Afternoon BUZZERS: JPMorgan Reports $4.4 Billion LOSS, Lexmark and Vivus DROP

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) shares are up 5.93 percent this afternoon. The bank reported a pretax loss from the “London Whale” chief investment office of $4.4 billion, lower than the $5 billion to $7 billion whisper number. Second-quarter earnings came in at $1.21 per share, compared to $1.27 a year earlier. However, JPMorgan Chase will restate its first quarter numbers from its CIO trading losses and cut net income by $459 million. Other banks such as Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) also climbed higher.

Shares of Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) have gained 3.23 percent today. The nation’s largest mortgage lender reported second-quarter earnings of 82 cents per share, compared to 70 cents per share a year earlier. “Wells Fargo’s strong financial results this quarter again reflect the benefit of our diversified business model,” Chief Executive John Stumpf said in a statement. However, expenses totaled $12.4 billion and the bank said it would not meet its goal of reducing costs to $11.25 billion by the fourth-quarter.

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares gained 0.94 percent on Friday. Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf on Thursday substantially raised his earlier estimate of iPad sales in the June quarter, predicting a record 20 million unit sales for the tablet rather than his earlier guess of 13.5 million. Wolf wrote in a note to investors that his initial estimate made in April had been “hastily formulated.”

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE:LXK) shares have dropped 15.30 percent today. Due to weaker-than-expected demand in Europe, the company reduced its second-quarter earnings outlook to 53-55 cents, down from 65-75 cents per share. The company explained, “This revised second quarter outlook reflects a weaker than expected demand environment, particularly in Europe, and a larger than expected impact from unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates.”

Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS) shares declined 1.38 percent today. The company remains in focus ahead of a highly-watched decision. On July 17, Vivus awaits word from the FDA on its diet pill Qnexa. The approval decision was originally expected in April, but was delayed until next week. If approved, it would become the second weight-loss pill to be approved by the FDA this year. Last month, Arena Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:ARNA) won approval for its Lorcaserin drug that affects an area of the brain that helps people eat less and feel full after eating only small amounts of food.

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