Sears in REIT Spinoff to Raise $2.5 B; AutoNation and CarMax Advance

Mukesh Buch
02 Apr, 2015
New York City

AutoNation March retail sales jumped 5% and quarterly sales soared 10%. CarMax profit surged 44% on 14% increase in revenues. Micron Technology net soared 28%. Rite Aid same store sales in March jumped 4.3%. Sears to raise $2.5 billion and sell stores in a REIT spinoff.

[R]12:00 PM New York – AutoNation March retail sales jumped 5% and quarterly sales soared 10%. CarMax profit surged 44% on 14% increase in revenues. Micron Technology net soared 28%. Rite Aid same store sales in March jumped 4.3%. Sears to raise $2.5 billion and sell stores in a REIT spinoff.[/R]

Tollbooth Index rose 0.2% or 21.78 to 10,445.28.

Earnings Review

AutoNation, Inc ((AN)) increased 1.2% or 79 cents to $64.56 after the automobile retailer reported total retail sales of new vehicles in the first-quarter jumped 10% to 77,242 vehicles compared to the first quarter of 2014.

On a same-store basis, new vehicle unit sales in the quarter climbed 8%.

In March, new vehicle unit sales increase of 5% 30,107 vehicles and same-store sales basis, new vehicle unit sales jumped 3% from a year ago month.

CarMax, Inc ((KMX)) surged 9.4% or $6.43 to $74.82 after the new car dealer said net sales in the fourth-quarter ending in February climbed 14.2% to $3.51 billion from a year ago period.

Used unit sales in comparable stores in the quarter jumped 7%, total used unit sales soared 12.4 % and total wholesale unit sales advanced 12.3%.

Net income in the quarter surged 44.3% to $143.1 million or 67 cents per diluted share compared to $99.2 million or 44 cents from the same quarter last year.

Micron Technology, Inc ((MU)) gained 21 cents to $27.33 after the computer memory maker reported revenues in the second-quarter ending on March 5 increased 1.5% to $4.17 billion from a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter soared 27.8% to $934 million or 78 cents per diluted share compared to $731 million or 61 cents from the same quarter last year.

Progress Software Corporation ((PRGS)) declined 4.6% or $1.25 to $25.74 after the business applications developer stated total revenues in the first-quarter ending in February soared 9.3% to $81.4 million from a year ago month.

Net in the quarter swung to a loss $0.97 million or 2 cents per diluted share compared to profit of $11.1 million or 21 cents from the same quarter last year.

Rite Aid Corporation ((RAD)) climbed 5% or 43 cents to $9 after the retail drugstore chain said same store sales in March jumped 4.3% and front-end same store sales increased 2.5%. Prescription count at comparable stores gained 2.5%.

Pharmacy same store sales, which included negative impact of 167 basis points from new generic introductions advanced 5.1%.

Total drugstore sales in the month climbed 4.1% to $2.03 billion from $1.95 billion in March 2014.

Sears Holdings Corp ((SHLD)) rose 9 cents to $41.42 after the specialty retailer plans to raise more than $2.5 billion by spinning off 254 stores of the Sears and Kmart into a real estate investment trust Seritage Growth Properties.