What’s better than momentum? Mo’ momentum. Let’s take a closer look at five of this past week’s biggest scorchers.
| Company | Aug. 30 | Weekly Gain |
|---|---|---|
| Zale Corporation (NYSE:ZLC) | $12.51 | 39% |
| K12 Inc. (NYSE:LRN) | $36.31 | 16% |
| salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) | $49.13 | 13% |
| Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX) | $6.55 | 11% |
| Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) | $55.21 | 10% |
Source: Barron’s.
Let’s start with Zale Corporation (NYSE:ZLC). The high-end jeweler soared after coming through with a strong quarter. There was an unexpectedly strong 5.6% boost to Zale Corporation (NYSE:ZLC)’s comps, and even though it did post a loss, it was a lot less than what the pros were targeting. This isn’t a seasonally potent period for jewelry sales, anyway, but the healthy pop in same-store sales is the stylish kind of bling that never goes out of fashion.
K12 Inc. (NYSE:LRN) moved to the head of the class after its better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Revenue climbed 19% to $203.1 million, fueled by a 21% spike in its managed public schools business. The provider of online education solutions earned $0.06 a share. Wall Street was banking on only half that much.
K12 came under fire last year with questions about the effectiveness of virtual classrooms at the grade level, but enrollments aren’t slowing. The company has seen its student base grow by 13% over the past year.
It was another week of new highs for salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), as the cloud-based enterprise-software giant served up a blowout quarter. salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) has been able to grow quickly as it offers businesses cost-effective software solutions. Revenue clocked in 31% higher in its latest quarter.
Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX) moved higher after receiving encouraging top-line data in a midstage trial for a treatment tackling acute myeloid leukemia. The treatment’s overall remission rate was positive in the study of 67 patients. The path to take a drug candidate to market is a long one, but Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX) has seven different clinical trials going on at the moment.
Finally, we have Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) proving that there are big gains in Big Data. Splunk reported a 50% revenue surge, well ahead of its earlier projections and Wall Street expectations. Its adjusted deficit of $0.01 a share was also better than analysts were forecasting.
A beat these days isn’t enough to move a stock higher, and that’s why it’s comforting to see Splunk raising its top-line guidance for the entire year. It now sees $275 million to $281 million in revenue, well ahead of its earlier $266 million to $274 million range.
The article 5 of Last Week’s Biggest Winners originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rick Munarriz.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends K12 and salesforce.com.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
