The week started off poorly for U.S. equities amid a drop in the dollar on Monday. The S&P 500 Index lost 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4%. However, the Nasdaq Composite was able to finish 0.2% higher by day’s end, shrugging off weakness in the other major indices yet again.
As we head into Tuesday’s trading, the focus shifts to a few companies, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA) and WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC).
Here’s what you should know:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG)
CMG shares raced ahead at Tuesday’s open despite disappointing Wall Street with its fourth-quarter forecasts.
Chipotle said that same-restaurant sales for the quarter were off 4.8% year-over-year — a reversal from the company’s pacing in October. October comps were down 20%, but November’s comps decline was far less drastic, and favorable comparisons helped Chipotle earn a nearly 15% improvement in the metric.
Chipotle also said sales for the quarter came to $1.04 billion — slightly higher year-over-year, but about $10 million short of estimates. Its earnings forecast was even worse, with a range of 50-58 cents per share coming in well under expectations of 96 cents.
Still, the news was good relative to some of the ugly metrics Chipotle has been spewing in recent quarters, and investors bid up CMG stock by more than 4% at the open.
Barracuda Networks Inc (CUDA)
CUDA shares were up decently on Tuesday morning after the cloud computing company posted fiscal third-quarter earnings.
Barracuda Networks earned 22 cents per share, easily beating expectations of 14 cents. Meanwhile, revenues of $88.8 million were slightly ahead of projections; analysts had pegged $86.6 million in sales.
The company attributed its success in Q3 to more customers adopting its cloud-based security software, as well as its data protection solutions. The company’s number of active subscribers rose 15% year-over-year.
“‘The threat landscape is complex and constantly evolving,” CEO BJ Jenkins said in a press release. “As threats become more sophisticated, security remains a top priority for customers.”
CUDA is off to a strong start in 2017, as Tuesday’s 4% gains bring the company’s year-to-date total up to 14%.
WD-40 Company (WDFC)
WDFC shares slumped on Tuesday morning following the company’s fiscal first-quarter report.
For its most recent three-month period, WD-40 earned 82 cents per share, well short of average analysts projections for 87 cents per share. Meanwhile, revenues of $89.25 million also missed the consensus estimate of $96.31 million.
For its full year 2017, the company expects to earn between $3.64 to $3.71 a share, while revenue will be in the range of $395 million to $404 million.
WDFC had gained about 15% in the past two months, but selling on Monday leading into the report, as well as a 4% drop on Tuesday, have cut into the rally.
