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stars and dogs

LUKE MACGREGOR

WHISTLER BLACKCOMB (STAR)

Whistler Blackcomb's share price just took an express gondola to the top of the mountain. The operator of Canada's premier ski resort in British Columbia soared after the company agreed to sell itself to Colorado-based Vail Resorts in a cash-and-shares deal worth about $1.4-billion. With all the money they're making, investors can skip the gondola and hire a helicopter instead.

WB (TSX), $36.72 up $11.58 or 46% over week

PREMIUM BRANDS HOLDINGS (STAR)

Luncheon meat! See, I made you salivate like Pavlov's dog. If you really want to see some overactive salivary glands, talk to a Premium Brands investor: Shares of the food company – which sells everything from branded deli meats and sushi to burgers and artisanal breads – surged after it posted record revenue and earnings for the second quarter. Now if I ring this little bell, you will feel a strong urge to purchase the stock.

PBH (TSX), $61.48 up $4.69 or 8.3% over week

MATTRESS FIRM HOLDING (STAR)

What's the most fun you can have with a mattress? No, not that. Investing in Mattress Firm Holding, of course. Shares of the largest U.S. mattress retailer – which operates the Mattress Firm, Sleepy's and Sleep Train chains – leaped after South Africa's Steinhoff International made a $2.4-billion (U.S.) all-cash offer at $64 a share – more than double Mattress Firm's previous closing price. Investors are sleeping well, indeed.

MFRM (Nasdaq), $63.84 up $34.10 or 115% over week

VALEANT PHARMACEUTICALS (STAR)

Things that are less volatile than Valeant's share price: 1) a Donald Trump rally; 2) a rabid animal; 3) the Middle East. Shares of the troubled drug maker posted their biggest one-day advance on Tuesday after Valeant maintained full-year guidance it gave in June and pledged to sell assets and reduce debt. But the stock coughed up more than half of those gains over the next two days. The fun never stops.

VRX (TSX), $32.32 up $3.39 or 11.7% over week

RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS (DOG)

Do I hear $43? Any takers at $43? How about $42? Do I hear $40? Okay how about $37? Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers had trouble finding any bidders for its shares after second-quarter sales and earnings fell short of estimates, dragged down by a decline in global prices for the heavy equipment it sells. Even an increase in the dividend couldn't save the stock from its worst one-day drop in seven years. SOLD to the bottom fisher for $36.35!

RBA (TSX), $36.35 down $6.84 or 15.8% over week