The stock market mostly bounced higher on Wednesday following losses earlier in the week, with the Nasdaq Composite vaulting to new highs on strength in technology stocks. Investors have gravitated toward the highest-growth areas of the market, leaving slower-growing value stocks behind in many cases. Good news from several individual companies also helped lift their share prices. Winnebago Industries (WGO 1.06%), Synaptics (SYNA +0.23%), and Tesaro (NASDAQ: TSRO) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.
Winnebago hits the gas
Shares of Winnebago Industries jumped 15% after the recreational vehicle specialist announced its fiscal third-quarter financial results. Winnebago said that sales climbed to record levels during the quarter, helping earnings jump by two-thirds from the year-ago period. As CEO Michael Happe noted, "New product performance, our evolving portfolio mix, and agility in managing cost pressures all contributed nicely to our third quarter results." The only potential headwind down the road could come from inflationary pressure in obtaining the raw materials necessary to manufacture its RVs, but for the most part, Winnebago is confident that it can use cost-cutting measures elsewhere to insulate its bottom line from any potential negative impact.
Image source: Winnebago.
Synaptics climbs on takeover talk
Synaptics stock gained 11.5% after the touch-screen specialist confirmed that it's in talks with potential acquirer Dialog Semiconductor. Synaptics had been in the news a couple weeks ago due to early speculation about a possible deal between it and Dialog, but neither company had commented at that time. Synaptics' comments were minimal and made no guarantees that the two parties will reach any final agreement about an acquisition. With challenges in its fundamental business, the best possible outcome for Synaptics shareholders might be to accept Dialog's terms -- assuming that they turn out to be attractive enough.
Could Tesaro be next?
Finally, shares of Tesaro soared 16%. The cancer-drug company has been a target of speculation regarding a possible acquisition bid for a while now, as many believe that treatments like Varubi to fight nausea related to chemotherapy and Zejula for ovarian cancer could grow into much larger moneymakers for Tesaro. Roche has been named in reports as a possible buyer, but the companies haven't confirmed any discussions at this point. Unlike Synaptics, Tesaro not only has a solid current business but also has extremely promising prospects for the future. That makes a buyout bid less critical for the drugmaker.
