Movers: CarMax, Carnival Cruise, FedEx, LendingTree, Microsoft, ZenDesk

Barry Adams
24 Jun, 2022
New York City

Stocks on Friday extended weekly gains after the release of consumer sentiment data and popular indexes are set to close the week on a higher note. 

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to extended weekly gains over 5% and close up for the second time in thirteen weeks. 

The S&P 500 increased 2.4% to 3,887.83 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.5% to 11,509.20. 

CarMax, Inc increased 6.6% to $97.65 after the used-auto retailer said fiscal 2023 first quarter revenues ending in May increased 21.0% to $9.3 billion. 

Used vehicle sales declined 11.0% to 240,950 units and wholesale sales increased 2.7% to 186,307 units. 

Average selling price of a used vehicle increased 28.0% to $28,844 and for wholesale vehicles soared 51.0% to $10,996. 

Net earnings plunged to $252.2 million or $1.56 a share from $436.8 million or $2.63 a share a year ago. 

Carnival Cruise Lines said revenues in the second quarter ending in May jumped to $2.4 billion and net loss declined to $1.84 billion from $2.1 billion a year ago. 

Diluted loss per share fell to $1.61 a share from $1.83 a year ago.  

Revenues in the second quarter increased 50% from the first quarter and occupancy jumped to 69% from 54% in the period. 

The bookings in the second quarter for future sailings were nearly double the bookings in the first quarter,  the best quarterly booking volumes since the beginning of the pandemic.

Cruise operators traded higher after Carnival Cruise reported its best quarterly booking since the start of the pandemic two years ago. 

Carnival Cruise jumped 9.7% to $10.59, Royal Caribbean Cruises advanced 13.6% to $41.0, and Norwegian Cruise jumped 12.0% to $12.84. 

Federal Express advanced 6.9% to $242.85 after the parcel delivery company said revenues in the fourth quarter ending in May increased 7.9% to $24.4 billion. 

Net income plunged to $558 million or $2.13 a share from $1.87 billion or $6.88 a share a year ago.  

In the fiscal year 2022, the company earned $3.83 billion or $14.33 a share compared to $5.23 billion or $19.45 a year ago. 

The parcel delivery company held out for higher earnings per share in the fiscal 2023. 

LendingTree Inc declined 9.5% to $49.65 after the company lowered its outlook in a regulatory filing yesterday. 

The mortgage lending company lowered its fiscal year 2022 second quarter ending June revenue estimate to between $259 million and $264 million from the previous range between $283 million and $293 million. 

" We have seen the most significant impact in our Home segment as mortgage rates have nearly doubled over the last six months, causing a sharp decline in refinance volumes and more recent pressure on purchase activity. 

Although our Insurance segment continues to rebound from the trough in 4Q 2021, the recovery has been slower than expected as demand from our carrier partners remains volatile as premium increases continue to chase inflation," said Chief Financial Officer Trent Ziegler. 

Microsoft Corp gained 2.3% to $264.81 after positive comments and a recommendation by Citi. 

The brokerage arm of Citigroup named Microsoft as its  "top pick" and said that the broker has high conviction in the company's long term pricing power.  The news was first reported by CNBC. 

ZenDesk soared 28.3% to $78.33 after the customer service software firm agreed to go private through a $10.2 billion deal with a group of private equity investors including Hellman & Friedman and Permira,  the investor group includes a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and GIC.

Under the terms, Zendesk shareholders will receive $77.50 per share, reflecting a premium of approximately 34% over Zendesk