A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week.
Bombardier
BBD.B (TSX)
Jan. 17, 2013 close: $4.11
down 40 cents or 8.9% over week
Attention C Series passengers: Your flight will be delayed for approximately 18 months. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay and several others have created. However, we need more time for flight tests before the jets go into service in the second half of 2015. As a goodwill gesture, we are offering free peanuts to the first 1,000 passengers. Thank you for flying with Bombardier.
Best Buy
BBY (NYSE)
Jan. 17, 2013 close: $24.43 (U.S.)
down $13.38 or 35.4% over week
Best Buy turned out to be the Worst Buy investors could have made this week. After the electronics retailer chopped prices to compete with Amazon.com and Wal-Mart, holiday sales came in lower than last year, sending the stock to its biggest one-day loss in more than a decade. As doubts grow about Best Buy’s turnaround strategy, investors are shopping elsewhere.
Nu Skin Enterprises
NUS (NYSE)
Jan. 17, 2013 close: $79.47 (U.S.)
down $58.21 or 42.3% over week
Nu Skin sells anti-aging creams that promise a “younger, more radiant appearance.” But all investors got this week were more worry lines. In China – the company’s biggest market – the People’s Daily accused the direct-selling firm of operating an “illegal pyramid scheme” that uses techniques “akin to brainwashing.” With Chinese officials vowing to look into the allegations, investors are getting skinned alive.
GameStop
GME (NYSE)
Jan. 17, 2013 close: $37.65 (U.S.)
down $7.87 or 17.3% over week
Fun: Blasting some poor sucker’s head off in Call of Duty.
Not fun: Getting your own head blown off investing in GameStop. With sales of titles for older Xbox and PlayStation systems plunging amid the transition to new consoles, the video game retailer cut its fourth-quarter guidance. Adding to the gloom, more people are downloading cheaper mobile games, raising questions about GameStop’s bricks-and-mortar business model. Blockbuster, anyone?
SolarCity
SCTY (Nasdaq)
Jan. 17, 2013 close: $75.11 (U.S.)
up $8.31 or 12.4% over week
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, as John Denver said. But I prefer sunshine in my wallet. Shareholders of SolarCity – a rooftop solar-panel leasing company backed by Leon Musk of PayPal and Tesla Motors fame – were happy indeed after Deutsche Bank rated the stock a “buy.” With solar panel prices dropping, the business has a bright future, Deutsche Bank predicts.