A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
Dow Jones Industrial Average (STAR)
Making Sense of the Stock Market, Chapter 1: Positive economic news is often good for the stock market, because it suggests profits will rise. Negative economic news, on the other hand, is often bad for stocks – unless the negative news is actually positive, as was the case with this week’s disappointing U.S. employment growth of just 75,000 jobs in May. The report was so bad, it was good, because it might prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which explains why the Dow rallied. And that’s good, unless you’re a short-seller, in which case it was bad.
Stitch Fix (STAR)
Not sure if plaid pants go with a checkered blazer? How about dress shoes, shorts and a hoodie? The folks at Stitch Fix are here to help clueless dressers like you. Shares of the online company – which selects and delivers outfits based on customers’ style preferences and budget – rose after quarterly revenue beat estimates and the number of active users jumped 17 per cent from a year earlier to 3.1 million. I like my idea better: I still let my mommy dress me.
Michaels (DOG)
Arts and crafts hazards: 1) Burning yourself with a hot glue gun; 2) Dropping a box of beads on the floor, causing you to slip and hit your head; 3) Investing in arts and crafts retailer Michaels. The stock unravelled like a ball of yarn after same-store sales fell 2.9 per cent in the first quarter – more than twice the 1.4-per-cent decline analysts had expected – and Michaels cut its full-year earnings outlook. With the stock down by roughly two-thirds since the start of 2018, investors are so poor they have to make their crafts out of dryer lint.
Cronos Group (STAR)
Marijuana often makes people giddy. Take Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Christopher Carey. Not only did Mr. Carey upgrade marijuana producer Cronos Group by two notches to buy from underperform, he also boosted his price target on the shares all the way to $27 from $17, making him the most bullish analyst on the street. Seems Mr. Carey was reacting to Cronos CEO Mike Gorenstein’s statement that the company intends to be “aggressive” in its launch of cannabidiol (CBD) in the U.S. market. Judging by the surging share price, investors are feeling giddy, too.
Shopify (STAR)
The Stanley Cup final isn’t the only place you’ll find a hockey stick. Just look at Shopify’s stock chart: The share price of the e-commerce platform has more than doubled in 2019 as investors dream about the vast amounts of money the company will make by expanding abroad and signing up more online merchants. Even as revenue grew 50 per cent in the first quarter, however, Shopify still expects an operating loss of US$130-million to US$140-million for the full year. So the company isn’t exactly putting the puck in the net just yet.
John Heinzl