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.
Stock investors got rewarded again for their risk tolerance Wednesday as major market benchmarks including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials rose to new all-time record highs. Even amid the generally bullish sentiment, RealD (NYSE: RLD), Crocs (CROX +3.54%), and Sina (SINA +0.00%) stood out because of their impressive gains. Let's look more closely at these stocks to see why they soared today.
RealD ended the day up 25% as the company reported a much narrower quarterly loss than investors had expected. 3-D films have turned out not to be quite the growth opportunity that the company had hoped, but RealD is adjusting to the market, cutting back on theater installations in order to focus more on the consumer-electronics market and to preserve free cash flow for other uses. RealD still faces a challenge in getting revenue to grow, but a more viable strategy is the first step forward toward the company's long-term success.
Crocs climbed almost 10% amid speculation that a private equity firm might buy out the shoemaker. The stock has been all over the map over the past 10 years, initially soaring as the company's namesake shoes became a huge fad, then crashing as its hyper-growth phase ended. Crocs did a good job of rebounding by diversifying its exposure beyond a single product, but lately, sluggish sales have sent shares downward again. If early reports don't lead to a buyout, Crocs could give up these gains in the long run.
Chinese Internet company Sina jumped 11% as it reported earnings up 157% on record revenue. Sina's best-known product is its Weibo microblogging service, which is the largest in the nation and saw a 125% jump in advertising revenue. A partnership with Alibaba is paying off well for both companies, with Alibaba having taken an 18% stake in Sina's Weibo unit. With intentions to build a bigger presence in the mobile space, Sina looks poised to take advantage of the increasing popularity of smartphones in China.
