Amgen [AMGN] - Last Close: $278.39
Amgen reported its Q1 earnings this morning, and the results have topped Wall Street’s expectations.
AMGN reported EPS of $3.96 per diluted share against the $3.89 consensus, and revenues grew 21% YoY to $7.45 billion, in line with the Street’s estimate.
The company also adjusted its full-year guidance in light of the strong quarter.
AMGN is up 12.8% on roughly 200K shares traded.
My Take: AMGN sold off in early February and it’s been struggling ever since. However, its recent progress could indicate that the drawdown has bottomed out.
El Pollo Loco [LOCO] - Last Close: $8.60
Restaurant franchise El Pollo Loco posted a double-line beat on its Q1 financial report in Thursday’s after-market, and shares are breaking out as a result.
LOCO reported EPS of $0.22 against the $0.14 consensus. Revenues of $116.153 million also topped analysts’ $111.083 million estimate.
LOCO is up 21.1%, but volume is very low at less than 100K shares traded.
My Take: LOCO had a good quarter, but this is a low-volume move so approach with caution.
Helius Medical [HSDT] - Last Close: $2.66
This micro-flat healthcare supplies stock is surging in a move that has many of the characteristics typically associated with a short squeeze.
HSDT suffered a 26.1% decline on Thursday, and it’s now down 61.6% over the past month.
As of April 15th, HSDT shows a short percentage of 8.2%. Given the stocks recent sell-off, the number has likely increased over the past two weeks.
HSDT is leading the premarket with a 53.0% gain on roughly 5 million shares traded.
My Take: It appears HSDT’s pullback may have been overdone, but I would like to see some more consistent increases in volume before I jump into this one.
WideOpenWest [WOW] - Last Close: $3.79
This high-speed internet provider has received a preliminary acquisition proposal from entities associated with Crestview.
Crestview’s group of investors have proposed to acquire all shares they don’t already own for $4.80 apiece in cash, a 26% premium to WOW’s last close.
WideOpenWest’s board will form a committee to evaluate the proposal.
WOW is up 22.3% on 400K shares traded.
My Take: WOW has already closed the gap between its last close and this acquisition offer, so all I see in this trade is downside risk at this point.
