MARKET PULSE-Boeing, Dow, Piper Jaffray, Fluidigm, Energizer, Yahoo

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U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, along with markets around the world, on concerns that bold efforts by Turkey and South Africa to stabilize their currencies may not be enough to staunch a cycle of selling in emerging markets. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.73 percent at 15,812.79, the S&P 500 was down 0.50 percent at 1,783.62 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.36 percent at 4,083.104.

** BOEING CO (NYSE: BA - news) , $129.07, -5.85 pct

The planemaker forecast 2014 results below analysts' average estimates as it expects margin to fall in both its major segments.

** DOW CHEMICAL CO, $44.68, +3.76 pct

The largest U.S. chemical maker by sales reported a fourth-quarter profit that comfortably beat market expectations, hiked its dividend and tripled its share buyback program, joining rival DuPont in increasing shareholder returns amid investor activism.

** PIPER JAFFRAY COS, $41.44, +9.11

The asset management firm posted its highest quarterly revenue since it went public in 2004, boosted by strong revenue growth across its reporting units.

Assets under management rose 6 percent during the quarter and were $11.2 billion at Dec. 31.

** FLUIDIGM CORP, $37.21, -9.20 pct

The medical device maker said it will acquire privately held DVS Sciences Inc for about $207.5 million to gain access to its single-cell protein analysis systems.

The company also said it planned to offer $175 million of its convertible senior notes due 2034 in an underwritten public offering.

** ASTROTECH CORP (NasdaqCM: ASTC - news) , $3.85, +31.85 pct

The company's unit, 1st Detect Corp, said its OEM-1000PI mass spectrometer will be integrated with Japanese company Rigaku Corp's Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) as part of a strategic OEM agreement.

"The integrated instrument named Thermo iMS2 is the world's first integrated TGA with MS/MS capabilities and is expected to be well received by the international research and development markets," 1st Detect Corp said in a statement.

Astrotech, which supplies to aerospace companies, formed 1st Detect to develop and commercialize miniature mass spectrometer technology.

** RF MICRO DEVICES INC (NasdaqGS: RFMD - news) , $5.1699, +5.72 pct

Canaccord Genuity (Other OTC: CCORF - news) raised its price target on the chipmaker's stock to $7.25 from $6.50 citing the company's strong gross margin forecast for the current quarter. "The sale of the UK fab (manufacturing facility), improving capacity utilization... and an overall improving new product mix ramping with leading smartphone platforms is driving sustainable margin leverage," analyst Michael Walkley wrote in a note to analysts.

** YRC WORLDWIDE (NasdaqGS: YRCW - news) , $21.96, +10.30 pct

The trucking company's stock continued its gains for the second straight day, following Monday's announcement that workers represented by the Teamsters union voted in favor of a revised proposal to amend and extend the company's collective bargaining agreement. The ratification was necessary for YRC to meet with its lenders on Tuesday to discuss refinancing of debt.

The stock had initially lost about 31 percent of its value from Jan. 9, when the workers rejected the contract, through Jan. 15.

They have more than covered their losses and have about risen 56 percent to Tuesday's close, from the time YRC restarted talks with the Teamsters on Jan. 16.

** BROADSOFT INC (NasdaqGS: BSFT - news) , $29.8299, +6.27 pct

The company, which makes software that telecom companies use to provide voice and video services, said it won a contract with Sprint Corp to enhance its internet communication services.

** USEC INC (NYSE: USU - news) , $4.9, +6.75 pct

The uranium producer said in a regulatory filing that the U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to extend the funding agreement for the company's Ohio-based American Centrifuge project till April 15. The $350 million project, which is 80 percent funded by the department, is designed to produce low-enriched uranium used to make nuclear fuel.

** PROGENICS PHARMACEUTICALS INC (NasdaqGS: PGNX - news) , $4.88, -21.29 pct

Mid-stage data on the company's experimental prostate cancer drug showed that a significant proportion of patients treated with the drug developed life-threatening neutropenia, an immune system condition. Stifel analyst Brian Klein said chances of the drug being taken into late-stage trials were low given the safety concerns. The data was released ahead of a key industry conference.

** MCCORMICK & CO INC, $65.04, -6.58 pct

J.P. Morgan Securities cut its target price on the spice maker's stock to $64 from $68 after it reported weaker-than-expected quarterly sales, hurt by about $30 million of consumer business sales shifting from the fourth quarter to the third quarter as shoppers responded to the retailer's holiday-season promotions and shopped ahead of a price increase.

** YAHOO INC (NasdaqGS: YHOO - news) , $35.55, -6.99 pct

The company's declining revenue tempered investor confidence in CEO Marissa Mayer's turnaround efforts, prompting several analysts to cut their price targets on the stock.

** RPC INC (NYSE: RES - news) , $17.39, -7.70 pct

The oilfield services company reported a 32 percent fall in its fourth-quarter profit, hurt by higher materials and supplies cost, higher expenses related to employment of its services. The company's results were also affected by lower pricing for its services.

** JONES LANG LASALLE INC, $111.15, +4.55 pct

The company, which provides property and corporate facilities management services, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit helped by a 16 percent jump in fee revenue.

** SILICON LABS, $46.46, +7.95 pct

The chipmaker posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by record revenue from microcontrollers and wireless. Silicon Labs said it expects first-quarter revenue to be between $142 million and $146 million, above analyst estimates of $141.2 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

** TERADATA CORP, $43.9, -3.71

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) cut its rating on the data analytics firm's stock to "sell" from "neutral," saying customer adoption of lower cost big data technologies would create headwinds to the company's growth.

** GREENHILL (Frankfurt: GH3.F - news) & CO INC, $53.58, -3.02 pct

The boutique investment bank reported a quarterly profit but reported a sharp drop in its advisory revenues. Advisory revenues fell 25 percent to $75.4 million, while total revenues fell 17 percent to $76.3 million, during the fourth-quarter.

** AT&T INC (NYSE: T - news) , $33.15, -1.63 pct

The telecom company's fourth-quarter wireless subscriber growth and its free cash flow target lagged well behind analyst estimates. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said a U.S. spying scandal was hurting the company's business.

At least one brokerage cut its rating on the stock.

** VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC (LSE: VZC.L - news) , $47.41, +0.11 pct

** VODAFONE GROUP PLC, $37.7936, +1.68 pct

Shareholders of both Vodafone and Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) approved Verizon's $130 billion takeover of their Verizon Wireless venture on Tuesday, paving the way for the third-biggest deal in corporate history.

** GOOGLE INC (NasdaqGS: GOOG - news) , $1,114.7, -0.74 pct

** VRINGO INC (NasdaqCM: VRNG - news) , $5.1, +28.46 pct

Vringo said a U.S. court ordered post-judgment royalty rate of 6.5 percent against the internet search giant for continued and willful patent infringement.

** GOLDCORP INC (Toronto: G.TO - news) , $24.41, +2.35 pct

** BARRICK GOLD CORP, $19.39, +3.14 pct

** ELDORADO GOLD (Toronto: ELD.TO - news) , $6.5, +2.35 pct

** RIO ALTO MINING LTD, $2.05, +3.02 pct

** YAMANA GOLD INC (Toronto: YRI.TO - news) , $9.52, +1.60 pct

** RANDGOLD RESOURCES LTD, $69.89, +2.73 pct

Gold edged higher as stock markets surrendered gains ahead of a policy statement from the Federal Reserve. Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $1,261.80 an ounce at 1316 GMT. Silver was up 0.7 percent at $19.69 an ounce.

** TRIUMPH GROUP INC (NYSE: TGI - news) , $67.04, -13.41 pct

The maker of aerostructures and other aircraft components cut its full-year 2014 profit forecast for the second time late on Tuesday after reporting a lower-than-expected quarterly profit. Organic sales fell 6 percent in the quarter, mainly due to production rate cuts on 747-8 and 767 programs, and weak military sales, Truimph said.

** FRANCESCA'S HOLDINGS CORP, $19.29, -5.67 pct

Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the women's apparel and accessories retailer's stock to "sell" from "neutral" due to increased concerns that the company's recent business challenges are structural rather than transient. The brokerage also said it expects only modest comparable store sales growth for the foreseeable future.

** ENERGIZER HOLDINGS INC (NYSE: ENR - news) , $96.43, -5.65 pct

The battery maker cut its full-year profit forecast after reporting quarterly results that missed analysts' estimates, hurt by a 6.1 percent drop in organic sales in its personal care business and foreign exchange fluctuations.

The company, which also makes Schick and Wilkinson Sword shaving products, said it now expects full-year earnings of $7-$7.25 per share, lower than its earlier forecast of $7.25-$7.50 per share. Analysts on average were expecting $7.39 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

** EZCORP INC (NasdaqGS: EZPW - news) , $11.56, +23.64 pct

The pawn and payday lender reported a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit helped by higher merchandise sales in the United States and Canada. Merchandise sales rose 12 percent to $105.6 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

** UNITED STATES STEEL CORP (NYSE: X - news) , $26.01, +2.64 pct

At least three brokerages on Wednesday raised their price targets on the steel producer's stock, a day after the company said it expected an additional $100 million in savings related to its cost-cutting initiative dubbed "Project Carnegie." Goldman Sachs said the higher savings, lower coking coal and pension costs, somewhat offset declining steel prices. The brokerage raised its stock price target to $36 from $33. UBS (Xetra: UB0BL6 - news) and Cowen also raised their stock price targets.

** CORPBANCA, $16.45, -15.16 pct

Brazil's Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Latin America's largest bank by market value, took a key step in its overseas expansion plan on Wednesday with a deal to take control of Chilean lender CorpBanca SA. Under the terms of the transaction, Itaú will pump $652 million into its Chilean unit, and then combine it with CorpBanca, according to a securities filing.

** CGI GROUP INC (Toronto: GIB-A.TO - news) , $30.31, -3.90 pct

The Canadian software company posted solid profit growth on the back of broad U.S. healthcare business strength on Wednesday, despite losing the contract to manage the U.S. healthcare enrollment website it helped build.

** DEPOMED INC (NasdaqGS: DEPO - news) , $12.3, +4.68 pct

The specialty pharmaceuticals company said a district court ruled in its favor regarding the meaning of disputed patent terms in Depomed's patent infringement case against three companies seeking to market its after-shingles pain drug, Gralise. The Markman ruling, in which the court determined the meanings of key words used in a patent claim, adopted Depomed's claims constructions or the ordinary meanings of the terms in 23 out of 24 instances.

** ILLUMINA INC (NasdaqGS: ILMN - news) , $149.9, +3.72 pct

The gene-sequencing company reported a fourth-quarter profit that edged past market estimates and reiterated its 2014 adjusted earnings and revenue forecasts.

** KEY TRONIC CORP (NasdaqGM: KTCC - news) , $10.6, -6.85

The computer keyboard maker reported a 17 percent fall in second-quarter revenue, hurt by a greater than anticipated fall in orders from key customers.

** FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR LTD, $17.9, +16.99 pct

The company, which makes chips for cars and machinery, on Tuesday forecast current-quarter revenue above analysts estimates.

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva expects continued growth in Freescale's microcontrollers business, multicore network processors and further deployment in the China wireless infrastructure market. De Silva raised his price target on the company's stock to $23 from $19.

Needham & Co LLC raised the stock's rating to "strong buy" from "buy," and raised the price target to $25 from $20.

** MEDIVATION INC (NasdaqGS: MDVN - news) , $85.48, +12.80 pct

The company's drug for advanced prostate cancer significantly delayed progression of the disease and extended survival in a large, late stage study of patients who had not yet received chemotherapy, likely paving the way for an expanded approval of the medicine.

** GTX INC (NasdaqGM: GTXI - news) , $1.89, +8.00 pct

The company said it would present preliminary findings from a mid-stage study of its drug to treat castration resistant prostate cancer at a medical meeting in San Francisco on Thursday.

** CIRRUS LOGIC INC (NasdaqGS: CRUS - news) , $17.129, -8.60 pct

The company, whose audio chips are used in Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) 's iPhones and iPads, forecast current-quarter revenue that missed analysts' average estimate.

** OMEROS CORP, $11.78, +4.90 pct

The company said data from a mid-stage study of its cognitive disorder drug showed that the drug's tolerability was not affected when used in combination with antipsychotic medicines. Omeros (Frankfurt: 3O8.F - news) said the drug could be developed as a single therapy or be tested along with other antipsychotic medicines in further studies on schizophrenia patients.

** HORIZON PHARMA INC (NasdaqGS: HZNP - news) , $9.9899, +17.53 pct

The drugmaker said it expects to report fourth-quarter revenue of about $31.9-$32.4 million, beating market estimates, helped by strong growth of its anti-inflammatory drug Rayos and arthritis drug Duexis.

Analysts had expected fourth-quarter revenue of $27.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

** TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP, $79.56, -5.03 pct

The kitchen storage container maker forecast a weaker-than-expected profit for 2014 after its fourth-quarter results missed market estimates due to a 5 percent fall in sales in its established markets such as Germany, Canada and the United States.

** NATUS MEDICAL INC (NasdaqGS: BABY - news) , $25.87, +7.39 pct

The company reported fourth-quarter results above analysts' estimates, helped by higher-than-expected international sales of its neurology and newborn care products. Natus also raised its 2014 adjusted earnings forecast to the range of $1.14-$1.18 per share from the $1.12-$1.16 it earlier expected.

** TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES, $45.1, +2.27 pct

Teva's shares open higher after the company said U.S. regulators approved its three-times-a-week multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone. The world's largest generics drugmaker has been banking on a three-times-a-week version of Copaxone ahead of possible competition from generic rivals of the drug this year.

** JETBLUE AIRWAYS (Frankfurt: JAW.F - news) , $8.535, -2.35 pct

The company reported a higher quarterly profit as rising ticket prices bolstered revenue. The New York-based carrier cited "strong" revenue trends for the current period but added flight cancellations this month in wake of unfavorable weather in the U.S. Northeast would hurt first quarter results.

** CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, $153.28, +8.05 pct

Canada's second largest railway reported a five-fold jump in fourth-quarter profit, as freight revenue rose 7 percent.

** AIR METHODS CORP (NasdaqGS: AIRM - news) , $52.31, +1.79 pct

The air ambulance service provider estimated fourth-quarter earnings below analysts' expectations and said it would incur $2.4 million in pretax charges during. The company also said patient transports in the quarter decreased compared with the prior year.

** HESS CORP, $77.87, +1.39 pct

The company reported a quarterly profit well below Wall Street expectations as oil and natural gas production lagged due to instability in Libya and maintenance in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

** PRAXAIR INC (NYSE: PX - news) , $129.09, +2.70 pct

The largest industrial gas supplier in the Americas raised its dividend by 8 percent and set another $1.5 billion share buyback plan, after its quarterly profit rose due to strong sales and acquisitions.

** ELECTRONIC ARTS INC (NasdaqGS: EA - news) , $25.7301, +3.46 pct

The videogame publisher raised its full-year earnings forecast for the year, driven by strong cost control measures. It now sees non-GAAP income of $1.30 per share, compared with its previous forecast of $1.22.

At least two brokerages raised their price targets on the stock.

** MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP, $87.44, +5.13 pct

The third-largest stand-alone U.S. refining company posted a 17 percent drop in quarterly profit on Wednesday due to shrinking crude discounts and rising maintenance costs. (Compiled by Natalie Grover in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das (Shenzhen: 002421.SZ - news) )