Why Ford, GE and Three Other Stocks Are in Spotlight Today

Rite Aid Reports Earnings

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) shares have declined by over 1% after the company reported fiscal first quarter earnings of $0.01 per share on revenue of $8.18 billion, missing the estimates by $0.04 and $80 million, respectively. Same store sales rose by 0.4% year-over-year, while gross margin for the period inched lower by 490 basis points to 23.1%. The earnings might not matter much because Rite Aid and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) entered into a definitive agreement last year, under the terms of which Walgreens agreed to buy Rite Aid for $9 in cash per share. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year. At the end of March, 52 funds from our database amassed $960.22 million worth of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), which accounted for 11.30% of the float, versus 47 funds and $1.23 billion, respectively, a quarter earlier.

The Coca-Cola Co Revises Guidance

The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) is trending after the company updated its second-quarter guidance. Specifically, the company now expects the net impact of acquisitions, divestitures, and other structural items to be a 5 to 6 points headwind on net revenues and a 4 to 5 points headwind on income before taxes for the second quarter. The changes are mainly due to the completion of Coca-Cola European Partners plc, which occurred one month ahead of schedule. Overall, 62 funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) at the end of March, up by 11 funds from the previous quarter.

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