Wall Street This Week: HubSpot's IPO, Darden's Troubles
From one of last year's hottest initial public offerings checking in with new quarterly financials after cooling off in 2014 to a new IPO trying its luck on the New York Stock Exchange, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street.
Monday -- Contain Your Excitement
The new trading week kicks off with The Container Store (TCS) reporting quarterly results. Things haven't gone well for the housewares retailer since shortly after it went public at $18 a share last November.
It was a hot debut, with the retailer's stock peaking at $47 a few weeks later, but it has gone on to shed more than half of its value since then. Earnings have fallen short of expectations in the past two quarters, and that's not a welcome trend heading into Monday afternoon's report.
Tuesday -- Drive Through
International Speedway (ISCA) follows with its latest financials on Tuesday morning. The motorsports promoter behind Daytona, Talladega and other storied race tracks is expected to post a profit barely above break-even, but it has managed to exceed analyst estimates in three of the past four quarters. Those same pros see a 7 percent uptick in revenue.
Wednesday -- Seed Money
Everyone seems to have an opinion on Monsanto (MON). Bulls will argue that modified seed traits that create more bountiful harvests are tackling world hunger, making farming a viable business. Bears argue that GMOs don't belong in our food supply, potentially causing long-term health risks.
It's against this controversial backdrop that Monsanto reports quarterly results on Wednesday. This is a seasonal business, as you can probably imagine, and this is Monsanto's historically weakest quarter.
Thursday -- Hub and Spoke
%VIRTUAL-WSSCourseInline-630%There should be a new member of the 2014 IPO class when HubSpot begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HUBS. The provider of a cloud-based marketing and sales software platform should begin trading on Thursday shortly after the market opens.
HubSpot has been posting operating losses for years, but the IPO should still appeal to growth stock investors willing to forgive today's red ink for the sake of heady growth. HubSpot saw its revenue soar 50 percent last year to $77.6 million.
Friday -- Olive Branch
One of the more interesting annual shareholder meetings of 2014 will take place on Friday morning, when Darden Restaurants (DRI) hosts its yearly event. An activist investor has taken issue with Darden's sloppy performance at Olive Garden and the unloading of Red Lobster at what it deems a fire-sale price.
Starboard Value has offered up a competing slate of nominees to reshape the Darden board, and you know that it's going to be close since Darden has been pushing out news releases in recent days to encourage investors to vote for their hand-picked board members.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends International Speedway and The Container Store Group and owns shares of The Container Store Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. To read about our favorite high-yielding dividend stocks for any investor, check out our free report.
