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The Globe’s stars and dogs for the week

Globe Investor

A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or for worse, this week

John Heinzl
INVESTMENT REPORTER

This article was published more than 7 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

CANADIAN TIRE (STAR)

How many Canadian Tire investors does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None. With all the money they’re making, they can hire someone else to screw in the lightbulb for them. Lifted by same-store-sales growth of 8.1 per cent at Canadian Tire, 10.6 per cent at Mark’s and 4.9 per cent at Sport Chek, the already high-flying shares leaped to a fresh record as fourth-quarter earnings easily topped expectations. Canadian Tire money is nice, but investors prefer the real thing.

CTC.A (TSX), $157.49 up $15.13 or 10.6% over week

YELLOW PAGES (DOG)

True or false: When an analyst uses the phrase "Valentine's Day Massacre," it's usually a positive sign. Answer: false. Shares of Yellow Pages plummeted Tuesday after the marketing company took a writedown of $600-million on certain intangible assets, citing "a marked acceleration in an unfavourable change in the product mix" in its digital offerings. With customers shifting to less profitable services such as search-engine marketing, investors have no love for the stock.

Y (TSX), $10.95 down $6.16 or 36% over week

DATAWIND (DOG)

DataWind's stock just got blown down by a heavy gust of bad news. The company – which sells low-cost tablets, smartphones and Internet service – said the Indian government's decision in November to withdraw 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes led to "a severe cash crunch for our target customers" that contributed to a 55-per-cent drop in third-quarter revenue. The losses, my friend, are blowin' in the DataWind.

DW (TSX), 43¢ down 19¢ or 30.6% over week

FOSSIL GROUP (DOG)

Fossil: the preserved impression or remains of an ancient organism; Fossil Group: a company that is leaving a bad impression with investors. Hit by declines in traditional watches, jewellery and leather goods, the designer and marketer of fashion accessories said fourth-quarter net sales fell 3 per cent. Worse, it predicted sales will be flat to down 6.5 per cent in 2017, despite a big push into wearable devices, sending the stock to an eight-year low.

FOSL (Nasdaq), $20.73 (U.S.) down $2.15 or 9.4% over week

ECOBALT SOLUTIONS (STAR)

"Well, I was born a cobalt miner's daughter …" Loretta Lynn could only wish. With prices for cobalt – a key component in electric vehicle batteries – soaring about 50 per cent since September amid fears of potential shortages of the metal, cobalt producer stocks are surging. Shares of eCobalt Solutions – which is aiming to produce battery-grade cobalt salts at a mine in Idaho – have already more than doubled in 2017. Beats living in a cabin and mining for dirty old coal.

ECS (TSX), $1.17 up 39¢ or 50% over week