Why Five Below Inc (FIVE), Pepco Holdings, Inc. (POM) and Virgin America Inc (VA) Are 3 of Today’s Best Stocks

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A stronger dollar plagued riskier assets Wednesday as commodities and stocks sank. Hawkish comments from members of the Federal Reserve continued, likely aiding the greenback’s ascent while making the energy sector one of the day’s primary downside culprits.

Why Five Below Inc (FIVE), Pepco Holdings, Inc. (POM) and Virgin America Inc (VA) Are 3 of Today's Best StocksStill, Wall Street’s losses on the day were not severe, but that might be a sign the recent equity surge is set to wane. The S&P 500 lost 0.64%. That is the eighth day the benchmark U.S. equity index did not move at least 1% in either direction, according to Bloomberg. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.45% while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.1%.

There was some upside excitement to be had and Five Below Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE), Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POM) and Virgin America Inc (NASDAQ:VA) were among the chief drivers of that excitement.

Five Below Inc (FIVE)

Discount retailer Five Below soared 6.8% on volume that was more than quadruple the daily average after several analysts boosted price targets on FIVE following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release.

RBC Capital Markets upped its price target on FIVE to $44 from $42, while Dougherty & Co. boosted its FIVE target to $53 from $45 and Credit Suisse raised its target on the stock to $40 from $39, reports Investor’s Business Daily.

After the close of U.S. markets Tuesday, FIVE said it earned 77 cents a share on sales of $326.4 million for the fourth quarter, topping Wall Street estimates on both fronts. For the current quarter, FIVE expects to earn 9 cents to 10 cents a share on sales of $186 million to $189 million. Analysts are expecting EPS of 10 cents on sales of $188.27 million.

Pepco Holdings, Inc. (POM)

Electric utility Pepco Holdings surged 26.8% on turnover that was more than five times the daily average after regulators in Washington, D.C., approved POM’s merger with rival Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC).

The D.C. Public Service Commission voted 2-1 to approve the $6.8 billion deal. The commission previously said it would not approve the deal, reports Reuters. A combined POM/Exelon creates the largest U.S. electric utility.

POM and Exelon are among the dominant utilities in the Mid-Atlantic region in states such as Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Virgin America Inc (VA)

Airline Virgin America flew higher by 13.2% on more than quadruple the usual volume on news the company is exploring a sale of itself. Richard Branson’s VA could evaluate a full or partial sale, according to media reports.

California-based VA has been a public company for less than two years.

Citing unidentified sources, Bloomberg reports VA is working with advisers after receiving some takeover interest, and the sources added it is possible a sale does not materialize.

Analysts quoted by Bloomberg said Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) and JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) could be possible buyers of VA.

At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.

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Todd Shriber has been an InvestorPlace contributor since 2014.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/03/why-five-below-inc-five-pepco-holdings-inc-pom-and-virgin-america-inc-va-are-3-of-todays-best-stocks/.

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