Thursday was another up and down day for the stock market. Major market benchmarks spent time on both sides of the unchanged mark as investors tried to figure out whether a long-awaited correction is finally imminent or whether the buy-the-dips strategy that has worked so well for years will once again prevail. Yet even amid turbulence in the broader indexes, some stocks managed to post solid gains. Ferrari (RACE 3.53%), Nokia (NOK -0.27%), and Pandora Media (P) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
Ferrari races ahead
Shares of Ferrari picked up 7% after the automaker reported strong results for the full 2017 fiscal year. The company said it shipped almost 8,400 vehicles, up 5% from year-earlier levels, and net revenue jumped 10% in local currency terms, helping to send adjusted net income higher by more than a quarter. Ferrari saw a massive uptick in demand for its 12-cylinder vehicle models, including the GTC4Lusso, 812 Superfast, and LaFerrari Aperta. As the economy keeps rebounding worldwide, Ferrari can expect more high-end interest from luxury buyers looking to satisfy pent-up demand.
Image source: Ferrari.
Nokia connects
Nokia stock jumped 12% in the wake of favorable results in the company's fourth-quarter financial report. Revenue was relatively flat from year-earlier results, but an unexpected rise in adjusted earnings made investors happy. Strong results from the Nokia Technologies intellectual property segment stemmed from unusual gains from the settlement of a dispute with one licensee and a new deal with another. Once 5G networks become the norm, Nokia hopes to benefit from another product-cycle related surge in demand, and that could help lift shares even further in the future.
Pandora makes some cuts
Finally, shares of Pandora Media climbed 7%. The streaming music service provider announced that it would cut about 5% of its workforce as part of a broader initiative to contain cost increases in order to be more competitive in its increasingly crowded industry. The organizational restructuring should simplify Pandora's operations and save about $45 million on an annual basis, which Pandora intends to reinvest toward growth in ad tech, non-music content, device integration, and marketing technology efforts. Pandora will also expand its presence in Atlanta at the expense of scaling back in Oakland, saying that Atlanta's costs are less expensive. Some believe the move could set the stage for a buyout of Pandora, but regardless, shareholders seem pleased with the decision.
