Stocks Close Ahead for Fourth Straight Day

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 4:53 pm EDT, Wednesday September 9, 2009

After starting the month on a sour note, the market has traded higher for four straight September sessions. In what is typically a rocky month for the stock market it appears that the bulls are still in charge, though the near-term outlook for equities remains shaky.

The Cosmetic Laser Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Candela Corp (Nasdaq: CLZR - News) with a 43% gain.

Stocks climbed for the 4th straight day, led by the Nasdaq, which rose 23 points, or 1.1%, to 2,060. The S&P added 8 points to 1,033, while the Dow climbed 50 points to 9,547 points. Oil edged up 21 cents to $71.31 a barrel, while gold slipped -$2.70 to $997.10 an ounce.

On the economic front, the release of the Fed's Beige Book indicated that all but one of the Fed's 12 regions saw economic conditions stabilize, with the one exeption being St Louis, which saw the pace of economic decline moderating. Overall most of the Fed Regions were "cautiously positive" on the economy's outlook.

In earnings news, shares of Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY - News) tumbled -5.0% after the auto parts retailer's Q2 revenue came up short of estimates. For the period ended August 1st, the company earned $7.7 million, or 15 cents per share, up 12% from $5.5 million, or 10 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell -2% to $488.9 million, as same-store sales dipped -6%. Analysts were looking for EPS of 14 cents on sales of $502.5 million. Four Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV - News) shares dipped -7.8% after the unmanned military jet maker announced a surprising fiscal Q1 loss. For the quarter ended August 1st, the company lost -$3.6 million, or -17 cents per share, versus a year-ago profit of $4.8 million, or 22 cents per share. Revenue plunged -29% to $37.9 million. The consensus was for EPS of 12 cents on sales of $51.9 million.

Shares of Casey's General Stores (Nasdaq: CASY - News) rose 8.4% after the Midwest convenience store operator's fiscal Q1 EPS easily topped the Wall Street consensus. For the quarter, the company posted a profit of $44.2 million, or 87 cents per share, up from $28.8 million, or 57 cents per share, last year. Analysts were looking for EPS of 60 cents. Revenue dropped -24% to $1.19 billion, in line with estimates.

Hi-Tech Pharmacal (Nasdaq: HITK - News) shares soared 24.1% after the generic drugmaker saw its profits rise fivefold. For fiscal Q1, the company recorded net income of $8.7 million, or 73 cents per share, up from $1.5 million, or 13 cents per share, a year ago. Sales more than doubled to $43.5 million from $15.8 million. A single analyst was looking for EPS of 27 cents on revenue of $31.6 million. One Pro investor counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

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