Futures Up; PetSmart Down 8%

Stocks futures are up slightly this morning, ahead of Thursday’s bell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average are up both up about 0.3%. Jobless data provided further evidence of a slowly mending economy:

First-time jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 7,000 to 340,000 in the week ended March 2, the lowest since the period ended Jan. 19, according to data today from the Labor Department in Washington. The�median�forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase to 355,000. The four-week average dropped to a five-year low.

Falling are shares of PetSmart (PETM), down about 8% after it reported good quarterly results but provided full-year outlook below consensus forecasts. In the wake of earnings, Nomura analyst Aram Rubinson reiterated his Reduce call on the stock and $55 price target, well below yesterday’s closing price of $66.55. Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock to Neutral but RBC Capital Markets sees a buying opportunity, reports The Fly on the Wall:

RBC Capital believes the guidance was conservative. The firm notes that the company’s Q1 sales trends are improving sequentially, and it maintains an Outperform rating.

Shares of Boston Scientific (BSX) are up about 5%, perhaps after this news broke last night:

Boston Scientific Corp.�said its study on a novel heart device to prevent strokes will be presented in full at a meeting March 9, after the company surprised investors and organizers earlier this week with plans to release only a limited look at the safety data.

Initial findings from the clinical trial, called�Prevail, will be released at the�American College of Cardiology�meeting in�San Francisco, the Natick, Massachusetts-based company said in a statement. The study tracked the safety of the Watchman device for a week after surgery and examined whether it reduced the risk of stroke, clots or death 18 months after treatment.

J.C. Penney‘s (JCP) desperate slide may be over, at least for now. The stock, which has fallen 32% in the past week, is up 1.25% premarket.