Ahead of the May jobs report, due out Friday before the open of U.S. markets, stocks rose again Thursday, solidifying a strong start to June.
Investors seem to be preparing for another solid labor report as highlighted by a 0.28% gain today for the S&P 500. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.27% while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.39%.
Impressive earnings and some efforts to reduce debt put Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN), J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) and Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT) on the best stocks of the day list.
Ciena Corporation (CIEN)
Shares of Ciena, which makes parts for fiber optics networks, surged 12.8% on more than quadruple the average daily volume after the company delivered fiscal second-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates.
In its fiscal second quarter, Maryland-based CIEN said it earned 34 cents a share on revenue of $640.7 million. Analysts expected CIEN to earn 27 cents per share on revenue of $631.
For the current quarter, CIEN expects revenue of $655 million to $685 million. Wall Street expects CIEN’s revenue for the current quarter to be $670.7 million.
J C Penney Company Inc (JCP)
Shares of department store operator J C Penney climbed 7.4% after the company announced an effort to reduce its debt burden. Texas-based JCP said in a statement out Thursday it is “proposing to refinance and extend the maturity date of its $2.25 billion senior secured term loan facility, which is currently set to mature in May 2018. The Company expects to complete the transaction in June.”
JCP added that it has positive same-store sales for the current quarter as of May 30.
Weatherford International Plc (WFT)
Oil services provider Weatherford International soared 6.5% on more than five times the normal turnover after the company announced a $1.1 billion exchangeable notes offering aimed at reducing WFT’s debt.
The notes, due in 2021, “will pay interest at a rate of 5.875% per year and were priced at par. The offering is expected to close June 7, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions,” according to a statement issued by WFT.
WFT had $6 billion in long-term at the end of the first quarter.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
