A surge in oil prices, hope for financial stability in Greece, and strong auto sales in January all contributed to a surprisingly strong day for the broad market. The S&P 500 ended the session at 2,050.03, up 1.44%.
It wasn’t sunshine and roses for all stocks, though. Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD), Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) and ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS) were deep in the red despite the marketwide bullish tide, for a variety of reasons.
Stratasys (SSYS)
As it turns out, 3D printers didn’t become quite as pervasive as microwaves in 2014 after all. And 2015 isn’t looking like the breakout year it was supposed to be for 3D printers, either.
That was the message gleaned from the warning 3D printing system designer Stratasys offered shareholders last night, anyway. The company dialed back its 2014 revenue outlook and reeled in its 2015 expectations.
Now Stratasys is expecting earnings (non-GAAP) of somewhere between $2.07 and $2.24 per share of SSYS stock for 2014, versus analyst estimates of $2.51. The company also believes it will only generate revenue between $940 million and $960 million for fiscal 2015, short of analyst estimates calling for $1 billion in sales.
The news was not well received. SSYS stock plunged 28% after the guidance was published, dragging down most other 3D printing stocks with it.
ISIS Pharmaceuticals (ISIS)
By all accounts, ISIS Pharmaceuticals shares should be soaring. The biopharma company released some encouraging data regarding its Phase 2 trial of ISIS-PTP1b as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, demonstrating a measurable degree of success reducing patients’ body weight and hemoglobin A1c.
So why was ISIS stock down nearly 6% today? Some of the weakness can likely be attributed to the “buy the rumor, sell the news” phenomenon. Many traders were aware such an update was on the way, and got into a position before the official announcement to enjoy any post-announcement pop. It’s a tactic that didn’t pay off (obviously), as would-be profit-takers are the only ones left at this point.
Most of the pullback from ISIS stock today, however, can likely be attributed to Adam Feuerstein’s commentary at TheStreet.com suggesting ISIS Pharmaceuticals changed the study’s originally-targeted efficacy timeframe in order to make the results look stronger. Feuerstein also points out how some other important information was left out of the published results.
Heartland Express (HTLD)
With the price of gasoline and diesel threatening to move higher now just a couple days after HTLD shares hit multi-year highs, the last thing Heartland Express needed to report was disappointing Q4 numbers. But, that’s exactly what happened. The trucking company earned 25 cents per share of HTLD stock, one penny shy of the 26 cents analysts were collectively expecting. Revenue of $203 million was also short of the $222.3 million the analyst community had predicted.
HTLD stock fell nearly 3% on the news, though a weak fourth quarter can’t get all the blame for the day’s dismal results. With oil prices up more than 20% in the past three trading days, some traders are beginning to wonder of oil — and therefore gasoline and diesel fuel — have already hit bottom and are now back in uptrends.
It matters to Heartland Express, as higher fuel costs crimp trucking margins.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
