Last Week's Biggest Stock Movers on Wall Street
Plenty of stocks go up and down in any given week. The gainers inspire us to keep investing. The decliners keep greed in check while reminding us about the risks of the equity markets.
Let's go over some of last week's best and worst performers.
Zulily (ZU) -- Up 42 percent last week
One of the market's biggest winners was Zulily, which soared after agreeing to be acquired by QVC's parent company. It's been a wild ride for investors. Zulily went public at $22 in late 2013, trading as high as $73.50 just three months later. Investors were impressed by the online retailer's growth potential, but sentiment turned when sales growth began to decelerate and profitability was meager.
The stock had plunged all the way into the single digits by May of this year, and that's probably around the time that QVC began sniffing around before making a cash-and-stock offer that was initially valued at $2.4 billion.
New York & Co. (NWY) -- Up 26 percent last week
One retailer moving higher during an otherwise ugly week was New York & Co., taking flight after posting a blowout quarter. Comparable-store sales rose nearly 4 percent relative to a year earlier, positioning the apparel retailer nicely for the back-to-school shopping season.
New York & Co. landed at the high end of its earlier guidance, and its new outlook for the current period calls for more improvement in comps and operating results.
Sprint (S) -- Up 13 percent last week
%VIRTUAL-WSSCourseInline-538%The country's third-largest wireless carrier moved higher after introducing the iPhone Forever plan. The plan lets customers pay just $22 a month for the entry-level iPhone with the ability to upgrade whenever they want the latest model.
It's a sweet deal that the major carriers are unlikely to match. It should attract those on rival services who want the low monthly rate with access to the shiniest new iPhone release.
Amira Nature Foods (ANFI) -- Down 60 percent last week
The New York Stock Exchange's biggest sinker was Amira Nature Foods. The distributor of basmati rice got off to a bad start when BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock on Tuesday, but things got substantially worse when it announced a day later that it was replacing its accounting firm with a new independent auditor.
Prescience Point Research Group called into question its past three years of financial statements earlier this year. Amira is standing by its numbers, but the replacement of its bean counters (or grain counters, if you will) is naturally going to alarm some investors. The stock should bounce back if the malfeasance accusations don't hold up.
The Fresh Market (TFM) -- Down 34 percent last week
If you're going to put up a bad quarter, doing so during the market's worst week in four years is only going to make things worse. The Fresh Market got tossed like bad produce after posting unflattering financials. The upscale grocer saw comparable-store sales decline for the quarter, and its adjusted profit of 36 cents a share -- flat with the prior year's showing -- fell short of analyst expectations.
This has generally been a lousy year for premium supermarket chains. If you're selling high-end fare like the Fresh Market does, or selling organics, your stock is probably trading substantially lower in 2015.
Ambarella (AMBA) -- Down 17 percent last week
Finally, we have video-chip maker Ambarella stumbling on reports that it will soon face competition in the promising drone camera market. Re/code reported that Qualcomm (QCOM) is eyeing the video-chip market for airborne cameras on drones, leading some to worry that the fat margins that Ambarella has scored in recent years as the provider of choice for leading wearable and surveillance cameras will be challenged in the future.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares of Ambarella and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Ambarella and Qualcomm. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Check out our free report on one great stock to buy for 2015 and beyond.
