MARKET PULSE- Mattel, Stanley Black & Decker, MGIC Investment, Receptos

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Wall Street was set for a higher open on Wednesday amid cautious optimism that U.S. politicians would strike a last-minute deal to prevent the country from defaulting on its debt, an event that could roil markets and economies worldwide.

S&P 500 futures rose 9 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 67 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 12.75 points.

** BANK OF AMERICA CORP, Tuesday close $14.24, up 0.4 pct premarket

The bank reported a third-quarter profit of $2.22 billion compared with a loss a year earlier, as provisions for credit losses and expenses fell.

** STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC (NYSE: SWJ - news) , Tuesday close $89.51, down 11 pct premarket

The power tool maker cut its 2013 profit forecast due to the U.S. government spending cuts and shutdown and slower-than-expected margin expansion in its security business.

** MATTEL INC (NasdaqGS: MAT - news) , Tuesday close $41.55, up 5.5 pct premarket

** HASBRO INC (NasdaqGS: HAS - news) , Tuesday close $45.99, up 2.6 pct premarket

Toy maker Mattel topped Wall Street's profit estimates for the third quarter, benefiting from strong demand for its chubby-faced American Girl dolls and its Monster High line depicting the teen descendants of famous monsters.

Rival Hasbro is scheduled to report its quarterly results next week.

** ST. JUDE MEDICAL, Tuesday close $55.38, up 0.7 pct premarket

The company posted a 49 percent jump in third-quarter profit as increased sales of devices to treat abnormal heart rhythms offset a decline in sales of pacemakers.

** MGIC INVESTMENT CORP, Tuesday close $7.26, up 8 pct premarket

The mortgage insurer posted its second straight quarterly profit, after six years of losses, as a recovery in the U.S. housing market lowered the number of defaulters.

** BNY MELLON CORP, Tuesday close, $30.85, up 1 pct premarket

The bank reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit due to rising fees from managing money, increased mutual fund balances and strength in foreign currency trading.

** BLACKROCK INC (NYSE: BLK - news) , Tuesday close $282.27

The world's largest money manager said its third-quarter profit rose 15 percent due to market growth and strong global demand from its retail and institutional clients.

** PEPSICO INC (NYSE: PEP - news) , Tuesday close $80.60, up 0.7 pct premarket

The company reported higher quarterly earnings and said it was on track to meet its financial goals for the year, despite a sluggish economy. The maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay snacks and Tropicana juice said net income was $1.91 billion, or $1.23 per share, in the third quarter, up less than 1 percent from $1.90 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier.

** ABBOTT LABORATORIES (Xetra: 850103 - news) , Tuesday close $33.71, up 1.3 pct premarket

The drugmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings despite disrupted sales of its infant formulas in China, mainly due to cost cuts and lower taxes.

** JPMORGAN CHASE & CO (NYSE: JPM - news) , Tuesday close $52.31, up 0.5 pct premarket

The bank has reached an agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to pay $100 million to settle charges related to the bank's "London Whale" trading scandal, according to media reports.

** YAHOO INC (NasdaqGS: YHOO - news) , Tuesday close $33.38, up 1.8 pct premarket

Investors cheered the internet company's plans to keep a larger-than-expected stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, overlooking continuing softness in its core online advertising business. Yahoo said it would sell fewer shares than originally agreed from its 24 percent stake when Alibaba goes public.

At least seven brokerages raised their price targets on Yahoo's stock.

** ADVANCE AUTO PARTS INC (NYSE: AAP - news) , Tuesday close $82.50, up 11 pct premarket

The company said it would buy General Parts International Inc for just over $2 billion, creating the largest North American retailer of auto parts, as strong new car sales hit demand for repair and replacement.

** RTI SURGICAL INC (NasdaqGS: RTIX - news) , Tuesday close $3.90, down 5 pct premarket

The surgical implant company cut its revenue forecast for the third quarter, citing several factors including uncertainties related to a warning letter from the U.S. health regulator received in October last year.

The letter pertained to environmental monitoring activities in certain areas of RTI's processing facility in Alachua, Florida. The company now expects to report revenue of about $54.7 million, lower than the $59 million to $61 million forecast earlier.

** GENERAL ELECTRIC (Other OTC: GEAPP - news) , Tuesday close $24.19, up 0.4 pct

The conglomerate expects to value its Swiss consumer finance unit GE Money Bank at a total market capitalization of up to 1.53 billion Swiss francs ($1.67 billion) when it lists it in the fourth quarter. The price for each share will be between 43 and 51 Swiss francs at the initial public offering, Money Bank said on Thursday.

** FORD MOTOR CO (NYSE: F - news) , Tuesday close $16.97, up 0.6 pct premarket

** GENERAL MOTORS CO, Tuesday close $34.70, up 0.5 pct premarket

Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) raised its price targets on the stocks of the car makers, saying it prefers Ford and GM (NYSE: GM - news) over auto parts suppliers. "Ford offers potential for continued international improvements, while GM is underappreciated and may see less selling pressure as the U.S. Treasury winds down its stake," analysts wrote in a note.

** RECEPTOS INC (NasdaqGM: RCPT - news) , Tuesday close $27, up 14 pct premarket

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) raised its price target on the drugmaker's stock to $31 from $21, maintaining its "outperform" rating, in an earnings preview research note issued on Wednesday.

** ALL AMERICAN PIPELINE LP, Tuesday close $50.45

The company's general partner Plains GP Holdings LP priced its initial public offering at $22 per share to raise $2.82 billion, making it the largest U.S. IPO this year.

** BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY (NYSE: BRK-A - news) , Tuesday close $114.63, up 0.2 pct premarket

Marmon Group, which is owned by the company, will buy engineering company IMI Plc (LSE: IMI.L - news) 's beverage dispense and merchandising businesses for 690 million pounds ($1.10 billion).

** HALLIBURTON CO, Tuesday close $51.16

A manager of the company formally pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court on Tuesday to destroying evidence in connection with the oilfield services company's role in the BP (LSE: BP.L - news) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

** APPLE INC (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) , Tuesday close $498.68, up 0.5 pct premarket

The company has hired Burberry Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts to direct strategy, expansion and operation of its retail and online stores, setting her the task of bolstering iPad and iPhone sales.

** WAL-MART STORES INC, Tuesday close $74.37

The retailer expects slightly stronger sales growth next year as it makes changes such as opening more smaller U.S. stores and shutting 50 poorly performing stores in Brazil and China, executives said on Tuesday.

** REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS INC (NasdaqGS: REGN - news) , Tuesday close $290.43

** AMGEN INC (Xetra: 867900 - news) , Tuesday close $111.40

A new type of cholesterol drug being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi SA, when used by itself, cut levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol almost in half in the first of a dozen late-stage trials of the injectable medicine. The experimental drug, called alirocumab, is from a promising new class of injectable cholesterol fighters also being developed by Amgen Inc and other drugmakers.

Roth Capital analysts raised their price target on Regeneron's stock to $345 from $319. The company's focus has been the growth of its big-selling eye drug, Eylea, but is quickly moving to the broad pipeline, led by potential blockbuster candidate alirocumab, the analysts wrote in a note.

** TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES, Tuesday close $39.52

The Israel-based company and the Israeli government will set up a joint team to examine ways to implement cost cutting measures that preserve most of the company's workforce in that country.

** INTEL CORP, Tuesday close $23.39, down 1 pct premarket

The chipmaker's third-quarter results modestly beat expectations on Tuesday, but its current-quarter revenue outlook fell short and it warned that production of its upcoming Broadwell processors was delayed.

** CSX CORP (NYSE: CSX - news) , Tuesday close $26.10

The company posted a higher quarterly profit as its non-coal business did well and the railroad increased prices.

** NEXTERA ENERGY INC (NYSE: NEE - news) , Tuesday close $80.21

The staff at the California Energy Commission found some environmental issues with the U.S. power company's proposed 485-megawatt Blythe solar power plant near California, the commission said in a release on Tuesday.

** ORACLE CORP, Tuesday close $32.75

Top (Taiwan OTC: 8419.TWO - news) proxy advisers recommended votes against key directors of the software maker, citing concerns over executive pay. The recommendations promise to stir up a debate over compensation at the company's annual meeting scheduled for the end of this month.

* WET SEAL INC (NasdaqGS: WTSL - news) , Tuesday close $3.84, down 8 pct after market

The California-based specialty apparel retailer forecast a wider loss for the current quarter as slower mall traffic forced it to discount more than planned.

"Following our strong start to the quarter, mall traffic softened considerably during September and has continued into October, resulting in an increasingly promotional competitive environment in recent weeks," Chief Executive John Goodman said.

** LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORP, Tuesday close $39.55, down 2.5 pct premarket

The semiconductor company posted first-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates and said it expected second-quarter revenue to be flat to down 4 percent from the first quarter as the U.S. government shutdown might affect its business.

On Wednesday, brokerages B.Riley & Co and Piper Jaffray cut their price targets on the company's stock following the results.

** J.C. PENNEY CO INC, Tuesday close $7.17, up 2 pct premarket

A spokeswoman of the company denied a market rumor on Tuesday that the department store chain had hired bankruptcy counsel. Penney spokeswoman Kristin Kays said there was "no truth to the rumor," origins of which were unclear.

** FIRST SOLAR INC (Xetra: A0LEKM - news) , Tuesday close $43.75, up 2 pct premarket

The solar company said it had entered into an agreement to construct a 250-megawatt solar power plant in California for a unit of NextEra Energy Resources LLC. The construction of the project will begin in late 2014.

** VIVUS INC (NasdaqGS: VVUS - news) , Tuesday close $10.06, down 2 pct premarket

Leerink Swann slashed its price target on the drugmaker's stock to $17 from $20, citing softer-than-expected prescriptions of the obesity drug Qsymia reported by Vivus on Tuesday. JP Morgan (Other OTC: MGHL - news) also cut its price target on the stock to $18 from $22. Both Leerink and JP Morgan (Other OTC: JPYYL - news) maintained their "outperform" ratings on the stock.

** STR HOLDINGS INC (NYSE: STRI - news) , Tuesday close $2.28

In a cost-saving move, the solar components maker eliminated positions of chief operating officer, vice president of human resources, chief technology officer and vice president of finance. Chief Operating Officer Barry Morris will stay on until Nov. 15, the company said. (http://r.reuters.com/fyj83v)

** EMCORE CORP, Tuesday close $4.80, up 10 pct premarket

Activist investment firm Becker Drapkin Management L.P. said on Tuesday that it took a stake in the company, terming its shares "undervalued". Becker Drapkin said it intended to nominate three directors to the company's board at its annual shareholder meeting.

Becker Drapkin took a 7.1 percent stake in the maker of chip-based parts for broadband, fiber optic and satellite markets on Oct (KOSDAQ: 039200.KQ - news) . 2 and said it intends to discuss "ways in which the undervaluation of the common stock can be rectified" with the company. The stake makes Becker Drapkin the second-largest shareholder in Emcore.

** PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES (NYSE: PNC-WT - news) , Tuesday close $72.51, up 0.7 pct premarket

The regional bank's quarterly results beat analysts' estimates as it set aside less money to cover credit losses. PNC earned $1.79 per share for the third quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $1.62, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

** KEYCORP (NYSE: KEY - news) , Tuesday close $11.86, up 2.8 pct premarket

The bank's quarterly results beat estimates, helped by lower provision for loan losses.

** EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORP (NYSE: EW - news) , Tuesday close $75.03, up 1 pct premarket

Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) raised its rating on the medical device maker's stock to "buy" from "neutral," according to Theflyonthewall.com.

** ARCH COAL INC (NYSE: ACI - news) , Tuesday close $4.12, down 2 pct premarket

Analysts at Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) cut their rating on the U.S. coal producer's stock to "underweight" from "equal weight," according to Theflyonthewall.com.

** O'REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC, Tuesday close $129.08, up 2 pct premarket

Wedbush started coverage on the auto parts retailer's stock with an "outperform" rating, according to Theflyonthewall.com. (Compiled by Sneha Banerjee in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)