Here’s Why Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras, Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Amazon, and Two Other Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

The US stock market is trading higher on Friday as it recovers from a negative streak. The indices are up following upbeat quarterly results posted by major banks such as Citigroup, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo.

Other two stocks that have just reported their financial results are Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DFRG) and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:PNC). Moreover, Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) are in the spotlight today on the back of different news. Let’s take a closer looks at the events surrounding each of these five stocks

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Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) is trading higher after its CEO announced the company’s plan to change Brazil fuel prices more frequently. However, it is not planning to use any fixed formula for determining the price. The new pricing policy would be effective Saturday. The company has also decided to slash its gasoline price by 3.2% and its diesel price by 2.7%. Among the funds we track, 23 funds held $537 million worth of Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras’s stock at the end of June, compared to 23 investors and $224 million, respectively, a quarter earlier.

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DFRG) has gained 1.60% so far today after the company announced its fiscal third-quarter results. It reported consolidated revenue of $71.4 million, up by 4% on a year-over-year basis, but lower than estimates estimate of $73.1 million. However, its total comparable restaurants sales declined by 3%. The company’s net income for the quarter stood at $786,000 while its adjusted EPS of $0.04, lower than the expected $0.05. Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group expects its full year earnings to be in the range of $0.79 to $0.81 per share, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.83 per share. The number of funds from our database long Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group declined to 19 from 20 during the second quarter, while the total value of their holdings fell to $91 million from $94 million and represented 27.10% of the company’s float at the end of June.

On the next page, we are going to discuss the financial results posted by PNC Financial Services and will take a closer look at the deal between Amazon and VMWare.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:PNC) stock is trading close to flat on the back of the company reporting EPS of $1.84, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 per share. PNC Financial Services Group also posted revenue of $3.83 billion,  up by 1.5% on the year and in line with analyst expectations. A total of 45 funds tracked by us reported stakes in PNC Financial Services Group worth around $1.36 billion as of the end of June, down from $1.48 billion worth of stock held by 47 funds a quarter earlier.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) are in the spotlight after the companies announced their new deal to collaborate in the cloud computing segment. The new arrangement will allow for hybrid cloud system as the clients will be able to use VMware data center management software on Amazon’s cloud computing service. It will also make easier for clients to make shift to Amazon Web Services cloud. Under the deal Amazon will be the ‘primary public cloud partner’ for VMware. At the end of June, 145 funds from our database held shares of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), compared to 133 funds a quarter earlier, while the number of funds long VMware Inc. (NYSE:VMW) went up to 41 from 36 during the second quarter.

Disclosure: none