeneca PLC (AZN)

Darden Restaurants posted stronger-than-expected earnings in its latest quarter, helped by climbing same-store sales at its Olive Garden chain. The company's shares rose 4.1% to $63.85 in premarket trading.

Biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca said Tuesday it is selling the U.S. rights to its generic high blood pressure drug Toprol-XL to Aralez Pharmaceuticals for an initial payment of $175 million. Shares of Aralez jumped 22% to $6.15 in premarket trading.

AstraZeneca cut its sales target for prescription blood-thinning medicine Brilinta after it failed to show a benefit over standard treatment in peripheral artery disease in a large clinical trial. AstraZeneca shares were down 0.9% at $32.72 premarket.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) says there are initial signs that curtailed post-summer capacity is helping boost the top line. The airline also reported September traffic increased 1.4%.

Sibanye Gold Ltd. (SBGL), South Africa's biggest gold producer by volume, has suspended operations at one of its mines after an illegal protest injured four employees, two of whom are being treated at local hospitals.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said Monday that Chief Executive Satya Nadella was awarded $17.7 million in total compensation in its 2016 fiscal year, down 3.3% from the previous 12 months largely due to stock awards.

Write to Jenny Roth at [e-mail] and Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 04, 2016 09:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

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