The U.S. stock market experiences hump day growth as oil prices continue to increase, while metal prices are also on the upswing. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% higher, while Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 0.4% by day’s end.
Late Wednesday had a nasty surprise for shareholders of Coach Inc (NYSE:COH) and Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc‘s (NYSE:RH), however. But SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) was lending some optimism to Thursday’s action.
Here’s what you need to know heading into the trading day:
SolarCity Corp (SCTY)
SCTY stock was popping on Thursday morning after the company got a nod from RW Baird analyst Ben Kallo.
SolarCity was raised from “neutral” to “outperform,” with Kallo giving it a price target of $37 — some 60% higher from current prices.
Kallo thinks regulatory worries over net metering — sparked by changes by the state of Nevada — are overblown, saying, “We believe negative sentiment is overdone on one of the leading U.S. rooftop installer (sic), and think shares are attractive at current levels.”
SCTY shares were up 4% in premarket trading, which at roughly $24 would still put it a few percent short of resistance at its 50-day moving average.
Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (RH)
RH shares were getting clubbed Thursday after the company reported a surprise loss for its fiscal first quarter.
Earnings came in at a loss of 5 cents per share on the period, missing the Wall Street average projection for 5 cents in profits. Revenues of $455.5 million did beat, with analysts expecting sales of $452.1 million.
A quarter after blaming a volatile stock market for its poor performance, Restoration Hardware this time blamed “continued headwinds in the markets impacted by energy and currency, as well as a general slowdown in the luxury consumer market.”
Expect the poor performance to continue, too. For the full fiscal year, RH is guiding earnins of $1.60 to $1.80 per share — 90 cents to $1 less than its previous outlook, and well below estimates of $2.66.
RH shares were off 19% in Thursday’s premarket trading.
Coach Inc (COH)
Coach shares were sliding following the resignation of its chief financial officer.
Jane Nielsen is leaving the luxury accessories retailer as she is moving on to a different position elsewhere. She will remain as chief financial officer into August.
The move comes amidst a turnaround effort for Coach that has resulted in improved revenue and workforce reductions in recent quarters — but one that hasn’t shown up in COH shares, which have been mostly rangebound for months.
COH stock was off 1% before Thursday’s opening bell.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
