Tesla Inc. (TSLA, Financial) traded lower on Thursday after its Model 3 deliveries fell short of expectations. The company delivered 1,550 units of the Model 3, with the production of the mass-market sedan standing at 2,425 units. However, the automaker said it made 793 Model 3s over the last seven working days of the quarter and hit a production rate on its manufacturing lines that "extrapolates to over 1,000 Model 3s per week."
Monsanto Co. (MON, Financial) stock rallied 0.5% after the company reported first-quarter 2018 earnings per share of 41 cents on $2.66 billion in revenue, falling short of profit estimates by one cent and revenue expectations by $110 million. The company’s revenue increased 0.4% year over year, while its gross margin inched up to $1.3 billion, or 49%.
Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant said he expects a strong adoption of its newest technologies. Dr. Robb Fraley, executive vice president and chief technology officer, expanded on the company's progress.
“This year, we advanced a record number of projects in our research and development pipeline," he said, "spanning all platforms and allowing us to continue to fuel innovation for the industry through our broad licensing approach.”
Shares of Rite Aid Corp. (RAD, Financial) fell on the back of the company posting its financial results for the third quarter of 2018. The company reported net sales declined 5.6% to $5.35 billion. It posted a net loss from continuing operations of $18.2 million, or two cents per diluted share, and adjusted net income from continuing operations of $1.6 million, or $0 per share. The company exceeded earnings estimates by two cents. Further, adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $129.2 million, or 2.4% of revenue.
“Our pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for the third quarter of $153 million, which includes $24 million in fees that would have been received if all of the divested stores were being managed under the TSA Agreement as of the beginning of the period, was in line with our expectations,” Chairman and CEO John Standley said.
Shares of Sprint Corp. (S, Financial) declined more than 4% after the company announced changes to its management team. Michel Combes will become the company's new president and chief financial officer. He will later join the board. Combes is replacing Tarek Robbiati, who is leaving the company at the end of the month.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
