Last Week’s Biggest Stock Movers: Aeropostale, MagnaChip
Plenty of stocks go up and down in any given week. The gainers inspire us to keep investing. The decliners keep greed in check while reminding us about the risks of the equity markets.
Let’s go over some of last week’s best and worst performers.
Aeropostale (ARO) — Up 45 percent last week
Investors in the struggling mall retailer caught a break after the chain updated its guidance for the recently concluded holiday quarter. Aeropostale’s net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter ending two weeks ago fell 11 percent from the prior year to $594.5 million. Comparable-store sales slipped 9 percent.
This may not seem very encouraging, but it’s better than expected. Match that up with better-than-expected margins and expense management through January, and Aeropostale now sees its quarterly deficit clocking in at no more than 6 cents a share. Its earlier forecast called for a net loss of at least 25 cents a share.
CafePress (PRSS) — Up 35 percent last week
Sometimes an asset sale resets the perceived value of an entire company. CafePress shot higher after agreeing to sell its art business in a $31.5 million cash deal. This is important because the seller of one-off creations generates just 20 percent of its revenue from the art business that it’s selling to Circle Graphics. CafePress was commanding a market cap of just a little more than the price of the transaction before the deal was announced.
Shareholders may be relieved, but longtime investors are still far away from being made whole. The stock continues to trade at nearly 85 percent of its IPO price of $19 just three years ago.
FireEye (FEYE) — Up 17 percent last week
Internet safety is getting more important, and that’s great news for cybersecurity firms like FireEye. It posted blowout quarterly results on Wednesday. FireEye came through with a smaller-than-expected adjusted deficit, but the real head turner is that revenue more than doubled by soaring from $57.3 million a year earlier to $143 million this time around.
MagnaChip Semiconductor (MX) — Down 50 percent last week
The New York Stock Exchange’s biggest loser last week was MagnaChip. The South Korean designer and maker of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products shed half of its value on Friday after restating the past few years of financials.
MagnaChip updated its 2011, 2012, and 2013 fiscal years along with restating the first three quarters of 2014. Some periods that were initially expected to be profitable wound up being marred with red ink. Wall Street wasn’t impressed. Topeka Capital Markets slashed its price target on the stock from $14 to $9.
Zulily (ZU) — Down 24 percent last week
The market also didn’t warm up to zulily’s latest quarterly report. The online apparel retailer may have seen sales climb 52 percent over the prior year’s holiday quarter, but earnings and free cash flow declined. It also didn’t help that zulily offered up weak guidance for the current quarter. Several analysts — including RBC Capital Markets, Robert W. Baird and Canaccord Genuity — downgraded the stock following the report.
Zynga (ZNGA) — Down 18 percent last week
Former social gaming darling Zynga continues to struggle. The stock took a hit after posting uninspiring financials. Revenue and bookings may have inched higher, but Zynga posted another quarterly loss as active users and unique payers slipped from a year earlier. The stock hit a new 52-week low, and its ample cash reserves now make up nearly half of its market cap.
[source : dailyfinance.com]