Stocks traded near their session highs in late-afternoon action
Thursday, scoring solid gains after being up just modestly earlier.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 1%, the Nasdaq rose 0.8% and
the S&P 500 gained 0.7%. Turnover continued to track down from
Wednesday's level for the NYSE, but turned higher for the Nasdaq.
Leading stocks generally were faring well. Within the IBD 50, more
than 40 stocks were up. As earnings season keeps rolling, a number of
leading stocks were making big moves on their quarterly reports.
Equinix (EQIX)
surged 12% in fast turnover. Late Wednesday, the provider of
high-performance data centers said first-quarter EPS increased 34% to 71
cents, crushing forecasts for 49 cents. Revenue grew 25% to $452
million. The stock has rebounded off its 10-week moving average to a new
high after making its first pullback to that level since a breakout in
January.
Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI)
jumped 7% in fast trade, clearing a 36.71 buy point from a square-box
base. The regional bank said quarterly EPS climbed 126% to 70 cents,
beating views, as sales rose 32% to $102 million. It also scored an
upgrade to buy from Sterne Agee.
SolarWinds (SWI)
was up 21% in huge turnover after gapping above its 50-day line to an
all-time high. The software maker said quarterly EPS grew 43% to 30
cents, topping forecasts and accelerating from a 21% jump in the fourth
quarter of 2011. Revenue, including acquisitions, jumped 39% to $59.7
million. SolarWinds has lifted off support at its 10-week moving
average.
O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY)
was up 5% in strong volume and carved a new high before giving up some
gains. The car parts retailer said quarterly EPS gained 37% to $1.14,
ahead of estimates, as revenue jumped 11% to $1.5 billion. Its guidance
was roughly in line. The stock hit a new high early Thursday, but has
given up gains. It's well-extended past its last buying range.
On the downside, Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS)
shed 8% despite topping views. Before the open, the skin care products
firm reported that its Q1 profit climbed 32% to 74 cents a share vs.
expectations of 70 cents. Revenue grew 17% to $462 million, also above
estimates. But Nu Skin sees Q2 earnings coming in at 79 cents to 83
cents a share, below expectations of 85 cents.
Celgene (CELG)
gapped below its 50-day moving average, losing 6% after reporting
disappointing Q1 results. The biotech earned $1.08 a share, up 30% from a
year ago. But it missed views by a nickel. Sales rose 13% to $1.27
billion, below expectations and the smallest increase in 11 quarters. It
was also the fourth straight quarter of sales growth deceleration.
In economic news, pending home sales jumped by a
much-better-than-expected 4% in March. Economists had expected a 0.5%
gain. New jobless claims declined by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted
388,000 last week, worse than forecasts for 375,000.
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