Abercrombie, Patterson Decline; Jo-Ann Rises

Bikram Pandey
26 Aug, 2010
New York City

U.S. stocks struggled after jobless claims declined more than estimated but late monthly mortgages payment rose. Patterson Cos. Declined after it missed revenues estimates. Jo-Ann Stores Inc surged more than 13% after it lifted fiscal 2011 earnings estimate.

[R]11:40 AM New York – U.S. stocks struggled after jobless claims declined more than estimated but late monthly mortgages payment rose. Patterson Cos. Declined after it missed revenues estimates. Jo-Ann Stores Inc surged more than 13% after it lifted fiscal 2011 earnings estimate.[/R]

Of the stocks in the Dow, 19 increased, 10 decreased and 1 was unchanged.

Of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, The Boeing Company led the gainers with a rise of 2.81% followed by increase in Alcoa Inc. of 1.9%, in Bank of America Corporation of 1.8% and in General Electric Company of 1.7%.

Kraft Foods Inc. led the decliners with a fall of 0.81% followed by decline in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of 0.58%, in Cisco Systems, Inc. of 0.489%, and in International Business Machines Corporation of 0.46%.

Other Movers

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ((ANF)) declined more than 1% after chief executive officer filed to sell 1.79 million shares.

Cyberonics, Inc. ((CYBX)) declined 4.1% or 93 cent to $21.34 after the medical devices producer stated first-quarter net sales rose 16% to $44.8 million, from $38.5 million in the comparable period last year. Net income in the quarter edged lower 8.9% to $7.2 million or 25 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $7.9 million or 23 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Fred''s, Inc. ((FRED)) fell 0.1% or 1 cent to $10.95 after the fashion specialty retailer reported second quarter net sales improved 4% to $449.47 million from $434.21 million in the previous year. Net profit in the quarter advanced 17% to $4.96 million or 13 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $4.24 million or 11 cents per share in the previous year.

GigaMedia Limited ((GIGM)) declined 6.3% or 14 cent to $2.08 after the online entertainment software said second quarter revenue fell 71% to $10.9 million from $37.7 million last year. Net income in the quarter was $52.5 million or 87 cents per diluted share, compared to a net income of $128 thousand or break even per share in the previous year quarter.

Guess?, Inc. ((GES)) plunged 10.9% or $4.21 to $34.02 after the international fashion house reported second quarter revenue rose 10.5% to $577.14 million from $522.42 million in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter increased 12% to $66.8 million or 72 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $59.6 million or 64 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.

HEICO Corporation ((HEI)) surged 9% or $3.27 to $39.50 after the aerospace and electronics related products maker stated third quarter sales grew 18% to $158.27 million from $134.09 million in the comparable quarter a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 34% to $14.93 million or 44 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $11.13 million or 33 cents per share last year.

JDS Uniphase Corporation ((JDSU)) rose 0.4% or 5 cent to $10.27 after the communication equipment maker stated fourth quarter net revenue increased 43% to $390.9 million from $273.2 million in the same quarter last year. Net income generated in the quarter was $1.5 million or 1 cent per share, compared to a net loss of $63.6 million or 29 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. ((JAS)) soared 12.6% or $4.65 to $41.50 after the fabrics and crafts retailer reported second quarter net sales rose 4.7% to $439.3 million from $419.4 million last year. Net income in the quarter was $5.4 million or 20 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.2 million or 13 cents per share in the previous year quarter.

Northern Offshore Ltd., the company which operates offshore oil and gas production and drilling vessels reported second quarter revenues fell 33.4% to $48.9 million from $73.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Net loss in the quarter was $0.5 million compared to a net income of $22.8 million in the same quarter last year. On a per share basis, earnings for the quarter were break even compared to a profit of $0.15.

Patterson Cos. ((PDCO)) declined more than 3% after the medical and dental supplies maker reported quarterly sales that were lower than analysts’ expectations.

Royal Bank of Canada ((RY)) fell 1.5% or 76 cent to $46.90 after the diversified financial services company third quarter revenue fell 13% to $6.83 billion. Net income in the quarter declined 18% to $1.28 billion or 84 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $1.56 billion or $1.05 per share last year.

Sigma Designs, Inc. ((SIGM)) dropped 6.2% or 65 cent to $9.88 after the integrated system-on-chip solutions provider said second quarter net revenue advanced 43% to $73.33 million, compared to $51.28 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income in the quarter climbed 2.7% to $8.25 million or 26 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $8.03 million or 29 cents per share last year.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. ((HAIN)) gained 4.2% or 87 cent to $21.52 after the natural and organic products company reported fourth quarter net sales decreased 14% to $222.8 million, compared with $258.8 million in the year-ago period, which included net sales of $35.5 million by Hain Pure Protein. Net income in the quarter surged 431% to $6.69 million or 16 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $1.26 million or 3 cents per share last year.

TiVo Inc. ((TIVO)) slipped 3% or 26 cent to $8.21 after the digital video recorder maker said second quarter net revenues declined 11% to $51.55 million from $57.61 million in the same period last year. Net loss in the quarter widened 465% to $15.30 million or 13 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $2.71 million or 3 cents per share in the year-ago period.