U.S. Movers: Whole Foods, Costco, Solera, Telsa, Time Warner Cable

Marcus Jacob
04 Nov, 2010
New York City

Stocks in New York surged after the larger than expected Fed stimulus. Apollo Group declined nearly 8% after it confirmed an investigation. Big Lots dropped nearly flat same store sales. Telsa Motors surged after Panasonic acquired a stake. Whole Foods soared on higher than expected annual outlook.

[R]1:10 PM New York – Stocks in New York surged after the larger than expected Fed stimulus. Apollo Group declined nearly 8% after it confirmed an investigation. Big Lots dropped nearly flat same store sales. Telsa Motors surged after Panasonic acquired a stake. Whole Foods soared on higher than expected annual outlook.[/R]

Apollo Group Inc declined 8% or $3.06 to $35.40 after the online education provider confirmed that the U.S. Department of Education is expected to review its management of student loans.

Corinthian Colleges Inc ((COCO)) dropped 7%, DeVry Inc ((DV)) declined 3% and Education Management Corp ((EDMC)) rose after reporting first quarter profit ahead of market expectations.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. ((BDX)) rose 4.1% or $3.13 to $78.67 after the medical devices and diagnostic products maker said fourth quarter revenue increased 1% to $1.87 billion from $1.85 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter rose 25% to $396.7 million or $1.68 per share, compared to net income of $317.2 million or $1.29 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Big Lots Inc ((BIG)) dropped more than 7% or $2.29 to $29.12 after the same store sales increased 0.7% in the third quarter.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation ((CHK)) declined 1.4% to $22 the producer of natural gas third quarter revenue increased 43% to $2.58 billion from $1.81 billion last year. Net income in the quarter surged 177% to $515 million or 75 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $186 million or 30 cents per share last year.

Continental Resources, Inc. ((CLR)) increased 0.7% to $49.66 after the oil and gas producer reported third quarter total revenues rose 28.9% to $219.45 million, compared with $170.20 million in the prior-year quarter, as oil and natural gas sales helped offset loss on mark-to-market derivative instruments. Net income in the quarter rose 11.8% to $39.08 million or 23 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $34.93 million or 21 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.

Costco Wholesale Corporation ((COST)) rose 2.6% or $1.63 to $64.79 after the membership warehouse club operator reported for the four weeks ended on October 31, the company''s same-store sales rose 6% including its Mexico operations for both last year and this year. U.S. same-store sales rose 4% and international same-store sales grew 14% in October.

Gap Inc ((GPS)) surged 7% to $20.50 after the clothing retailer said third quarter adjusted earnings of at least 47 cents.

Health Care REIT, Inc. ((HCN)) increased 1.9% to $50.63 after the real estate investment trust that invests in senior housing and health care real estate reported third quarter gross revenues rose 26% to $176.15 million from $140.14 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income in the quarter slumped 94% to $1.12 million or 1 cent per diluted share, compared to net income of $19.13 million or 17 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Murphy Oil Corporation ((MUR)) increased 3.2% or $2.08 to $67.81 after the oil and natural gas company said third quarter revenue rose 17% to $6.06 billion from $5.18 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter edged higher 7% to $202.8 million or $1.05 per diluted share, compared to net income of $188.9 million or 98 cents per share for the year-ago quarter, mainly due to better earnings from U.S. retail marketing and ethanol production operations.

News Corporation ((NWSA)) increased 0.3% to $14.88 after the diversified global media company said first quarter revenues increased 3% to $7.43 billion from $7.20 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income in the quarter soared 36% to $775 million or 30 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $571 million or 22 cents per share in the prior-year quarter, helped by strong growth in the Cable Network Programming, Television and Publishing segments.

99 Cents Only Stores ((NDN)) declined 5% to $14.93 after the deep discount retailer reported second quarter total sales increased 2.7% to $333.56 million from $324.69 million last year. Net income in the quarter rose 34.7% to $12.94 million or 18 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $9.60 million or 14 cents per share last year.

Solera Holdings Inc ((SLH)) surged 8% $51.25 after the insurance software maker for automobile insurer lifted its adjusted fiscal 2011 outlook to at least $2.27 a share.

Teradata Corporation ((TDC)) increased 0.2% to $40.30 after the enterprise data warehousing solutions provider reported third quarter revenue grew 15% to $489 million from $425 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income in the quarter increased 19% to $75 million or 44 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $63 million or 36 cents per share in the prior year.

Telsa Motors Inc ((TSLA)) soared 10% after the Japan based Panasonic Corp acquired $30 million stake in the company.

Time Warner Cable Inc. ((TWC)) surged 5.6% to $63.03 after the cable-television provider reported third quarter revenues increased 5.2% to $4.73 billion from $4.5 billion in the same quarter of 2009. Net income in the quarter rose 34% to $360 million or $1.00 per share, compared to net income of $268 million or 76 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. The company also announced a share repurchase program of $4 billion.

Unilever plc ((UL)) soared 6.8% to $31.35 after the Anglo-Dutch consumer products maker reported third quarter turnover rose 13.2% to €11.55 billion from €10.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Net profit in the quarter increased 19% to €1.25 billion or 0.43 euro per share from €1.05 billion or 0.36 euro per share in the prior year quarter.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. ((WFMI)) soared 14.2% or $5.80 to $46.94 after the natural and organic food company reported fourth quarter sales increased 15% to $2.1 billion from $1.8 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter surged 101% to $57.5 million or 33 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $28.6 million or 20 cents per share a year ago, reflecting improved margins on better leverage of costs and wages.