U.S. stocks rallied again on Tuesday as expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month continue diminishing while oil prices continue rising. West Texas Intermediate topped $50 per barrel for the first time in 10 months Tuesday.
That helped the S&P 500 climb 0.13% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite finished lower by 0.14%.
Even with higher oil prices, American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) was one of today’s best stocks while LDR Holding Corp (NASDAQ:LDRH) and United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI) joined that prestigious group for other reasons.
American Airlines Group Inc (AAL)
American Airlines, one of the largest U.S. carriers, flew higher by 3.5% on heavy volume a day after the company revealed changes to its frequent flier program. At the crux of AAL’s frequent flier changes is money. Passengers that pay higher fares will receive bigger AAL rewards.
Shares of AAL rose today despite oil prices touching their highest levels of 2016 and even with data indicating that AAL had one of the highest number of canceled flights in the airline industry last month.
AAL shares are down more than 23% year-to-date.
LDR Holding Corp (LDRH)
Shares of medical device maker LDR Holding surged 63.8% on more than 60 times the average daily volume after Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZBH) said it will acquire LDRH for $1 billion.
ZBH’s offer for LDRH equals $37 a share, a 68% premium to where shares of LDRH closed yesterday. The deal is expected to be finalized next quarter.
ZBH’s acquisition of LDRH bolsters the former’s position in the spine disorder surgical technology market, according to the Associated Press.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI)
Wholesale food retailer United Natural Foods soared 14% on volume that was more than seven times the daily average after the company said it earned 76 cents a share in its fiscal third quarter.
Analysts expected UNFI to earn 66 cents a share.
UNFI said sales for the period were $2.13 billion, slightly below the $2.16 billion analysts expected. For 2016, UNFI expects to earn $2.39 to $2.45 per share on sales of $8.46 billion to $8.5 billion.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
