Wall Street This Week: Imax Flickers, SolarCity Shines
From a provider of supersize movie screenings hoping that it’s the market’s feature attraction to the leading installer of solar rooftop panels checking in with quarterly results, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street.
Monday — Hail to the Chiefs
The major exchanges are closed in observance of Presidents Day, and naturally it will be quiet on the U.S. business news front. The rest of the world will still be in action, and one overseas name to watch is Vipshop (VIPS).
The Chinese online discounter of branded apparel is growing quickly, and it reports fresh financials on Monday. Analysts see both sales and earnings climbing better than 80 percent relative to the prior year’s quarter. Vipshop has routinely blasted through Wall Street profit projections, so it won’t be much of a surprise if it earns more than the 9 cents a share that analysts are targeting.
Tuesday — Host of the Party
The abridged trading week kicks off on Tuesday with Rackspace Hosting (RAX) reporting fourth-quarter results. Rackspace is a leading provider of Web-hosting services, with more than 300,000 business customers.
Rackspace was reeling through 2013 as the cutthroat nature of the industry saw margins contract sharply. It bounced back last year, and the shares hit a new 52-week high just last week. Rackspace reports after the market close on Tuesday.
Wednesday — Rising Sun
SolarCity (SCTY) reports on Wednesday afternoon. It’s the top dog in the realm of residential installations of solar rooftop panels. The market is still in its infancy, but SolarCity is larger than its 50 largest rivals combined.
SolarCity is growing quickly, but it’s losing a lot of money. The market’s holding out for a widening quarterly deficit on a 52 percent surge in revenue.
Thursday — The Big Screen Gets Bigger
Last year was horrendous for multiplex operators. Just 1.26 billion movie tickets were sold last year, making this the worst year for exhibitor attendance in 20 years.
Imax (IMAX) has historically held up better than the industry, with global installations and its appealing supersize projections. However, market watchers expect Imax’s revenue and profitability to decline when it reports quarterly results on Thursday.
Friday — Jet Set
The day that Amazon.com (AMZN) has been cautiously eyeing arrives on Friday, when Jet.com is scheduled to begin taking limited sign-ups to its Web-based warehouse club. Jet plans to charge $49.99 a year for access to prices on products that are expected to be lower than on other online sites. It’s an ambitious goal, but Jet.com is the handiwork of the guy who sold Diapers.com parent Quidsi to Amazon five years ago. In other words, he knows how Amazon works.
[source : dailyfinance.com]