A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
PERFORMANCE SPORTS GROUP (DOG)
Memorable hockey collapses:
1) The Leafs blow a three-goal lead and lose to the Bruins in Game 7 of their 2013 playoff series;
2) The U.S. women’s team squanders a 2-0 advantage in the 2014 Olympic final, handing gold to Canada;
3) Performance Sports, which owns the Bauer hockey brand, tumbles more than 80 per cent in 2016 – including a huge drop this week after it misses a deadline to file its audited statements and confirms it is under SEC investigation.
PSG (TSX), $2.33 down $2.17 or 48.2% over week
BARRICK GOLD (DOG)
George Soros – commonly referred to as billionaire George Soros or just Mr. Bulging Money Sacks – isn’t one to develop a sentimental attachment to an investment. Months after acquiring a $263.7-million (U.S.) stake in Barrick Gold, his Soros Fund Management cashed in on surging gold prices by slashing his Barrick holdings by 94 per cent. Judging by the stock’s drop this week, plenty of other investors followed him out the door.
ABX (TSX), $26.48 down $1.72 or 6.1% over week
AVIGILON (DOG)
Smile! You’re on a 24/7, auto-panning, high-definition security camera! Shareholders of Avigilon – which makes video-surveillance systems and other security products – were in no mood to smile after the company posted second-quarter results well below expectations, sending the already beaten-down shares to their biggest loss on record. With Avigilon cutting prices on some products, investors could be scowling for a while.
AVO (TSX), $9.62 down $3.58 or 27.1% over week
DICK’S SPORTING GOODS (STAR)
And the gold medal for sporting-goods retailing goes to … Dick’s Sporting Goods. At a time when other bricks-and-mortar retailers are reporting lousy results, the Pennsylvania-based chain handily topped second-quarter earnings estimates and raised its full-year outlook, helped by the demise of its biggest rival, Sports Authority. After gaining more than 60 per cent this year, however, the stock looks like it could use a breather.
DKS (NYSE), $58.84 (U.S.) up $4.11 or 7.5% over week
TARGET (DOG)
You might say this stock was the Target of investors’ wrath. Citing a “difficult retail environment,” the discount chain posted its first quarterly drop in same-store sales in more than two years as earnings tumbled 9.7 per cent, prompting the company to cut its full-year outlook. With sales of electronics and food items particularly weak during the second quarter, Target’s stock got an arrow straight through its head.
TGT (NYSE), $70.12 (U.S.) down $5.69 or 7.5% over week