Plans to revitalize struggling retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) were met Thursday with much enthusiasm by investors, who carried JCP shares almost 19% higher on the second day of the company’s New York City launch event.
The overhaul, led by former Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Ron Johnson, will include a massive change in pricing, leaning toward lower everyday prices — as much as a 40% cut — in lieu of frequent sales.
On the business side, J.C. Penney will try to cut $900 million in expenses by 2014 — some of which will be gained through layoffs — and the company said it expects full-year fiscal 2012 earnings to equal or surpass 2010’s adjusted EPS of $2.16.
JCP shares closed at $40.72 — the first time the stock has finished above the $40 mark since September 2008.
Also finishing a boom Thursday that it started in after-hours trading Wednesday was Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which rocketed 22% to $116.01 — a three-month high — on strong earnings and news that it had gained 610,000 customers in the most recent quarter.
The shorts were sent running on the news Thursday, but what remains to be seen is whether Netflix can survive competition from Hulu, Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) eventual streaming service and others, and if its expansion in the U.K. and Latin America will take root.
Three Up
- Micromet (NASDAQ:MITI): Up 32.1% ($2.66) to $10.94.
- LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI): Up 10.9% (77 cents) to $7.85.
- United Continental (NYSE:UAL): Up 6.3% ($1.29) to $21.70.
Three Down
- Monster Worldwide (NYSE:MWW): Down 20.4% ($1.83) to $7.15.
- ETrade Financial (NASDAQ:ETFC): Down 14.6% ($1.37) to $7.99.
- Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK): Down 11.4% ($5.95) to $46.39.
Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here.
