SPTN, KR, SVU, WINN, ATR, PRX, STSA Popular Stocks
U.S. stocks were mixed Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.20% to 10036. The S&P 500 jumped 0.19% to 1094 but the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.07% to 2171.
Spartan Stores Inc.’s (NASDAQ:SPTN, $14.36, -$0.76, -5.04%) fiscal second-quarter profit slid 1.9% as falling sales offset improved margins. Net sales declined 2.7% on a 5.1% decrease in same-store sales. Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR, $23.71, +$0.87, 3.81%), Supervalu Inc. (NYSE:SVU, $16.12, +$0.50, 3.20%) and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:WINN, $13.68, +$0.62, 4.75%) also traded higher on the news.
AptarGroup Inc. (NYSE:ATR, $37.65, -$1.24, -3.19%) reported third-quarter results ahead of analysts’ expectations. The maker of pump dispensers for perfumes, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, said its sales and profits for the quarter improved thanks to market stabilization. It also said weakness in the U.S. and Europe was offset by demand from South America and Asia, where it saw demand in the personal care market. The company also forecast the top end of its fourth-quarter guidance above analysts’ estimates, projecting earnings of 43 cents to 48 cents share.
Par Pharmaceutical Cos. (NYSE:PRX, $23.38, +$1.40, 6.37%) was raised to overweight from equalweight by Barclays Capital. The firm said in a note to clients that “despite admittedly strong YTD performance, we see sufficiently significant upside in the stock.” It added that it views the unexpected approval or launch of generic Catapres, which is used to treat hypertension, in August as a “thesis changer.”
A day after announcing co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Harold B. Gilkey is leaving the company, struggling Sterling Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:STSA, $1.32, -$0.34, -20.48%) said early Thursday it has agreed to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-issued cease and desist order. Under the agreement with the FDIC and the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, Spokane, Wash.-based Sterling Financial’s subsidiary bank Sterling Savings Bank will have to maintain a Tier 1 capital ratio of not less than 10% by Dec. 15, meaning the bank will have to raise more capital and also cut down on its non-performing assets.
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