Yahoo Finance What Happened in the Stock Market Today
Stocks finished the week on a positive note Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) in positive territory throughout the session and closing at record highs.
Today's stock market
Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
Dow | 0.49% | 117.68 |
S&P 500 | 0.55% | 14.52 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Biotech stocks made big moves upward for the second straight day, with the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) rising 1.9%. Emerging-market funds rose as Chinese stocks rebounded from recent weakness; the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEMKT: VWO) closed up 1.2%.
Two individual stocks had big moves after making news last night. Newly public ForeScout Technologies (NASDAQ: FSCT) rose after the company reported quarterly results, and Radius Health (NASDAQ: RDUS) jumped on positive results from a drug trial.
Image source: Getty Images.
ForeScout gets off to a good start
Shares of ForeScout Technologies, a cybersecurity company that focuses on the Internet of Things, soared 20.4% after the company issued its first earnings report since going public. Revenue for the fiscal third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, increased 32% to $64.4 million. The company had an operating loss of $6.6 million, compared with a loss of $17 million in the period a year before. Net loss per share was $1.17, compared with $3.18 in Q3 of 2016. The company generated $1.7 million in free cash flow during the quarter.
"We are pleased with our strong third quarter results, highlighted by revenue growth of 32% year-over-year," said CEO Michael DeCesarein the press release. "During the third quarter, we added nearly 100 new customers, including several Global 2000 companies, expanded partnerships, and delivered innovation that strengthens both our near and long-term market opportunity."
ForeScout is focused on identifying security threats that come through the connection of unknown devices on a company's network. The trend of employers allowing their workers to bring their own devices to work has opened up the possibility of all sorts of traditional and IoT devices connecting to enterprise networks, and ForeScout's technology helps identify and control the associated risks. The company has partnered with FireEye to market its products.
ForeScout went public on Oct. 27 with shares priced at $22, and the under-the-radar company evidently made a positive impression on investors today.
Radius Health reports encouraging trial results
Radius Health, a biotech focused on osteoporosis, oncology, and endocrine diseases, reported positive results from an early trial of its breast cancer drug, sending the stock soaring 15.3%.
The results, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, were from a phase 1 clinical study of 40 patients with advanced estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer who had previously undergone other treatments. The results showed an objective response rate of 27.3%, median progression-free survival of 5.4 months, and a clinical benefit rate of 47.4% at 24 weeks.
"Patients cycle through and generally do not repeat treatment regimens, limiting treatment options as their disease advances," said Chief Scientific Officer Gary Hattersley, Ph.D., in the press release. "We are pleased about the potential to offer patients who have progressed or relapsed during their current standard of care with a new treatment option."
Radius plans to initiate a phase 2 study of the drug in early 2018, which could lead to accelerated approval of the drug by the FDA, since it has been granted Fast Track designation. Investors recognized the economic potential for Radius and bid the shares up sharply on the news.
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Jim Crumly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends FireEye. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
