A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
FITBIT INC. - STAR
Fitbit came off the starting line looking like Usain Bolt tearing past a group of geriatric power walkers. Since going public a little more than two weeks ago, the fitness-tracking-device maker’s stock has doubled and then some, making it one of the year’s best performing U.S. IPOs. If the stock itself had its own wearable technology, it would probably flash the following message: “Please slow down.”
FIT (NYSE), $42.24 (U.S.) up $7.49 or 21.6% over week
WYNN RESORTS LTD. - STAR
The chimes of freedom rang a little louder this past week as Chinese officials eased restrictions on a long-oppressed minority – wealthy gamblers. Tourists from mainland China may now stay as long as seven days – up from five – in the gambling region of Macau, where Wynn has casino s that generate more than 60 per cent of its revenue. A crackdown on corruption has kept gamblers out of Macau and has resulted in less-than-optimal levels of high rolling .
WYNN (Nasdaq), $103.54 (U.S.), up $7.04 or 7.3% over week
YELP INC. - DOG
“Yelp” was also the sound collectively uttered by investors after Bloomberg reported that the company was taking itself off the market, at least temporarily. The consumer review website had commissioned Goldman Sachs to find a buyer, but reportedly put those plans on hold amid slowing growth in traffic. While the company reiterated its revenue growth projection of more than 50 per cent year over year, investors gave the development zero stars.
YELP (NYSE), $38.18 (U.S.), down $6.33 or 14.2% over week
POPULAR INC. - DOG
The company, which operates commercial banks in Puerto Rico, totally had it coming. First, it was all like, “Puerto Rico and me are besties.” Then Puerto Rico pulled a Greece and said it didn’t want to pay back all this money it borrowed. And if that’s who you’re going to hang out with, that’s fine, but you’re going to get smacked around on Monday morning, which totally happened. More like Unpopular Inc.
BPOP (Nasdaq), $29.68 (U.S.), down $3.26 or 9.9% over week
CANADIAN WESTERN BANK - DOG
There is a long list of issues weighing on the oil market, and if it’s bad for oil, it’s bad for Canadian Western Bank. With much more exposure to the energy sector than the rest of Canada’s banks, CWB’s stock is heavily influenced by the price of crude, which was driven down last week by the turmoil in Greece.
CWB (TSX), $28.32, down $1.26 or 4.3% over week