You might think that with the Fed’s promise to continue being patient with interest rates, U.S. markets would be in a buying mood. However, today was another lackluster day, with a lower opening, a pre-midday rally, followed by another selloff in the last two hours.
Feb. 15 unemployment claims came in higher than expected, as did the January Core Consumer Price Index, which suffered its largest decline since 2008. Meanwhile, oil prices declined again. All of it weighed on stocks — the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.06% and the S&P 500 lost 0.15%, though the Nasdaq showed better strength, climbing 0.42%.
Still, several companies were able to hold their heads above water. ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ONNN), was higher on good news, as were Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) and TrueCar Inc (NASDAQ:TRUE).
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS)
Barnes & Noble announced that it will spin off its college bookstore division as a separate company from the rest of BKS at the end of August. BKS presently operates 714 college campus-area stores that are all part of the larger company. Chief Executive Michael P. Huseby noted that investors will be able to assess each business more clearly if they are stand alone companies.
Investors must have agreed with his assessment, because BKS stock bolted up 5% and is now about 44% higher than where it stood in mid-October.
ON Semiconductor Corp (ONNN)
ONNN stock was another high achiever, climbing 7% on 18 million shares after demonstrating a new technology that enables faster auto focus in smartphone cameras. The new feature, called Phase Detect Auto Focus, is a pixel micro-lens that enables cameras to auto focus very quickly, even in dimly lit rooms.
On Semiconductor said that mobile phones will begin to utilize this new product later this year. ONN stock has recently been on fire, climbing 85% over the past five months.
TrueCar Inc (TRUE)
Scott Painter, CEO and founder of TrueCar, was true to his shareholders this week, buying 70,000 shares of TRUE stock in two open market transactions. This week’s purchases give him a total of 10.8 million shares of TRUE stock, including stock options.
Painter discussed his own purchase openly, saying, “I believe strongly in the long-term prospects for this company and want to participate financially in its success alongside our other stockholders.”
TRUE stock was a true performer today, finishing up 7% to $19.21 after the insider transaction news was released. TRUE stock has been trading in a range between $16 and $25 for the past five months.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
