Zumiez shares jump on Q3 results, strong November sales

Zumiez shares jump on Q3 results, strong November sales

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Shares of teen retailer Zumiez Inc (ZUMZ.O) jumped as much as 20 percent on Friday, a day after the company topped quarterly earnings expectations yet again and posted higher-than-expected sales in November.

"Zumiez's merchandise strategy of offering a broad assortment of unique merchandise has resulted in increased conversion and traffic in a promotional environment," Needham analyst Christine Chen said in a note to clients.

Chen also said Zumiez, which has now beaten estimates for at least the past eight quarters, will continue to enjoy pricing power given the uniqueness of its products.

Zumiez sells clothing and equipment for skating, snowboarding and other action sports.

Shares of the Everett, Washington-based company were up 17 percent at $27.43 on Friday morning on Nasdaq. They touched a high of $28 earlier in the session.

(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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Accenture's results beat Street, shares rise

Accenture's results beat Street, shares rise

Stock Market Predictions

NEW YORK (Global Markets) - Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Plc (ACN.N) reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and it raised its annual earnings forecast, sending its shares higher in after-hours trading.

Its shares rose 2.5 percent to $57.30 in after-market trading.

Accenture forecast earnings of $3.36 to $3.40 per share for the year, up from $3.22 to $3.30. The new outlook was on the high end of analysts' expectations of $3.27 to $3.44 per share.

The company's net income was 93 cents per share, which surpassed analysts' average estimate of 90 cents per share, according to Thomson-Global Markets I/B/E/S.

Accenture, which helps companies cut costs and improve operations through consulting, outsourcing and other services, said revenue rose 21 percent to $6.7 billion, from $5.5 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $6.43 billion.

The company said its new bookings were $7.1 billion in the quarter, with $3.7 billion coming from consulting and $3.4 billion coming from outsourcing services.

Accenture strong results contrasted sharply with Oracle's on Thursday. Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) posted disappointing quarterly results that sparked concerns about a deeper-than-expected slowdown in technology spending.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Editing by Andre Grenon and Steve Orlofsky)

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Peltz fund no longer owns PepsiCo shares: report

Peltz fund no longer owns PepsiCo shares: report

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund no longer owns shares in PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N), cable television network CNBC reported on Thursday, and the company's shares fell more than 2 percent.

Earlier this week, Trian Fund Management LP disclosed in a regulatory filing that it held 2.36 million shares in the soft drink and snack company as of September 30.

The shares jumped 3 percent the following day, as investors hoped Peltz's move would usher in a shake-up to the company, where Chief Executive Indra Nooyi is under pressure from many on Wall Street to split it up or make other big changes.

A CNBC anchor reported on his Twitter feed on Thursday that Peltz owned the shares only "for a short-term 'trade,'" citing unnamed sources.

"Assuming the report is accurate, we consider it negative," Stifel Nicolaus analyst Mark Swartzberg said in a research note. "Trian's lack of involvement means the absence of a proven and influential agent of corporate change, in our opinion."

There was no new filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission to reflect any change in Trian's stake in PepsiCo. A spokeswoman for Trian Fund did not immediately return calls seeking a comment.

PepsiCo shares were down 2.3 percent at $63.62 on Thursday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller and Phil Wahba in New York, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Matthew Lewis)

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Rambus stock halted six times in frenetic trade

Rambus stock halted six times in frenetic trade

Stock Market Predictions

NEW YORK (Global Markets) - Trading in Rambus Inc (RMBS.O) was halted six times on Friday as the stock hit circuit breakers after rapidly rising and then falling through the 10 percent threshold in a matter of minutes.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that Rambus did inappropriately destroy documents related to patent cases, but it overturned a lower court's dismissal sanction. Rambus shares fell as much as 20 percent. The shares previously had risen more than 10 percent.

Rambus shares were down 16.5 percent at $16.08 in early afternoon trading. At nearly 7 million shares volume was over eight times the daily average.

Circuit breakers were introduced after the financial crisis as a way to reduce volatility. Critics say they prevent a stock from going through necessary price adjustments when important news breaks. Such a large number of halts in Rambus stock is likely to reignite that debate.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Carlyle investors should prepare for rocky ride

Carlyle investors should prepare for rocky ride

Stock Market Predictions

NEW YORK (Global Markets) - Carlyle is facing a tough market and if recent history is any guide, once it goes public, its shares will be volatile.

Investors have been shattered by recent economic turmoil, and that fate has been amplified in the share prices of publicly traded private equity firms. Shares of Blackstone Group (BX.N) have lost more than half of their value since their June 2007 IPO. Apollo Global Management (APO.N) is down about 37 percent since its March IPO.

Meanwhile, KKR (KKR.N), which transferred its listing to New York from Amsterdam in July 2010, is up by 15.5 percent. Charts of all three stocks show dramatic swings in share price.

There is no reason for Carlyle to be any different. Private equity returns are notoriously volatile and Carlyle is heavily exposed: 36 percent of its revenue comes directly from its corporate private equity business.

"Private equity companies are unique in that you either believe in the senior professionals and are along for the ride or you don't invest," said Richard Truesdell, a New York-based capital markets partner at law firm Davis Polk.

Northwestern University finance professor Yael Hochberg agreed: "This should eventually pay off, but not in the short term," she said.

Carlyle last week filed paperwork for an initial public offering of up to $100 million. It is expected to come to market in the first half of 2012 as an offering of roughly $1 billion.

TOUGH MARKET

Private equity firms' ability to realize gains is tied to the economy because economic conditions determine a firm's ability to do new deals and to exit old ones, said Steven Kaplan, a University of Chicago professor who specializes in private equity. "A KKR, a Blackstone, a Carlyle -- their stocks will be tied to the economy," he said.

Fears about Europe's sovereign debt crisis are easing but U.S. economic recovery remains disappointing. The Federal Reserve last month said it would keep interest rates ultra-low until at least the middle of 2013.

The VIX, which measures market volatility and is often used as a proxy for investors' level of worry, is over 30. Some bankers say that when the VIX climbs over 25 it can be hard to do IPOs, which is one of the major ways that firms exit their investments.

The IPO market shut down at the end of July and has yet to reopen. The spreads on leveraged loans have widened.

Carlyle declined to comment.

(Reporting by Clare Baldwin in New York, editing by Matthew Lewis)

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Quicksilver shares jump as domestic sales rise

Quicksilver shares jump as domestic sales rise

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Shares of Quiksilver Inc (ZQK.N) rose more than 12 percent on Friday, a day after the clothes retailer posted results that beat Wall Street expectations, buoyed by strong domestic sales.

The Huntington Beach, California-based company was the third-biggest gainer on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, even as the bigger S&P Retail Index .RLX was down 2 percent in morning trade.

Quiksilver, which makes clothes inspired by surfing and other action sports, had seen sales weaken in the U.S. and Europe, its two key markets. But a turnaround has made analysts positive about its prospects.

"Perhaps the most encouraging data point was an accelerating 23 percent U.S. comparable sales growth against tougher sequential comparisons," Jefferies analyst TaposhBari wrote in a note.

The analyst, who holds a "buy" rating on the stock, said sales at the company is likely at an inflection point, which could trigger an upgrade cycle on the stock.

"Going forward, we are modeling gross margins to be down in the second half of the year, but see an improving European business, favorable FX currents and continued retail outperformance providing an upward bias to gross margins," analyst Bari said.

Quiksilver shares were trading at $4.94 around midday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

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AOL shares fall; report of possible Yahoo tie-up

AOL shares fall; report of possible Yahoo tie-up

Stock Market Predictions

NEW YORK (Global Markets) - Investors sent shares of AOL down over 5 percent on Friday after conflicting reports about a possible tie-up between AOL and Yahoo.

AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong reportedly approached private equity firms to gauge interest in a deal with Yahoo that would place Armstrong as the head of the combined company, according to a Bloomberg report.

CNBC later reported that a source close to Yahoo said the company had no interest in a deal with AOL.

AOL shares closed down 5.3 percent at $14.72 while Yahoo inched up 0.3 pct to $14.48.

Both Yahoo and AOL declined to comment.

Benchmark analyst Clay Moran said that AOL investors were likely disappointed that Yahoo was not interested in a deal.

This is not the first time that reports of an AOL-Yahoo tie-up have surfaced. Last year, AOL, once famed for its dial up and email services, tapped Bank of America to explore strategic options, including a potential merger with Yahoo, people familiar with the matter told Global Markets at the time.

Yahoo has been embroiled in its own troubles, causing the ousting of its Chief Executive Carol Bartz earlier this week.

(Reporting by Jennifer Saba and Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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