The Equity Plunge Continues

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 5:02 pm EDT, Wednesday October 28, 2009

Stocks sold off on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq once again very weak. The market clearly seems in pullback mode, and with the end of mutual fund tax-loss season nearing, stocks could remain in the doldrums the rest of the week. Right now, good earnings aren't good enough to lift stocks, as the market continues to take a more critical eye. It seems in most cases, a company needs to report really outstanding results to help out its stock.

The Fitness and Dieting Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Nutri System (Nasdaq: NTRI - News) with a 12% gain.

Stocks stumbled on the day, led lower by the Nasdaq, which fell -2.7%, or -56 points, to 2,060. The Dow dropped -119 points to 9,763, while the S&P fell -21 points to 1,043. Oil slumped -$2.09 to $77.46 a barrel, while gold fell -$4.90 to $1,030.50 an ounce.

On the economic front, durable goods orders rose 1% in September, according to the Commerce Department, in line with economist expectations. In a separate report, the Commerce Department announced new home sales fell at a -3.6% annual rate last month to 402,000, down from a revised 417,000 in August. Economists were expecting an increase to 440,000.

In earnings news, oil major ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP - News) saw its Q3 profit tumble -71% to $1.5 billion, or $1.00 per share, down from year-ago earnings of $5.2 billion, or $3.39 per share. The results included $700 million in asset sales. Revenue plunged -42% to $41.3 billion. The stock fell -2.8%. Over 150 Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

Visa (NYSE: V - News) shares jumped 3.6% after the credit and debit card processor announced quarterly results ahead of the Wall Street consensus. For fiscal Q4, the company earned $514 million, or 69 cents per share, versus a loss of -$356 million, or -45 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted EPS checked in at 74 cents. Revenue rose 9% to $1.87 billion. The Wall Street consensus was for EPS of 72 cents on revenue of $1.78 billion. Looking forward, the company forecast fiscal 2010 EPS growth of over 20% on a sales increase of 11-15%. Seventy-seven Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

Shares of WellPoint (NYSE: WLP - News) slipped -0.9% despite the health insurer's Q3 earnings cruising past analyst estimates. For the quarter, the company earned $730.2 million, or $1.53 per share, down -11% from $820.7 million, or $1.60 per share, a year ago. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.78. Revenue rose 3% to $15.4 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of $1.37 on revenue of $15.15 billion. The company raised its adjusted EPS forecast to a range of $5.86-$5.92, up from prior guidance of $5.60-$5.66. Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA - News) shares rose 6.6% after the bakery-cafe announced Q3 results that topped analyst estimates and offered upbeat guidance. Net income climbed 38% to $18.9 million, or 61 cents per share, compared to a year-ago profit of $13.7 million, or 45 cents per share. Revenue rose 6% to $335.0 million, while same-store sales climbed 3.3% at company-owned restaurants and 2.5% at franchise-owned ones. Analysts were looking for EPS of 58 cents on sales of $333.8 million. The company guided for 2009 Q4 EPS of between 85-87 cents, and 2010 EPS of between $3.05-$3.15. Analysts were looking for EPS of 86 cents and $3.06, respectively.

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