Filed under: Company News, Earnings, 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.
GoPro (GPRO) — Up 28 percent last week
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The maker of wearable cameras has been one of the more volatile stocks of 2014, and it’s only been trading for a little more than half of the year. GoPro was a scorching-hot IPO when it went public at $24 in late June. It had more than quadrupled by October. It then went on to shed a good chunk of those gains, but GoPro is closing out its freshman year on a strong note with a 28 percent pop last week.
The stock took off after a Wall Street analyst issued a bullish note on the leading maker of wearable cameras. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter surveyed dozens of retail stores, concluding that GoPro’s new Hero camera was the hot gift in consumer electronics this year. Amazon.com (AMZN) would later go on to confirm that GoPro and related mounting accessories were the top holiday sellers in its camera category.
Virgin America (VA) — Up 24 percent last week
It was a pretty good week for recent Wall Street debutantes. Virgin America also took off after most of the underwriters that helped take it public last month chimed in with bullish analyst notes.
It’s a good time to be an air carrier, especially one like Virgin America that’s viewed as cool by the masses. Jet fuel prices are at a multiyear low, making it cheaper for the company to move its fleet around. The economy’s also showing signs of life, and that’s good news for both corporate and leisure travel.
Ambarella (AMBA) — Up 17 percent last week
If GoPro cameras are selling briskly, it’s a safe bet that Ambarella’s eyeing another strong quarter. It is the sole provider of the chips that help deliver high-def images while consuming minimal power for GoPro. Ambarella’s handiwork can also be found in Dropcam surveillance cameras and other popular applications where high-def video is required.
Ocwen Financial (OCN) — Down 32 percent last week
One of last week’s biggest sinkers was Ocwen Financial. The mortgage-servicing specialist took a hit after reaching a settlement with New York regulators that will involve a $150 million penalty and the departure of its controversial founder.
Bebe Stores (BEBE) — Down 15 percent last week
One of this year’s biggest retailer disappointments has been bebe. The apparel retailer has seen its stock shed more than half of its value in 2014, and it’s easy to see why after eyeing bebe’s four most recent quarterly reports. It’s posting losses, and sales growth has been sluggish.
The good news is that last month bebe finally posted its first quarter of positive comparable-store sales in more than two years. However, with the year coming to a close and bebe shares getting slammed, it’s a logical “tax loss” candidate for investors to sell to offset the tax liability on realized gains elsewhere. This is why bebe and some of the year’s hardest-hit stocks have been slipping on no significant news in recent days.
CalAmp (CAMP) — Down 11 percent last week
Shares of CalAmp slipped after the company posted mixed quarterly results. The provider of wireless communications solutions that help devices interact with other devices — the “Internet of Things” trend that’s revolutionizing machine-to-machine communications — missed Wall Street’s revenue target. Its guidance for the new quarter also fell short of expectations.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares of Ambarella. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Ambarella, CalAmp, GoPro and Ocwen Financial. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com and Ambarella. 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
