Last week, investors got a peak at how well retailers are faring after companies from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) to Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA) reported their sales results for April. For the most part, April retail sales were better-than-expected, showing signs that their declines are slowing. Next week, earnings from Wal-Mart, Macy’s Inc (M), Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) and Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) will give investors a better idea of their outlooks for the near future.
Priceline.com (PCLN) is due with its first-quarter results in the extended-hours session Monday. The average analyst estimate in the Thomson Reuters survey is for $0.91 per share, up from $0.76 per share a year ago, on revenue of $440.8 million.
Investors going long should know that Priceline.com shows a tendency to widen its next day share movement following an evening earnings release, doing so for 15 of the past 21 quarters. In the near-term, the stock is also showing that pattern, widening its share move three times in the most recent four quarters. On February 18, the stock rallied 12.8% in after-hours trading and extended those gains the following regular session, ending up 16.6%.
Looking deeper into the performance data, longs may be interested to know that Priceline has seen a positive post-bell earnings-driven trade in 13 of the 21 quarters we’ve tracked, and in 10 of those upside evening moves the stock has followed that trade with a more aggressive positive run in the next day’s regular session.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI) is another stock that likes to widen its extended-hours move following earnings. On Wednesday, the high-end grocery chain is expected to report earnings of $0.18 per share, down from $0.29 a year ago, on revenue of $1.87 billion.
Whole Foods has developed a strong pattern of widening price moves between the sessions following its after-hours earnings-related events, extending its move after 14 of its past 19 earnings-related events. In the near-term, the pattern is mixed, however, with two narrowing and two widening events in the last four quarters. On February 18, the stock rallied 7.3% in after-hours trading after quarterly results beat the Street. The stock extended those gains the following regular session, ending up a whopping 37.2%.
This week, investors will continue to focus on the economic stimulus package and financial bailout plan, keeping earnings reports on the back of their minds. Aside from a few earnings reports of interest, the government will release the latest figures on inflation at the consumer and wholesale level. Inflation has been less of a concern as the price of oil, food, cars and clothes all sink. In fact, some economists are talking more about deflation and predict that the consumer price index will go negative this year.
