U.S. shares were little changed today. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.2 percent to 2,124 at 11:50 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) dropped 0.2 percent to 18,283, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) fell 0.1 percent to 5,063. Most followed shares included Lowe’s, Staples, Hormel Foods, Target, Pep Boys Manny Moe, Etsy, Autodesk, Yahoo!, Computer Sciences, Sarepta Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Northrop Grumman, Lpath, and UBS Group.
In consumer shares, Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) tumbled 4.2 percent to $68.85 after the second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer reported first-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates. Net income rose to $673 million, or $0.70 per share, in the quarter ended May 1, from $624 million, or $0.61 per share, a year earlier.
Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS), the world's largest office-supply chain, fell 1.2 percent to $16.21 after saying quarterly sales declined.
Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) advanced 4.3 percent to $58.18 as the producer of meat and food products reported quarterly profit of 67 cents per share, five cents above estimates, although revenue was shy of forecasts.
Target (NYSE:TGT) rose 0.9 percent to $78.62 after reporting a better-than-expected 52 percent increase in profit in its first quarter as its stores attracted more shoppers who spent more on average.
Pep Boys Manny Moe and Jack (NYSE:PBY) rose 15.8 percent to $10.71 on a report that the auto parts retailer had received takeover approaches.
In technology shares, Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) tumbled 22.6 percent to $16.25 after the the global online marketplace for vintage and artisanal products said the stronger dollar is hurting sales overseas.
Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) slipped 0.2 percent to $57.38 after the design software and services company cut its full-year profit and sales forecasts.
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) climbed 3.7 percent to $42.50 after affirming plans to spin off a stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Computer Sciences (NYSE:CSC) jumped 1.4 percent to $68.63 as the provider of IT services said it will split into two publicly traded companies. It also plans to pay a special cash dividend of $10.50 a share by October.
In health-care shares, Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) surged 47.92 percent to $24.30 after the biopharmaceutical company plans to submit an application to U.S. regulators for a muscular dystrophy treatment.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) inched up 0.2 percent to $104.11 as the company said it expects to have 10 or more new drugs in the pipeline by 2019, each with potential sales of $1 billion.
Lpath (NASDAQ:LPTN) tumbled 80 percent to $0.34 after saying it will restructure its workforce and move to conserve cash after reporting a mid-stage clinical trial for a chronic eye disease treatment didn’t meet primary or key secondary endpoints.
In other stocks, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) edged up 0.3 percent to $159.46 after the aerospace company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 per share from $0.70 per share, an increase of 14 percent.
UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) rose 3.1 percent to $21.78 as Switzerland’s largest bank will pay lower-than-expected $545 million to U.S. authorities to end an investigation into alleged manipulation of currency and interest rates.
ADRs of Yingli Green Energy Holding (NYSE:YGE) jumped 25 percent to $1.17 as it moved to calm investors, saying it will be able to repay its debt on time after issuing a going-concern warning in a regulatory filing last week.