Stock indices were down in midday trading.
The S&P 500 was down 0.06% to 2,119.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.04% to 18,244.40. The Nasdaq was down 0.14% to 5.043.64.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond was down 4.2% to 2.14%.
The price of gold fell 0.12% to $1,224.70.
Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. were down more than 14% Friday morning to $24.85 and a market capitalization of $1.1 billion. The tumble followed news on the company’s first-quarter financials that included a disappointing comparable-restaurant sales. The Costa Mesa-based restaurant chain said it had $90 million in revenue for the quarter, up from $81 million a year earlier. Comparable sales increased 5.1%, below analyst expectations for 5.5%. El Pollo Loco said it expects 2015 profit to come in between 67 cents and 71 cents per share, against analysts’ consensus estimate of 70 cents per share.
Tustin-based Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares rose 3.4% to $1.37 and a market capitalization of $257 million. The biopharmaceutical company is set to present at the annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology later this month. Peregrine’s immunotherapy candidate product is in phase 3 of development for treatment of lung cancer.
Shares of Anaheim-based Willdan Group Inc. were up 1.8% during midday trading to $14.75 and a market capitalization of $113.5 million. The engineering consulting firm posted its first-quarter financial results Thursday, including $33.3 million in revenue, up 47% year-over-year. Net income was $1.5 million, up 15%.
