3 Stocks to Watch on Friday: Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST), SolarCity Corp (SCTY) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM)

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It was a positive day for U.S. markets as financial stocks soared 1.3%, while initial jobless claims are at their lowest levels in 43 years. The S&P 500 Index edged 0.5% higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%.

3 Stocks to Watch on Thursday: Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST), SolarCity Corp (SCTY) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM)Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) reported earnings Thursday, while SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) will merge with Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).

Here are the details:

Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST)

Ross Stores shares were on the rise as the company’s earnings were healthy.

On Thursday, the apparel retailer announced that it earned 62 cents per share, topping the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 53 cents per share. Ross expected to earn between 52 and 55 cents a share.

Revenue came in at $3.09 billion, surging 11% year-over-year. Analysts polled by FactSet projected net sales of $2.96 billion for the company’s quarter. Other than an unexpected increase in the company’s revenue growth, Ross’ strong period could be attributed to better margins.

For its current quarter, earnings are slated to come in at around 72 cents to 75 cents per share thanks to the rising demand caused by holiday shoppers. Full-year earnings are expected to be between $2.78 per share to $2.81 per share.

The company previously stated that its earnings would come in between $2.69 and $2.75 per share for its fiscal year 2016.

ROST stock popped 3.4% after the bell yesterday.

SolarCity Corp (SCTY)

SolarCity and Tesla shareholders have green-lit a merger between the two companies.

The electric car giant will acquire the solar panel manufacturer for around $2.6 billion after 85% of Tesla shareholders approved the deal. The move comes with great potential and even greater expectations.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also on the SolarCity board and he announced that the combined company will begin rolling out the latter company’s new solar panels in the summer of 2017.

SolarCity has been struggling lately, but the company’s revenue growth should help Tesla’s cash balance as it will add over $500 million to the company’s balance sheet over the next three years.

Musk holds about 22% of Tesla and about 22% of SolarCity.

SCTY stock gained 1.9% after hours, while TSLA was 0.6% higher Thursday.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM)

Williams-Sonoma stock dipped as the company’s most recent quarterly data were mixed.

The home appliances manufacturer earned 78 cents per share, or 79 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Wall Street was calling for earnings of 77 cents per share for its third quarter.

Although earnings were a positive for Williams-Sonoma, revenue came up short at $1.25 billion, which was $10 million lower than the consensus estimate based on analysts surveyed by Zacks.

Brand sales were 0.4% weaker which was meeker than the 1.4% growth that analysts had predicted. Comparable-brand sales were also down, declining 4.6%.

Full-year earnings are expected to be in the range of $3.35 to $3.45 per share, whereas revenue will be between $5.07 billion and $5.15 billion.

WSM shares lost 2.9% after Thursday’s market close.

As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/11/stocks-watch-friday-ross-stores-inc-rost-solarcity-corp-scty-williams-sonoma-inc-wsm/.

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