Wall Street had a mixed session on Thursday, with many market participants playing a waiting game for further direction on the likely path of interest rates for the near future. Various officials at the Federal Reserve tried to challenge prevailing expectations for further rate cuts in the next few months. Yet many investors paid closer attention to earnings results and other company-specific news. GameStop (GME 1.07%), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), and Pure Storage (PSTG -4.55%) were among the top-performing stocks. Here's why they did so well.
GameStop gets a vote of confidence
Shares of GameStop jumped 9.5% after the video game retailer received positive comments from an unlikely source. Michael Burry, who's best known for his correct predictions about the subprime mortgage market in the mid-2000s, said that the company is in much better shape financially than its share price would suggest, pointing to sources of cash flow that investors aren't valuing fully. Burry's investment firm has purchased a substantial position in GameStop. The move comes just days after GameStop said it would lay off more than 120 workers in a restructuring move, and other Wall Street analysts aren't as optimistic about the retailer's prospects.
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Bed Bath & Beyond gets another retail boost
Bed Bath & Beyond saw its stock climb nearly 10%, building on positive momentum that started on Wednesday. Even though the home furnishings specialist isn't expected to announce its financial results until next month, the rash of positive earnings reports from the retail sector over the past week has shareholders thinking that the factors helping other companies are likely to support Bed Bath & Beyond's results as well. Some investors are more skeptical of the move higher, noting that the company has company-specific issues that could prevent it from joining in the retail rally. Nevertheless, shareholders overall seem more comfortable with prospects for a Bed Bath & Beyond turnaround than they were before this week.
Pure Storage gains on cloud strength
Finally, shares of Pure Storage rose almost 16%. The flash storage specialist reported a 28% jump in revenue in the second quarter compared to year-earlier levels, and it added 450 new customers during the period. Two of the company's cloud offerings are now oversubscribed, and Pure Storage authorized a buyback of up to $150 million in stock. Some aren't pleased at news that CFO Tim Riiters will leave the company later this year, and projections for the immediate future weren't quite as strong as hoped. Nevertheless, shareholders seem comfortable that the storage specialist's prospects still look bright, especially given cloud computing's continuing growth.
