Shares of natural goods grocer, Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: WFMI)were up as much as 13 percent from Wednesday closing price in morning trading on Thursday. Shares touched a new 52-week high of $46.80 on nearly triple the company’s three-month average trading volume in mid-day trading on Wednesday. Net income for the fourth quarter ended September 26 increased to to $57.5 million, or 33 cents a share, from $28.7 million, or 20 cents a share a year earlier. Analysts, on average were expecting EPS of 28 cents per share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company boosted its fiscal 2011 profit estimates to as much as $1.71 a share, from a previous high of $1.64. Whole Foods’ fourth quarter sales rose 15 percent to $2.1 billion, from $1.8 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $2.07 billion, according to Bloomberg. “We believe the company has strong growth prospects as market share gains combine with favorable industry trends and a better higher-end consumer to drive sales,” he said, noting the company is also controlling its costs, which all helps the bottom line,” said Jefferies & Co. analyst Scott Mushkin in a note to clients on Thursday. Mushkin raised his price target to $47, from $45, and maintained his fiscal 2011 EPS estimate of $1.72. Shares of WFMI are up about 28 percent over the past three months.
Shares of Internet consumer products and services provider, United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNTD) soared more than 18 percent from Wednesday’s closing price in morning trading on Thursday, reaching an intraday high of $7.28 per share, at mid-day. United Online announced consolidated third quarter revenues were $193.5 million, down 10 percent form a year earlier. GAAP diluted net income per common share was 13 cents, down from 18 cents a year earlier. Adjusted diluted net income per common share was $0.25, versus $0.33 in the year-ago quarter. During the quarter, United Online repurchased 2.2 million common shares in open market transactions during the quarter for $11.0 million, resulting in an average cost of $5.07 per share. The company also paid $9.3 million in cash dividends during the quarter. The company expects fourth quarter revenue to range between $223 million and $229 million. The Woodland Hills-based company operates in three segments: FTD, Classmates Media, and Communications. The FTD segment markets flowers and specialty gift items. Classmates Media offers online social networking services under the Classmates brand name; and online loyalty marketing services under the MyPoints name. It also provides international social networking services under the StayFriends and Trombi names. The Communications segment offers dial-up Internet access under the NetZero and Juno brand names, and provides services including broadband, email, Internet security, and Web hosting. Shares of United Online, Inc. are up about 33 percent over the past three months.
Shares of software maker Smith Micro, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMSI) were up almost 14 percent in mid-day trading on Thursday, and touched a new 52-week high of $14.17 per share, after the company reported record third quarter revenue of $34.0 million, up 22 percent increase over $27.8 million reported in the third quarter of last year. GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2010 increased to $3.1 million or 9 cents per diluted share, up from $2.0 million, or 6 cents per diluted share a year ago. Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2010 increased to $7.9 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, compared to $6.6 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, reported in the same quarter a year ago. “We’ve executed on three solid quarters in 2010 with record revenue and strong profitability and we remain comfortable with our guidance with annual revenue’s landing within the original range of $125 million to $135 million,” said Smith Micro’s CEO, Bill Smith in an earnings call. Shares of Smith Micro are up 58 percent over the past three months.
