Last Week's Biggest Movers on Wall Street

Updated
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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.

Horsehead Holding (ZINC) -- Up 125 percent last week

Last week's biggest winner was Horsehead Holding, more than doubling after a larger rival announced that it would be scaling back its zinc production. Horsehead is a producer of zinc, zinc oxide and nickel-cadmium batteries. It's also a recycler of electric arc furnace dust and metals-bearing waste. Glencore's decision to slow its production sent zinc prices higher. That naturally benefits Horsehead, as it's able to command more money for its wares.

One company hating the big move is Wall Street firm Oppenheimer. The analysts there downgraded Horsehead a week earlier, missing out on the big pop.

Lumber Liquidators (LL) -- Up 34 percent last week

%VIRTUAL-WSSCourseInline-840%The hardwood flooring retailer has been walking the plank all year, but it caught a break last week after settling a case on illegally sourced wood from Eastern Russia and Myanmar. This was the scandal at Lumber Liquidators before this year's fallout on safety concerns of its Chinese-sourced laminates and putting it to rest helps. However, the stock continues to be one of this year's biggest disappointments, off 72 percent so far in 2015 even after last week's settlement-driven pop.

Customers still need some time before trusting Lumber Liquidators again for their flooring needs. The retailer did the right thing by eventually nixing all ties to Chinese laminates, but public opinion is usually slow to come around.

LGI Homes (LGIH) -- Up 21 percent last week

Some homebuilders are doing just fine these days. LGI Homes announced that it closed on 303 homes last month, up from just 200 a year earlier. It wraps up what has been a solid quarter for LGI Homes, with 934 homes handed over to new owners -- and 2,458 through the first nine months of 2015. That's 44 percent more than it did during the first nine months of 2014.

Container Store (TCS) -- Down 21 percent last week

The retailer of home storage solutions couldn't find a place to stash its latest quarterly report. Container Store shares slumped after falling short of Wall Street expectations. Sales inched marginally higher to $195.5 million and profitability was shaved by more than half to 6 cents a share. Analysts were holding out for net income of 7 cents a share on $197.7 million in sales.

Yum Brands (YUM) -- Down 14 percent last week

The parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut also came up short in its latest quarter. Yum Brands' profit of $1 a share was well below the $1.07 a share that analysts were targeting. It's a big disappointment for a fast-food giant that had blown through Wall Street forecasts with ease in the two previous quarters.

Shake Shack (SHAK) -- Down 12 percent last week

Finally, we have trendy burger-flipper Shake Shack getting smacked down after filing to sell 26.2 million shares. Secondary offerings are often dilutive, but that's not the case this time. All 26.2 million of the shares are being sold by existing investors. Shake Shack won't receive any of the proceeds, and the share count will remain the same. This still leaves investors' faith rattled given the sheer volume of insider bailing.

Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Horsehead Holding, Lumber Liquidators, and The Container Store Group. 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.

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