Some concerning economic data, including weaker-than-expected retail sales and a drop in producer prices last month, weighed on stocks Friday, sending some of the benchmark indexes lower to end the week. The S&P 500 lost 0.08%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite, however, added 0.09% to set a new all-time high of 5,232.90.
On a mixed day for stocks, Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP), J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) stuck out with strong gains.
Endo International plc (ENDP)
ENDP shares rose 5% after the pharmaceuticals maker said it is withdrawing an application for a new version of its Opana opiod painkiller. ENDP said it could continue to work with the Food and Drug Administration on the treatment.
Opana ER is a big seller for ENDP, but the drug is facing increased competition from low-cost generics.
Some analysts cheered the news. Mizuho analysts Irina Koffler and Andrew Galler upgraded shares of ENDP to “buy” from “neutral” while raising their price target on the stock to $29 from $16.
J C Penney Company Inc (JCP)
On another strong day for retail stocks, shares of JCP stock climbed almost 6% on more than quadruple the average daily volume. The impetus was a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.
JCPenney said that it lost 18 cents per share in its most recent quarter, down from 38 cents of red ink in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, JCP lost just 5 cents per share to clear expectations of a 15-cent loss.
Wall Street forgave a slight revenue miss, with JCP bringing in $2.92 billion versus estimates of $2.93 billion. Same-store sales increased 2.2%, also slightly off from expectations of 2.4%.
Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN)
JWN also was a part of what has been a great couple of days for retailers. Nordstrom stock surged 8% after second-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates.
The company said it earned 67 cents per share on revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter. Analysts expected Nordstrom to earn 56 cents per share on sales of $3.68 billion. Though it should be pointed out that those numbers are below the year earlier period when JWN earned 93 cents a share on sales of $3.7 billion.
Seattle-based Nordstrom has been actively working on aligning inventory more with current sales trends. Company president Blake Nordstrom also cited a strong Anniversary Sale as helping to lift results.
As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
