U.S. markets were once again moving lower today, as disappointing earnings from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) weighed on technology stocks.
AAPL stock fell more than 6% to start the day, recovered somewhat off its lows, but still finished down over 4%. Gold also continued its recent decline, falling below $1100 an ounce, and oil fell below $50 a barrel.
On the home front, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 3.2% in July from the previous month, and were at their highest level since February 2007. Limited inventories and the threat of higher interest rates were said to be spurring on more sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%, the S&P 500 was off by 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%. Sectors were once again mostly lower, with only cyclical consumer goods showing a bit of strength.
Despite the losses, solid earnings did propel a number of stocks higher, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) and Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR). Those two, along with Lifelock Inc (NYSE:LOCK), made a solid case for being three of today’s best stocks.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG)
CMG stock had its best day in a year, after reporting second-quarter earnings this morning of $4.45 a share, a penny ahead of Street estimates. Revenue of $1.20 billion fell slightly below the forecasts for $1.22 billion. Chipotle raised its prices an average of 6.5% in 2014 to offset higher beef and dairy costs.
Chipotle said it plans to open 190 to 205 new restaurants this year, and also announced that its board of directors has approved an additional $100 million to be used to buyback shares of CMG stock.
CMG stock finished up more than 7% today on about five times its normal volume.
Lifelock Inc (LOCK)
Lifelock investors felt a bit more secure today after the provider of identity theft protection staged a 9% bounce back from its 49% plunge on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s huge decline was due to the Federal Trade Commission saying it’s taking action against Lifelock for allegedly violating a previous order concerning deceptive advertising practices and failure to adequately protect sensitive customer information.
Adding to Lock’s woes were several downgrades by analysts at Wunderlich Securities, RBC Capital and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.
But today, investors were feeling a bit more optimistic that the problem would only be temporary, and were looking to scoop up LOCK stock at a bargain price.
Whirlpool Corporation (WHR)
The world’s largest maker of household appliances blasted 7% higher today after reporting second quarter earnings of $2.70 a share, ahead of analyst estimates of $2.62 a share. Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were up 79%. However, the strong U.S. dollar and weaker sales in Brazil did hurt WHR’s bottom line.
Revenue of $5.21 billion was shy of analysts’ estimates for $5.29 billion, but the Street was in a forgiving mood. Perhaps that was because WHR also raised its previous EPS guidance from $9.00 to $10.00, to $9.50 to $10.50 for the full year.
Before today’s action, WHR stock was down about 14% in 2015.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
