Shares of Novellus Jump on Mid-Quarter Update; Joseph A. Bank Shares Slip
NEW YORK (AP) — Investors breathed a collective sigh of relief Wednesday after Furniture Brands International Inc., a St. Louis, Mo.-based residential furniture maker, backed its second-quarter guidance.
Shares of Furniture Brands were trading up 54 cents, or 2.6 percent, at $21.12 on the INET electronic exchange in the aftermarket trading session,
from Wednesday’s closing price of $20.58 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The St. Louis company said despite a “challenging” period in furniture retailing, its second-quarter sales may be “slightly positive” from last year.
Shares lost ground during the regular session, pulled down by weak forecast from La-Z-Boy Inc., prompting Raymond James to issue downgrades on it and several competitors. Shares of Monroe, Mich.-based La-Z-Boy, which plunged 13 percent to close at $12.25 on the NYSE, edged up 10 cents to $12.35 in the extended session.
Men’s apparel retailer Joseph A. Bank Clothiers Inc. wasn’t quite as lucky. The Hampstead, Md.-based seller of tailored suits and tuxedos saw shares sink in the after-hours session after the company said first-quarter income slipped nearly 12 percent, due to a variety of factors including increased administrative expenses and deteriorating gross margins.
The stock was trading down $4.63, or 12.5 percent, to $32.50 on INET, from Wednesday’s closing price of $37.13 on the Nasdaq.
Bearish investors also sold off shares of Finisar Corp., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based fiber-optic network equipment maker, even though the company said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit, up from a loss last year, and met Wall Street expectations for the period.
Finisar shares were trading at $4.15, down 32 cents, or 7.2 percent, on INET, from Wednesday’s closing price of $4.47 on the Nasdaq.
Novellus Systems Inc., a supplier of semiconductor-making equipment, shares jumped to $23.60, up 5.1 percent, or $1.15, on INET, from Wednesday’s closing price of $22.45 on the Nasdaq.
After the market close, the San Jose company said in a mid-quarter update that it expects gross margins for the second quarter to come in better than it had previously projected, and it expects earnings per share to come in well ahead of analysts expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial currently expect the company to report, on average, 28 cents per share, while the company is projecting earnings of 37 cents to 40 cents per share.
Tax preparer H&R Block Inc. shares got a small boost in after-hours trading after the company reported fourth-quarter results that were roughly inline with analysts’ expectations. The stock was trading on INET at $22.80, up 30 cents, from Wednesday’s closing price of $22.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
