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.
Monday was an ugly day for the stock market, with major benchmarks posting their worst performance of the young new year amid fears about earnings season and the prospects for much less impressive gains for stocks in 2014. Yet even with a host of negative warnings from some major stocks, Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN), Fortuna Silver (FSM -0.22%), and Juniper Networks (JNPR -1.02%) were able to defy the Street's malaise and post big gains.
Source: Tax Credits, Flickr.
Dendreon rose 9% after giving a rare positive preliminary report on its fourth-quarter results this morning. The maker of prostate cancer treatment Provenge said overall product revenue for the quarter jumped more than 10% from the previous quarter, to $74.8 million, with substantial growth in its oncology segment and more modest gains for its urology business. Despite Dendreon's success in preserving cash and minimizing expenses, the true test for the stock looking ahead will be whether Provenge picks up more business and can push the company toward profitability. Without such a push, today's gains will likely be short-lived.
Fortuna Silver climbed 13% after the silver miner reported record production figures of 5.9 million silver-equivalent ounces from its two mines in Mexico and Peru. The company also said it expects 30% growth from its silver production and more than 50% growth in gold production for 2014, with all-in cash cost estimates of $17.14 per silver ounce. That's perilously close to the current price of silver, but the price represents about a 19% drop, helping Fortuna's fortunes going forward.
Juniper Networks posted a 7.5% gain after the networking company was targeted by hedge fund Elliott Management. Elliott, which has a 6% stake in Juniper, said it believes that its three-pronged approach to strengthening the business could send the stock to $35-$40 per share, about 40%-60% higher than current levels. Between cost-cutting, proposed stock buybacks, and realigning its business focus to de-emphasize certain business lines, Elliott's plan would involve major changes for Juniper, but perhaps the most interesting twist comes from the fact that Elliott offered to buy Juniper competitor Riverbed Technology (RVBD.DL) for $3.1 billion last week.
