What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of March 15-19, 2021

By Kuldip K. Ambastha Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM), a home products retailer, had two strongly positive daily returns to end this past trading week: +18.5% (Thursday, March 18, 2021) and +8.2% (Friday, March 19, 2021). For the most recent fiscal quarter, the company exceeded consensus estimates related to earnings and revenues. All of its underlying brands …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of March 8-12, 2021

By Kuldip K. Ambastha Roblox Corporation (RBLX) went public in this past trading week through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Roblox is an online gaming and entertainment platform which brings people together over shared interests. The stock’s reference price for the direct listing was $45.00. On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of November 9-13, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha Quidel Corporation (QDEL) is an American company in the diagnostic healthcare product space. Its offerings are sold worldwide. On Friday, May 8, 2020, the company received emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 antigen test from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Emergency use authorization is a new public health testing category …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of July 13 – 17, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha During this past week, RTW Retailwinds (RTW) and Sur La Table both declared bankruptcy. RTW Retailwinds owns several fashion brands focused on women (most prominently New York & Company), while Sur La Table specializes in kitchenware products. RTW Retailwinds has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as has Sur La Table. …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of June 22 – 26, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to damage the private sector significantly. This week, GNC Holdings (GNC) and the parent company (CEC Entertainment) of Chuck E. Cheese plus Peter Piper Pizza both announced plans for bankruptcy. GNC Holdings will be using the bankruptcy process to close all of its health and nutrition …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of June 1 – 5, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The airline sector caught our attention this week, due to strong returns seen by various companies. In this piece, American Airlines Group (AAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU), Southwest Airlines (LUV), and United Airlines Holdings (UAL) will be focused on. On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, Southwest Airlines delivered …

What Caught Our Attention in the Investment World? – Week of May 4-8, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha During this week, both J.Crew and Neiman Marcus announced their respective bankruptcy filings. The retail industry has been on fragile ground for many years now, and the coronavirus pandemic has pushed both of these companies into bankruptcy. Due to the public health issues around the coronavirus, brick-and-mortar retailers have had to …

GDP Contraction, the Fed, and the Dow Jones – Week of April 27 – May 1, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The Dow Jones had three down and two up days this week. The coronavirus pandemic has continued to wreak havoc all around the world, and the American capital markets were affected. During 1Q2020, the USA’s GDP (gross domestic product) annualized contraction rate was 4.8%. This figure was announced on Wednesday, April …

Retail Sales and Factory Output – Week of April 13-17, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc all around the world. In the USA, retail sales declined by 8.7%, making for a record decline. The previous record was 3.9% in November 2008, during the Great Recession / global financial crisis (GFC) era. Clothing and accessories sales declined 50.5%. Food services and …

Jobs, Unemployment, and the Dow Jones – Week of March 30 – April 3, 2020

By Kuldip K. Ambastha The Dow Jones was up and down this week day by day, similar to what has been seen in the past few weeks. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its related public health concerns around the world, massive changes have been seen in the USA and these changes have been affecting …