A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
KRAFT FOODS – STAR
KRFT-Nasdaq (1-year, daily closes)
March 27 close: $89.10 (U.S.) up $27.16 or 43.8% over latest week
Potential new products arising from the merger of Heinz and Kraft:
- 1) Heinz Ketchup Flavoured Marshmallows;
- 2) Kraft EZ Squirt Liquid Mac and Cheese;
- 3) Kraft Weapons Grade Velveeta ’n Heinz Baked Beans Lunchables.
The deal already smells pretty darn good to Kraft shareholders: The stock soared after Heinz, backed by Berkshire Hathaway and Tim Hortons’ owner 3G Capital, announced the $45-billion (U.S.) food company mash-up.
CRUDE OIL – STAR
WTI-Fut (1-year, daily closes)
March 27 settle: $48.87 (U.S.)/barrel up $2.30 or 4.9% over latest week
Two-hundred dollars a barrel, here we come! Okay, maybe we’re getting a wee bit Jeff Rubin here, but just when you thought crude was never going to rebound, it surged this week. With Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies bombing Shia Houthi targets near Yemen’s capital, fears of a supply disruption sent the commodity sharply higher – well, briefly, anyway. Nothing like some bad news to lift the spirits of gloomy energy investors.
SANDISK – DOG
SNDK-Nasdaq (1-year, daily closes)
March 27 close: $64.59 (U.S.) down $22.48 or 25.8% over latest week
Bad: Getting your hard drive – including photos of you and your spouse playing naked Twister – hacked by cybercriminals.
Worse: Owning shares of SanDisk.
For the second time in less than three months, the maker of flash-based computer memory products slashed its revenue guidance for the year, citing product approval delays, lower pricing and weaker enterprise sales. The stock is getting twisted into some interesting positions.
WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES – DOG
WGO-NYSE (1-year, daily closes)
March 27 close: $21.03 (U.S.) down $2.05 or 8.9% over latest week
Driving a Winnebago is all about freedom and relaxation – until you try to parallel park the damn thing. Here’s another source of frustration: investing in Winnebago Industries. Hit by a labour shortage and higher legal and maintenance costs, the motor-home maker’s fiscal second-quarter revenue and earnings both came up short of estimates, causing the stock to go into reverse. With gas prices rebounding recently, that can’t be helping sales, either.
GAMESTOP – DOG
GME-NYSE (1-year, daily closes)
March 27 close: $38.36 (U.S.) down $2.56 or 6.2% over latest week
Video stores have become dinosaurs. Will video-game stores be next? Shares of GameStop plunged after the retailer posted a 5.6-per-cent drop in revenue during the crucial holiday quarter ending in January, hit by softer sales of preowned titles and a shift to mobile games. “The rapid rise of digital distribution of software … remains a significant headwind,” according to a BMO analyst. Investors are taking their joysticks and going home.