Afternoon Market Update (SWN, AVNR, SPLS, CTRN)

Shares of Southwestern Energy Co SWN surged about 4.6% after the company reported a 36% rise in its Q3 earnings. The company's earnings came in at $0.46 per share. SWN's revenue came in at $682.2 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings at $0.45 per share, on revenue of $587 million. US drug stocks moved down today. However, the shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals AVNR jumped about 108% after US FDA gave approval to the company's neurology drug Nuedextra. The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) moved down about 0.20%, while the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index (BTK) fell about 0.23%. US retail stocks moved down after analysts mentioned that retailers may report disappointing same-store sales for October this week. Shares of Staples Inc SPLS moved down after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock from “buy” to “neutral.” Shares of Citi Trends Inc CTRN also fell about 1.2% after analysts at J P Morgan downgraded the stock from “overweight” to “neutral.” The S&P Retail Index (RLX) lost about 0.19%. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.