Shares of PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) fell about 3.30% by afternoon trade. The warehouse club operator late on Wednesday said that fiscal third quarter net income rose 18%, aided by higher sales; nevertheless, adjusted earnings fell short of analysts’ estimation. Amid macroeconomic uncertainty, more and more U.S. consumers have been buying goods of daily needs at discounted prices at PriceSmart, which is reflected by consistent double digit quarterly revenue growth in last three years.
The warehouse reported that same-store-sales in June jumped 9.7% while total sales in the same period climbed 14% to $188.9 million. For the quarter ended May 31, the warehouse club chain posted net income of $18.5 million or 61 cents a share up from a profit of $15.7 million or 52 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter. Revenue climbed 13% to $571.7 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $569 million.
Shares of D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) rallied about 6.85% by afternoon trade. The Homebuilder’s stock received tremendous boost after the Federal Reserve Chairman said on Wednesday that the bank intends to keep its accommodating policy intact for the time being. Separately, a housing market report on Thursday said that fewer number of homes were subject to foreclosures in June, underpinning the fact that the U.S. housing market has seen its worst. The report showed that lender instigated foreclosures process on 57,286 homes in June, which was the lowest number recorded in last seven and half years.
Shares of Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) climbed about 4.30% by afternoon trade. The for profit education services provider said on its SEC filing on Wednesday that the University of Phoenix’s accreditation was reaffirmed by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for the next 10 years. However, the University was placed under the “Notice” for next two years. By fall of 2014, University of Phoenix is required to submit a report, clearing showing corrective measures prescribed by the HLC to retain its accreditation. There were concerns that the HLC might strip the University of Phoenix from its accreditation. HLC was not satisfied with its governance.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) climbed about 11.40% by afternoon trade. Bobby Burleson, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold” and raised the price target to $5.00 from $3.00
“We are upgrading shares of AMD to BUY from Hold ahead of what we expect to be strong performance versus PC-centric names as the company ramps its embedded business and begins to transition away from a near-exclusive reliance on PC demand,” said Burleson in a research report. Separately, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to “buy” from “underperform” and set a price target of $6.00.
Shares of Rockwell Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: RMTI) rallied about 22% by afternoon trade. The pharmaceutical company said on Thursday that late stage clinical study on a treatment meant for iron deficiency in chronic kidney disease showed positive results.
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