Why Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Panera Bread Co (PNRA) and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) are 3 of Today’s Best Stocks

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U.S. markets finished flat today after being higher most of the afternoon. On the one hand, markets were helped by further gains in oil prices and solid earnings reports, as companies like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) beat analysts’ expectations.

Why Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Panera Bread Co (PNRA) and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) are 3 of Today's Best StocksBut weak economic data and concerns over a downgrade to the Greek credit rating limited the market’s gains.

The Labor Department reported that weekly initial jobless claims were 294,000, an increase of 12,000 from the week before, and above the Street’s expectations of 280,000.

Elsewhere, the Commerce Department reported that March housing starts rose 2% to a pace of 926,000 units per year, which was higher than February’s upwardly revised 908,000 figure but well below Street expectations for 1 million units. New permits also declined 5.7% — the largest drop since May — showing some unexpected weakness in the housing market.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both down about 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat.

Energy was once again the leading sector of the day, with non-cyclical consumer goods also performing well. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ:PNRA) and Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) all made news with earnings or forward-looking announcements, and were three of today’s best stocks.

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

NFLX was streaming profits today for happy shareholders. NFLX stock gapped up more than 18% after reporting first-quarter earnings of 77 cents a share on nearly $1.6 billion in revenue, beating analysts’ expectations of 69 cents per share.

Of greater interest was the increase in Netflix’ subscriber base, which totaled 2.3 million in the U.S. and 2.6 million worldwide during the quarter. That was the real driving force behind the big day for NFLX stock.

Panera Bread Co (PNRA)

Panera was rising like its fresh baked bread today, touching a 52-week high before pulling back slightly to close up more than 11.5% higher for the day. The catalyst was Panera’s announcement that it will repurchase $500 million of shares over the next 12 months rather than its previous plan to buy back $600 million in stock over three years.

In addition, PNRA said it plans to sell and refranchise 73 of its restaurants as part of its previously announced plan to sell as many as 125 locations in 2015.

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM)

Despite having to overcome international obstacles related to a stronger dollar, PM stock gapped up 8.7% after posting first-quarter earnings of  $1.16 per share, 2 cents lower than a year ago but still beating analysts’ estimates of $1.02 per share.

Revenue of $6.6 billion was also better than the Street’s estimate of $6.3 billion.

Philip Morris also raised its forecast by 5 cents on both the low and high end for 2015, with the new guidance from $4.32 to $4.42 per share.

As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/04/netflix-inc-nflx-panera-bread-co-pnra-philip-morris-international-inc-pm-3-todays-best-stocks/.

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