Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
The major indexes barely even flinched today, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.40%) finished today's trading session up 0.05%, the S&P 500 fell 0.13%, and the Nasdaq rose just 0.07%. The moves come on a rather quiet day in terms of economic data, but what was released wasn't very impressive. Pending home sales for October declined 0.6% while economists were expecting a 1.3% increase, and the Dallas Federal Reserve reported that business activity came in at 1.9, while many expected that number to hit 5.0.
However, a number of individual companies had a lot to report and kept things interesting for investors.
The once dominant but now struggling cell-phone manufacturer BlackBerry (BB 1.80%) announced that it was removing a number of top managers from their positions. Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka is being replaced and will remain on the board during a transitional period, while Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear and Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben will no longer be with the company. Ex-CEO Thorsten Heins personally picked Tear and Boulben, so it makes sense that they're being removed now that Heins himself is no longer with the company. Interim CEO John Chen is making the changes he feels is needed, and one of the easiest ways to mix things up is to change top management. Shares of BlackBerry closed the day up 0.16%.
Shares of the also once-dominant and now struggling retailer Sears Holdings (SHLDQ) popped higher by more than 10% today. The move came after rumors began spreading that the company was exploring options to sell its Canadian Sears locations. The rumor was that the sale would help the retailer raise capital during a time when it's burning through cash and losing money every quarter. A company spokesperson released a statement denying the claim, but shares still ended the session up 7.27%, which may be a sign to management that investors want them to sell those northern locations.
On a more somber note, shares of security system provider ADT (NYSE: ADT) fell 5.79% today, after the company announced that it will repurchase 10.24 million shares from hedge fund Corvex Management. The agreed-upon amount was Friday's closing price of $44.01 per share. While Corvex currently owns 11.2 million shares of ADT, this is a massive cut to its holding amount and comes despite ADT's reporting of earnings growth in recent quarters as its customer base grows and the housing industry becomes healthier. Corvex founder Keith Mieister will resign from the ADT board now that it will no longer own 5.3% of the outstanding shares. While current shareholders should be happy the company agreed to buy back those shares, it does seem odd that such a large investor would dump nearly its entire holding. And that's probably why investors pushed the price lower today.
