Coach, Jones Apparel, Palm Fall; Apollo Shines

123jump.com Staff
09 Jan, 2009
New York City

Retail stocks continue to decline for the second day in a row on weak earnings outlook. Weaker than expected job report and larger than expected loss at KB Home dragged home builders lower. Apollo Group surged on earnings rise of 29%. Coach and Jones Apparel declined.

[R]2:40PM New York – Retail stocks continue to decline for the second day in a row on weak earnings outlook. Weaker than expected job report and larger than expected loss at KB Home dragged home builders lower.[/R]

Airgas, Inc ((ARG)) slipped 4.9% or $1.87 to $36.30 after the packaged-gas distributor lowered earnings range between 74 cents to 76 cents a share from the previous range between 82 cents to 84 cents per share range.

Apollo Group, Inc ((APOL)) added 8.7% or $6.78 to $84.00 after the private education provider said first quarter sales rose 24.4% from a year ago to $971 million. Net income in the quarter rose 29% to $180.4 million or $1.12 a diluted share compared to net income of $139.9 million or 83 cents a share a year ago.

AZZ incorporated ((AZZ)) rose 12.9% or $3.21 to $27.96 after the manufacturer of electrical products and a provider of galvanizing services reported third quarter revenues rose 26% to $108.9 million from $86.6 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 33% to $10.8 million or 88 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $8.1 million or 66 cents per share a year ago.

BPZ Resources, Inc ((BPZ)) fell 16.5% or $1.39 to $6.99 after the U.S. oil and natural-gas producer shelved talks with Royal Dutch Shell to develop energy projects in Peru.

Coach, Inc ((COH)) slipped 9.9% or $2.08 to $18.82 after the company issued a warning on its second quarter profit outlook. The upscale leather retailer also said its second-quarter sales fell 2% and it would not provide earnings per share forecasts for 2009.

CVS Caremark Corporation ((CVS)) fell 10.2% or $3.02 to $26.34 after the second-largest U.S. drugstore chain it said earnings before charges will be in the range of 53 cents to 55 cents a share.

DemandTec, Inc ((DMAN)) gained 11.5% or 96 cents to $9.25 after the provider of consumer demand management solutions said third quarter sales rose 19% to $19.0 million from $15.9 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $808,000 or 3 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $967,000 or 4 cents per share a year ago.

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc ((GBX)) slid 13.8% or $1.10 to $6.83 after the rail transportation equipment maker reported first quarter revenues fell 11% to $256 million from $286.4 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $3.3 million or 20 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $2.6 million or 16 cents per share a year ago.

Healthways, Inc ((HWAY)) climbed 6.1% or 64 cents to $10.99 after the provides specialized, health and care support solutions said first quarter revenues rose 5% to $185.4 million from $175.8 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 13% to $12.6 million or 37 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $11.2 million or 30 cents per share a year ago.

IHS Inc ((IHS)) rose 4.8% or $1.95 to $42.00 after the provider of information to energy, defense and other industries said fourth quarter sales rose 17% to $230.6 million from $197.5 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 33% to $33.3 million or 53 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $25.1 million or 40 cents per share a year ago.

Jones Apparel Group, Inc ((JNY)) dropped 10.6% or 61 cents to $5.14 after the wholesaler of branded apparel, footwear and accessories that Moody''s Investors Service on Thursday lowered its rating on Jones Apparel Group Inc.''s senior unsecured notes deeper into junk category and noted that recent loan covenant changes have diminished investors ability to recover assets.

KB Home ((KBH)) lost 7.2% or $1.05 to $13.52 after the fifth largest homebuilder reported fourth quarter revenues fell 56% to $919 million from $2.07 billion a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $307.3 million or $3.96 per diluted share compared to net loss of $772.7 million or $9.99 per share a year ago.

Lawson Software, Inc ((LWSN)) fell 9.6% or 48 cents to $4.51 after the global provider of enterprise software said second quarter revenues fell 5.6% to $206.4 million from $218.6 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 13.5% to $4.2 million or 3 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $3.7 million or 2 cents per share a year ago.

Material Sciences Corporation ((MSC)) surged 6.4% or 10 cents to $1.64 after the provider of material-based solutions for acoustical and coated applications reported third quarter revenues fell 25.5% to $48.5 million from $65.1 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $4.8 million or 35 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $1.1 million or 8 cents per share a year ago.

MSCI Inc ((MXB)) fell 3.0% or 48 cents to $17.95 after the provider of investment decision support tools to investment institutions worldwide reported fourth quarter revenues rose 5.7% to $107.4 million from $101.7 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 29.7% to $12.8 million or 13 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $18.2 million or 21 cents per share a year ago.

Morgan Stanley ((MS)) surged 4.7% or 89 cents to $19.71 after the global financial services firm Friday lowered its view on mid-cap U.S. banks, arguing that fourth quarter earnings would be challenging for the group because valuations would be pressured by higher-than-expected charge-offs and provision expenses.

Nu Horizons Electronic Corp ((NUHC)) plunged 3.1% or 6 cents to $1.85 after the distributor of active and passive electronic components said third quarter revenues fell 2.4% to $188.2 million from $192.9 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter was $150,000 or 1 cent per diluted share compared to net loss of $373,000 or 2 cents per share a year ago.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc ((OREX)) tumbled 15.8% or 96 cents to $5.09 after the pharmaceutical company said patients in the trial who were given a placebo lost an average 5.1% of their weight a differential of 4.2% between the two groups. Both groups also followed a diet and exercise regimen.

Palm, Inc ((PALM)) jumped 32.7% or $1.46 to $5.93. The money- losing maker of the Treo and Centro mobile phones maker’s recently launched Pre and operating system garnered favorable reviews from analysts.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company ((RRD)) lost 8.5% or $1.29 to $13.75 after the service provider of print and related services lowered its 2008 adjusted earnings guidance to the range of $2.80 to $2.90 a share from an earlier forecast of $3.08 to $3.11 a share. The new guidance is based in expected revenue for the year of $11.5 billion. R.R. Donnelley sees fourth quarter adjusted earnings at 51 cents to 61 cents a share and revenue of roughly $2.7 billion.

Siemens AG ((SI)) fell 7.2% or $5.36 to $68.33 after Europe’s largest engineering company said it supports a plan by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to limit firings until the end of the year.

SYNNEX Corporation ((SNX)) increased 5.2% or 65 cents to $13.00 after the global information technology supply chain services company said fourth quarter revenues rose 6.4% to $2.1 billion from $1.97 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 30.7% to $26.4 million or 80 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $20.2 million or 61 cents per share a year ago.

Stryker Corporation ((SYK)) gained 6.2% or $2.42 to $41.00 after the medical technology company announced today that net sales were $1,718 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, representing a 3.6% increase over net sales of $1,658 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, and were $6,718 million for the year ended December 31, 2008.

Stryker also reconfirmed that it expects 2008 diluted net earnings per share to be in the range of $2.77 to $2.79, representing an increase of 14% compared to 2007.

Texas Industries, Inc ((TXI)) lost 2.2% or 68 cents to $29.70 after the cement producer said second quarter sales fell 17% to $221.8 million from $268.5 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 87% to $3.9 million or 14 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $29.3 million or $1.05 per share a year ago.

YRC Worldwide Inc ((YRCW)) climbed 6.8% or 32 cents to $5.00 after the largest U.S. trucking company on Friday, saying the approval of a 10% pay cut and other contract modifications for union workers gives the trucking company a sizable leg up over competitors.