Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Market Wrap-Up for November 12, 2009
Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PLA), Netlist, Inc. (NLST), and Horizon Financial Corp (HRZB) are three story stocks to watch as the market ended the day lower.
Featured Story Stocks
- Playboy Enterprises, Inc. [[PLA]] – Shares of the media entertainment and lifestyle company rose more than 40 percent after it went into talks to sell itself to Iconix Brand Group Inc., according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday that cited two people familiar with the situation. While the talks may not end in a deal, the report noted that the clothing brand retailer looked at the publisher’s finances.
- Netlist, Inc. [[NLST]] – Shares of the memory subsystem manufacturer rose more than 50 percent after it announced a new strategy in which it would shift its focus from memory modules used in circuit boards to a niche market for specialized controller chip memory modules for high-end servers. The company’s patented controller chip helps boost performance, cut down on power, and save on costs for running data centers.
- Horizon Financial Corp [[HRZB]] – Shares of the Horizon Bank holding company surged more than 80 percent after it reported a net loss of $35.1 million, or $2.93 per share. The bank continues to be in a perilous financial position, but some investors are betting that it will be able to successfully turn itself around. Until then, management will continue to work to deleverage their balance sheet and improve their liquidity position.
Market Summary
U.S. markets ended the day on a lower note following worse-than-expected retail data out of Wal-Mart Stores [[WMT]]. The Dow Jones moved down 94.17 points, the S&P 500 moved down 11.28 points, and the Nasdaq moved down 17.88 points. In particular, energy stocks moved sharply lower along with crude oil futures, as a result of the lower dollar.
Light crude oil contracts moved down $2.34 to $76.94 per barrel, gold prices moved down $8 to $1,106.50 per ounce, and silver prices moved down $0.28 to $17.27 per ounce. The broad declines in commodities were largely the result of a higher U.S. dollar that posted a much-needed recovery after hitting a 52-week low earlier.
Overseas markets moved predominantly lower as well. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 moved up 0.19% and France’s CAC 40 moved down 0.17%. In Asia, China’s Shanghai index moved down 0.07%, Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.68%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng moved 1.01% lower.
Written by David Breen
