Barnes & Noble, Priceline, Expedia Soar

123jump.com Staff
04 Aug, 2010
New York City

U.S. stocks traded higher and of the 30 stocks in the Dow, 19 traded higher. Barnes & Noble Inc soared as the takeover battle heats up. Electronic Arts jumped 5% after it reported quarterly profit. Priceline.com surged more than 20% after it estimated higher annual earnings.

[R]6:00 AM New York – U.S. stocks traded higher and of the 30 stocks in the Dow, 19 traded higher. Barnes & Noble Inc soared as the takeover battle heats up. Electronic Arts jumped 5% after it reported quarterly profit. Priceline.com surged more than 20% after it estimated higher annual earnings.[/R]

AOL, Inc ((AOL)) rose 0.6% or 14 cent to $21.36 after the the Web services company said second-quarter total revenues declined 26.2% to $584.1 million from $791.5 million in the prior year quarter. Net loss in the quarter was $1.055 billion or $9.89 per share compared to net income of $90.7 million or 86 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Auto Nation Inc ((AN)) gained 1.6% or 37 cent to $24.08 after the company chief executive made positive comments on the industry. Also, July retail auto sales increased compared to a year ago.

Barnes & Noble Inc ((BKS)) surged 20.2% or $2.60 to $15.44 after the investor group may include the company founder Leonard Riggio prepares to offer a competing bid to Yucaipa Companies controlled by billionaire Ronald Burkle.

Black Box Network Services ((BBOX)) rose 2.5% or 81 cent to $32.18 after the company reported fiscal first quarter 2011 revenues increased 12% to $264 million and net income increased to $13.1 million from $7.8 million. Earnings per share increased to 75 cents from 44 cents a year ago quarter.

The technology services company maintains dedicated voice and data network and said for the fiscal 2011 it estimates revenues between $1.025 billion and $1.04 billion. Operating earnings per share for the period is estimated between $3.10 and $3.25.

Discovery Communications Inc ((DISCA)) fell 0.1% or 6 cent to $38.34 after the media and content company reported second quarter revenues increased 11% to $963 million and net income decreased to $106 million from $177 million a year ago quarter. Free cash flow in the quarter was negative $44 million.

Electronic Arts ((ERTS)) gained 4.9% or 79 cent to $16.97 after the electronic game developer reported fiscal first quarter revenues of $815 million compared to $644 million. Net income in the quarter was $96 million compared to a loss of $234 million in the period a year ago.

For the second quarter the company estimated a loss between 10 cents and 15 cents a share and revenues between $775 million and $825 million.

Expedia Inc ((EXPE)) advanced 5.2% or $1.21 to $24.08 after the Internet travel agency completed the sale of $750 million of senior notes offering 5.95% rate.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc ((FIS)) dropped 5.1% or $1.48 to $27.31 after the company issued a statement and noted the buyback of 86 million shares at $29 each.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc ((HTZ)) declined 2.3% or 27 cent to $11.30 after the rental car company reported second quarter revenues increased to $1.88 billion from $1.75 billion. In the period the company reported a loss of $25.1 million compared to net profit of $3.9 million in the period a year ago. Earnings per share were 6 cents loss compared to net income of 1 penny a year ago.

j2Global Communications, Inc ((JCOM)) dropped 0.6% or 15 cent to $24.87 after the telecom services provider reported nearly flat revenues in the second quarter of $61.3 million compared to $62.5 million. Net income in the quarter increased to $18.7 million from $11.37 million and earnings per share increased to 41 cents from 25 cents a share.

Looksmart Ltd ((LOOK)) increased 1.3% or 2 cent to $1.51 after an online search advertising company said revenues in the quarter declined to $13 million from $13.2 million a year ago period. Net income in the quarter was $0.7 million compared to net loss of $1.3 million. Earnings per share in the quarter were 4 cents compared to net loss of 8 cents.

MasterCard International ((MA)) rose 0.1% or 21 cent to $201.12 after the credit card processor reported second quarter net sales increased 6.7% to $1.4 billion from $1.28 billion and net income increased to $458 million or $3.49 per share from $349 million or $2.67 a share.

Gross dollar volume increased 8.5% in the local currency to $665 billion and cross border volume increased 15.2%.

Motorola, Inc ((MOT)) rose 3.1% or 24 cent to $7.87 after the activist investor Carl Ichan controlled fund noted in a regulatory filing increased holding to 9.99% from 8.75%.

Nicor Inc ((GAS)) fell 0.2% or 12 cent to $44.70 after the natural gas distribution company reported second quarter revenues decreased to $425.6 million from $447.6 million. Net income in the period increased to $24.2 million from $22.9 million in the quarter a year ago. Earnings per share increased to 53 cents from 50 cents.

Officemax ((OMX)) rose 0.3% or 5 cent to $13.01 after the office supply retailer reported second quarter sales declined 0.3% to $1.65 billion. Net income to shareholders were $11.76 million compared to a loss to $17.71 million a year ago quarter. Earnings per share in the period were 14 cents compared to a loss of 23 cents.

Priceline.com Inc ((PCLN)) surged 22% or $50.85 to $281.41 after the online travel comparison site estimated annual earnings per share of $4.78.

RehabCare Group ((RHB)) fell 12.6% or $2.74 to 19.00 after the hospital chain operator reported second quarter sales increased 62.8% to $334 million and net income in the period of $14.7 million compared to $6.88 million.

Earnings per share in the quarter increased to 59 cents from 38 cents in the quarter a year ago.

Smith International ((SII)) rose 0.1% or 4 cent to $43.74 after the international energy exploration company reported second quarter net revenues of $2.29 billion from $1.9 billion in the period a year ago. Net income in the period increased to $65 million from $24.3 million a year ago and earnings per share increased to 26 from 11 cents.

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc ((SPR)) fell 0.3% or 7 cent to $21.47 after the aerospace parts and maintenance service provider reported flat sales of $1.06 billion in the latest quarter. Net earnings in the second quarter were $55.1 million compared to net loss of $8.3 million and earnings per share were 39 cents compared to a loss of 6 cents.

The backlog in the quarter declined 3% to $27.2 billion.

Research in Motion, Inc ((RIMM)), after the maker of mobile device Blackberry dropped 3.2% or $1.78 to $53.75 after Saudi Arabia, UAE, Indonesia, India and China look for ways to control access to web and data services from its Smartphone.

Time Warner Inc ((TWX)) rose 1.6% or 53 cent to $32.89 after the the media and entertainment company reported second quarter revenues grew 8% to $6.4 billion from $6.0 billion in the prior-year quarter. Net income in the quarter rose 7.2% to $562 million or 49 cents per share compared to $524 million or 43 cents per share in the year-ago period.

The Pantry Inc ((PTRY)) gained 3.1% or 59 cent to $19.81 after the convenience chain operator in the southeast said net revenues in the quarter increased to $1.89 billion from $1.63 billion. Net income in the third quarter increased to $18.02 million compared to a loss of $749,000. Earnings per share in the period were 80 cents compared to a loss of 3 cents.

Vishay Precision Group ((VPG)) declined 3.6% or 54 cent to $14.36 after a recently spun off entity from Vishay Intertechnology reported second quarter revenues increased 28% to $52 million from $41.3 million. Net earnings in the period were $4 million compared to a loss of $0.1 million.

Whole Foods Market Inc ((WFMI)) fell 7.8% or $3.08 to $36.47 after the natural and organic foods supermarket said third -quarter profit surged from last year, driven by strong growth in comparable store sales, and the absence of asset impairment charges recorded a year-ago.

Sales in the quarter increased 15% to $2.16 billion from $1.88 billion in the prior-year quarter on comparable store sales rise of 8.8%. Net income surged 88% to $65.7 million or 38 cents per diluted share from $35.0 million or 25 cents in the year-ago quarter.

YRC Worldwide Inc ((YRCW)) gained 2.8% or 1 cent to 34 cent after the road transportation carrier reported second quarter revenues declined 8.7% to $1.2 billion and net loss of $9.5 million or 1 cent a share.