Initially unimpressed by encouraging employment data, investors finally warmed up to the news, turning what started out as a losing day into a respectable winner. By the time the closing bell rang, the S&P 500 was at 2105.26, up 0.28%.
Not every name was part of the bullish parade though. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) and Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG) all ended Thursday rather deep in the red, but for understandable reasons.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD)
The good news is that Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su expects the company to get back to an operating profit during the second half of 2016. The bad news is that the company is at least taking one-step backward from that end zone.
Specifically, in an effort to win market share within the budding virtual reality market, AMD is selling its chips for the VR market at cutthroat pricing that may make it difficult to turn a profit.
The chip line in question is a new series call Polaris. AMD will sell the entire set necessary to power virtual reality computers for less than $200, or roughly half the cost of other complete chip sets for use in computers that make virtual reality possible.
AMD lost more than 4% of its value on Thursday.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (SRPT)
Just when it looked like Sarepta Therapeutics had a shot at recovering from its April setback — when the FDA reiterated it was less than enthusiastic about its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug eteplirsen — the agency pulls yet another rug out from underneath SRPT shares.
In short, at least hoping eteplirsen would be approved under “compassionate use” rules, Sarepta Therapeutics was informed today that the Food and Drug Administration’s has changed those rules to require a specific physician request for permission to use a compassionate-use drug as a last-ditch therapy. The new rules effectively quell most hopes for any commercial success with the eteplirsen.
The new standards weren’t specifically aimed at Sarepta Therapeutics, but with its 26% pullback today, SRPT was easily the most impacted name.
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG)
Last but not least, Signet Jewelers shareholders who had never heard of James Grant’s investment newsletter before have certainly heard of it now.
The publication’s most recent edition — delivered today — took dead aim at the jeweler based on its questionable customer credit operation. The newsletter in question essentially accused the chain of 3,600 jewelry stores of relying too heavily on customer credit to boost sales growth.
Grant also mentioned rumors that the jeweler was swapping out customer’s higher-quality stones for lower-quality ones. Between the two concerns, SIG was sent more than 6% lower on Thursday.
There’s no doubt Signet Jewelers has done something right on the sales front. Last year’s top line grew 14% when other retailers were struggling to muster any growth, and profits per share of SIG stock grew from $4.75 to $5.87.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
