There was no April fooling on Wall Street today as stocks reversed higher to end Friday in strong fashion on the back of some solid economic data. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each added nearly two-thirds of a percent while the Nasdaq Composite finished higher by nearly 1%.
Before the market opened, the Labor Department said U.S. employers added 215,000 new jobs last month while the February number was revised to 245,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate inched up to 5%.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for March surged to 51.8 from 49.5 in February. It was the first time since August the index topped the all-important reading of 50, according to Bloomberg.
Data or not, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) were three of today’s best stocks.
Micron Technology (MU)
Shares of Micron Technology soared almost 5.4% on above-average volume on reports the company is looking to make its 3D NAND flash technology significantly different than competing products produced by rival firms.
Investors embraced that news over tepid analyst commentary on MU. Credit Suisse reiterated an “outperform” rating on MU, but took the stock off its U.S. Focus List and Global Focus List.
MU is still in a bear market with a year-to-date loss of 22.1%.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX)
The always controversial Valeant Pharmaceuticals was in the news again today, soaring nearly 7% on heavy turnover, despite what should have been seen as negative headlines. After the close of U.S. markets Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its rating on VRX debt further into junk territory. The ratings agency lowered VRX to B1 from B2.
VRX shares may have rallied today because, in the eyes of at least one analyst, markets have some clarity on what the company is doing with its debt situation.
“With the launch of the long awaited amendment process, investors finally have a glimpse of what is on offer by management. While current terms are still being negotiated and as such are subject to change, on balance, we do not think they represent a dramatic departure from what most were expecting,” according to part of Citigroup note on VRX posted by Barron’s.
Visa Inc (V)
Visa, a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose nearly 1.5% Friday on some positive analyst chatter. A Bernstein analyst reiterated an outperform rating on V with a $90 price target, implying significant upside from Friday’s close of $77.59.
The analyst sees shares of V doubling over the next four years, with earnings per share growing at a compound annual rate of at least 19% through 2020.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
