U.S. Movers: Agrium, Green Mountain, News Corp, Rackspace, Tesla

Mukesh Buch
09 May, 2013
New York City

Agrium first quarter net dropped 9% and Green Mountain quarterly net soared 42% and signed partnership with Starbucks. News Corp surged to $2.85 billion and Sun Life net plunged 25%. Precision Castparts fourth quarter net soared 25% to $414.2 million.

[R]11:15 AM New York – Agrium first quarter net dropped 9% and Green Mountain quarterly net soared 42% and signed partnership with Starbucks. News Corp surged to $2.85 billion and Sun Life net plunged 25%. Precision Castparts fourth quarter net soared 25% to $414.2 million.[/R]

Agrium Inc ((AGU)) fell 47 cents to $93.77 after the Canada based nutrients agricultural producer reported sales in the first quarter ending in March declined 10% to $3.22 billion. Net income in the quarter dropped 9% to $141 million or 94 cents a diluted share compared to $155 million or 94 cents.

Gross profit for the quarter slipped 9% to $716 million.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc ((GMCR)), surged 18.4% or $10.98 to $70.46 after the specialty coffee maker said net sales in the second quarter ending in March climbed 14% to $1 billion. Net income in the quarter soared 42% to $132.4 million or 87 cents a diluted share compared to $93 million or 58 cents.

The coffee maker has signed partnership agreement with Starbucks and financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Maximus, Inc. ((MMS)) slipped 1.4% or $1.14 to $76.61 after the health and human services provider stated revenue in the second quarter ending in March soared 34% to $326.4 million. Net income in the quarter surged 122% to $31.7 million or 91 cents a diluted share compared to $14.3 million or 41 cents.

For the year, the company expects revenue between $1.25 billion and $1.30 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the range of $3 to $3.15.

News Corporation ((NWSA)) climbed 3.9% or $1.26 to $33.12 after the media company said revenue in the third quarter ending in March climbed 14% to $9.54 billion. Net income in the quarter surged nearly three-fold to $2.85 billion or $1.22 a diluted share compared to $947 million or 38 cents.

The company added operating income in the quarter advanced 4% to $1.36 billion.

In New Zealand the company sold 44% equity interest in SKY Network Television Ltd. for $675 million and also sold a portion of interest in Phoenix Satellite Television for about $90 million in cash.

Sun Life Financial Inc ((SLF)) slid 1.8% or 55 cents to $29.02 after Canada based financial services organization reported revenue in the first quarter ending in March rose 1.5% to $2.03 billion. Net income in the quarter plunged 25% to $513 million or 85 cents a diluted share compared to $686 million or $1.15.

Precision Castparts Corp ((PCP)) soared 7.8% or $15.04 to $207.06 after the metal components and products manufacturer stated sales in the fourth quarter ending in March surged 25% to $2.44 billion. Net income in the quarter soared 25% to $414.2 million or $2.82 a diluted share compared to $336.1 million or $2.30.

Rackspace Hosting, Inc tumbled 24.6% or $12.83 to $39.42 after the cloud computing service provider reported net revenue in the first quarter ending in March surged 20% to $362 million. Net income in the quarter climbed 18% to $27.3 million or 19 cents a diluted share compared to $23.2 million or 17 cents.

Total server count in the quarter ending jumped to 94,122 compared to 90,524 servers at the end of the previous quarter.

The AES Corporation ((AES)) dropped 2.4% or 34 cents to $13.56 after the electricity provider said total revenue in the first quarter ending in March declined 7% to $4.27 billion. Net income in the quarter plunged 76% to $82 million or 11 cents a diluted share compared to $341 million or 44 cents.

For the year, the company reaffirmed adjusted diluted earnings per share and expects in the range of $1.24 to $1.32.

Tesla Motors, Inc. ((TSLA)) jumped 19.4% or $10.82 to $66.63 after the electric vehicles and components maker stated total revenue in the first quarter ending in March surged to $562 million compared to $30.2 million a year ago period. In the quarter, net income swung to $11.2 million or break even per share a diluted share compared to net loss of $89.9 million or 86 cents.

For the second quarter, Tesla expects to build approx 5,000 Model S vehicles in second quarter and some of it to deliver in Europe by third quarter. In North America, the auto maker expects to deliver slightly above 4,500 vehicles during second quarter.

For the full-year, the company expects to exceed prior target of 20,000 worldwide deliveries.

The Middleby Corporation ((MIDD)) climbed 6.3% or $9.33 to $156 after the cooking and warming equipment maker reported revenue in the first quarter ending in March surged 43% to $327.5 million. Net earnings in the quarter jumped 17% to $25.9 million or $1.39 a diluted share compared to $22.1 million or $1.20.

For the quarter gross profit soared 39% to $121.3 million and gross margin rate decreased from 38.2% to 37%.

Windstream Corporation ((WIN)) plunged 5.5% or 47 cents to $8.05 after the communications and technology provider reported total revenues in the first quarter ending in March decreased 2.5% to $1.5 billion. Net income in the quarter tumbled 13% to $52 million or 9 cents a diluted share compared to $60 million or 10 cents.

Westar Energy, Inc ((WR)) fell 1.7% or 61 cents to $33.78 after the electric services provider stated revenue in the first quarter ending in March climbed 15% to $546.2 million. Net income in the quarter soared 87.5% to $51.1 million or 40 cents a diluted share compared to $27.3 million or 21 cents.

For the year, the energy company affirmed diluted earnings per share in the range of $2 to $2.15.