Filed under: Company News, Market News, Investing
Plenty of stocks go up and down in any given week. The gainers inspire us to keep investing. The decliners keep greed in check while reminding us about the risks of the equity markets. Let’s go over some of last week’s best and worst performers.
Auspex Pharmaceuticals (ASPX) — Up 114 percent last week
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The biggest winner last week, by far, was Auspex Pharmaceuticals. Shares of the biotech more than doubled after offering up an encouraging update on its treatment for chorea associated with Huntington’s disease. The late-stage trial results show promising safety and efficacy. If Auspex were a major pharmaceuticals company getting a treatment to market for the genetic disease, it might not move the needle, but for a small company like Auspex, which began the week with a market cap of just $600 million, it is a big deal.
Digital River (DRIV) — Up 42 percent last week
Playing nice with Microsoft (MSFT) is paying off for Digital River. Its stock popped higher after it announced that it was extending its agreement for hosting and managing Microsoft’s online store that sells hardware and software items. Shares of Digital River had taken a big hit earlier this month when it was revealed that Microsoft was delaying its decision, but now the partnership will remain in place for another three years.
Red Hat (RHT) — Up 18 percent last week
The provider of Linux-based enterprise software solutions came up big in its latest quarter. Red Hat moved higher after posting better-than-expected financial results. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: Red Hat has clocked in ahead of Wall Street profit targets consistently over the past year.
Ruby Tuesday (RT) — Down 22 percent last week
We may want to hold off on saying that Ruby Tuesday is turning things around. The struggling casual-dining chain seemed to be turning the corner after posting back-to-back quarters of positive comparable-restaurant sales. In October it announced that it expected to stretch that streak to three periods of positive comps for the fiscal quarter ending in November. Now, it’s not going to happen.
This week the eatery announced that same-restaurant sales slipped 1 percent at company-owned locations, with guest counts slipping even harder. It will report full quarterly results early next month.
The Habit Restaurants (HABT) — Down 16 percent last week
Another restaurant stock that plated indigestion for its shareholders was Habit. The rapidly growing burger chain slumped after a pair of analysts initiated coverage on the recent IPO with unflattering “hold” ratings.
Habit went public at $18 last month. The stock has gone on to double since then, so it probably isn’t a surprise to see two of the underwriters that helped take it public — Robert W. Baird and Stifel — have a more cautious approach at these levels.
Winnebago (WGO) — Down 14 percent last week
This would seem to be a great time to be selling houses on wheels. Gas prices are low. The economy’s humming along. However, RV giant Winnebago isn’t doing so hot. Its stock took a hit after serving up a flat report. Sales growth was essentially flat, and Winnebago’s profit of $0.37 a share was well short of the $0.40 a share that analysts were forecasting. Winnebago’s bottom line was tripped up by disruptions in its supply chain and labor force constraints.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Check out our free report on one great stock to buy for 2015 and beyond.
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Source: Investing
