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.
With February having opened on a gloomy note yesterday, today's more modest gains for the stock market gave some investors hope that they might avoid the full brunt of an official 10% correction for major market benchmarks. Yet even though the broad market climbed today, several stocks missed out on the rebound, as J.C. Penney (JCPN.Q), Dun & Bradstreet (DNB), and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO -0.06%) all posted substantial losses on the day.
J.C. Penney (JCP) dropped 11% as the retailer finally filled in some more details from its holiday quarter. Rising same-store sales of 2% for the quarter marked the first time since mid-2011 that the beleaguered retailer managed to post positive comps, but given the huge plunge in last year's sales numbers, the tepid rebound wasn't enough to sustain share-price gains early in the trading day. Investors will have to wait another three weeks before getting the full story behind J.C. Penney's fourth quarter.
Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) fell more than 10% after the commercial information provider reported earnings last night that fell short of what investors had expected. The company said that revenue rose 4% for the quarter, helping to maintain adjusted operating income at flat levels and boosting adjusted earnings per share by 16%. But substantial impairment charges sent GAAP operating income down 15% year-over-year and also resulted in falling earnings on a GAAP basis. Yet even a 10% jump in its dividend wasn't enough to help the stock rise, and investors will have to hope that today's announcement of changes to the company's organizational structure will result in stronger growth ahead.
Take-Two (TTWO) declined almost 10%, following a downgrade from analysts at Wedbush Securities in response to the company's disappointing earnings report last night. Despite enjoying a solid holiday quarter, Take-Two said that it would earn $0 to $0.10 per share in the current quarter, which was much less than investors had expected. Shareholders are worried that blockbuster sales from a holiday season marked by new console releases will prove to be just a short-lived bump to revenue, and Take-Two needs to demonstrate its staying power if it wants to keep investors happy.