Riding the Tape to Gains

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 4:45 pm EDT, Wednesday October 7, 2009

Stocks ended mixed with the market bouncing off its lows late in the day. The bulls remain in charge, and the solid earnings report from Alcoa (NYSE: AA - News) after the bell could help provide further momentum tomorrow. This is a market where investors just want to ride the tape higher.

The Uranium Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Denison Mines (AMEX: DNN - News) with a 8% gain.

The market ended split, with the Dow the lone loser, off -6 points to 9,726. The S&P rose 3 points to 1,058, while the Nasdaq climbed 7 points to 2,110. Oil dipped -$1.31 to $69.57 a barrel, while gold rose $4.70 to $1,044.40 an ounce.

In earnings news, warehouse club operator Costco (Nasdaq: COST - News) saw its fiscal Q4 profit sink -6% to $374 million, or 85 cents per share, down from $398 million, or 90 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts were looking for EPS of 77 cents. Revenue fell -3% to $22.38 billion, as same-store sales dipped -5%. For September, the company said same-store sales rose 1.0%. The stock rose 1.9%. Sixty-six Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

Elsewhere in the retail space, deep discount retailer Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO - News) announced a fiscal Q4 profit of $60.1 million, or 43 cents per share, up 13% from $53.2 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 3% to $1.81 billion, as same-store sales edged up 1%. The company guided for fiscal 2010 EPS of between $2.15-$2.35, while analysts were looking for EPS of $2.25. The stock slipped -1.0%.

For fiscal Q3 ended September 5th, fast-food chain Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM - News) earned $334 million, or 69 cents per share, up 18% from $282 million, or 58 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS came in at 70 cents, well ahead of the 58-cent Wall Street consensus. Revenue slipped -2% to $2.78 billion. The company boosted its full-year outlook to an adjusted profit of $2.14 a share from prior guidance of $2.10 a share. The stock dipped -1.4%.

Seed maker Monsanto (NYSE: MON - News) reported a fiscal Q4 loss of -$233 million, or -43 cents per share, versus a loss of -$172 million, or -31 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, adjusted EPS was a profit of 2 cents, a penny above analyst estimates. Revenue fell -8% to $1.88 billion. The stock fell -1.4%. Nearly 150 Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

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