The markets were higher today on a calm day of trade. The Dow 30 was higher by 72, the S&P 500 gained 3 and the Nasdaq 100 bounced 7. As the holiday week continues investors will be noticing lower volume. Though there are still some earnings announcements to focus in on, trading is historically slow. Tomorrow's only scheduled news is existing home sales which can sometimes be a market mover.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) is the latest retailer that will report their earnings after the market closes today. Analysts are expecting the retailer to report adjusted earnings per share of 33 cents on revenue of $860.55 million. The company has made big efforts to grow their women's apparel business so analysts will be looking to see better results because of that. Urban Outfitters shares have had a tough year but since setting a low in August, shares have rallied over 60%. Another 3% gain would put Urban Outfitters positive on the year.
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs today to Neutral from Buy. They also lowered their price target to $100 a share. In a note to clients, Goldman analyst Matthew Fassler stated that he is concerned about the stock's current valuation given the recent run up. Shares of Walmart have jumped nearly 40% since the start of the year. Shares of the stock have rocketed higher by 20% in just the last few weeks.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) shares remain near highs as a report by Reuters came out today that the company is getting close to their buyout of NXP Semiconductors. The $38 billion deal is also reportedly set to gain Europe's approval by the end of the year. Qualcomm's shares have held on to their 30% gain since reporting earnings back in October. Investors continue to see plenty of opportunity here which as left shares holding at highs for the last few weeks.