3 Stocks to Watch on Thursday: Office Depot Inc (ODP), Staples, Inc. (SPLS) and PVH Corp. (PVH)

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U.S. stocks started Wednesday off lower and continued dropping as oil prices tanked. The end result: Dow Jones Industrial dipped 0.5%, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and the Nasdaq fell 1.10% by the end of the day.

3 Stocks to Watch on Wednesday: Office Depot Inc (ODP), Staples, Inc. (SPLS) and PVH Corp. (PVH)

As we head into Thursday, three stocks are making the news for all the right reasons. Today, you’ll want to keep your eyes on Office Depot Inc (NASDAQ:ODP), Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) and PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH)

Here’s what is fueling the gains in all three companies:

Office Depot Inc (ODP) and Staples, Inc. (SPLS)

The proposed merger between the two office supplies providers may have gained some momentum Wednesday after a federal judge criticized the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for improper practices during court hearings.

Amazon.com, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) 2015 announcement that it plans to ramp up its office supplies department is key to the case, as the e-commerce retailer’s initiative will create fair competition for the combined entity, said Staples attorney Diane Sullivan.

The combined corporation would make up 79% of office supplies providers, but Amazon’s foray into the business may help create parity in the industry, which would help the proposed merger comply with antitrust laws.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington criticized the FTC’s attempt to get Amazon to share false information about its booming business to block the merger.

Prentis Wilson, a vice president of a new Amazon unit that sells office supplies to companies, testified in a trial over the deal, sharing that the company had only secured one contract worth more than $250 million in revenue, and about 300,000 businesses had opened accounts with the retailer in its first 11 months of its Amazon Business service.

The judge’s move has delighted investors as ODP stock is set to rocket 12% higher in Thursday’s action, and SPLS is ready to push 5.5% higher.

PVH Corp. (PVH)

The apparel designer also looks to be a Thursday winner after it released better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results.

PVH posted earnings-per-share of $1.52, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.46. Quarterly revenue came in at $2.1 billion, also ahead of Wall Street projections of $2.07 billion.

The company makes 30% of its revenue from Europe and 10% from Asia. The fact that some major foreign currencies are weakening against the U.S. dollar is slated to hurt the company.

In fact, PVH said adverse foreign-exchange rates cut 36 cents off EPS in its latest quarter. As a result of the company’s investment in Europe, the apparel maker expects to lose $1.60 per share for this year due to current currency trends.

PVH also updated its guidance with EPS of $1.40 to $1.45 for the first quarter, versus a consensus estimate of $1.33.

The positive quarter was welcome news to investors, as PVH stock looked to receive a 5%-plus bump in Thursday’s trading.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/03/3-stocks-to-watch-on-thursday-office-depot-inc-odp-staples-inc-spls-and-pvh-corp-pvh/.

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