Top Performing Stocks for the Week Ended Oct 24
The five best performing stocks on the Zacks #1 Rank List last week were: Matrix Service Company (MTRX - Snapshot Report), Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT - Snapshot Report), Genzyme (GENZ - Analyst Report), Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWR - Snapshot Report) and Knoll, Inc. (KNL - Snapshot Report).
MTRX got hammered after its fiscal first quarter report earlier this month, due to a decline in backlog. However, the reaction may have been overblown as the company's overall performance was solid. Earnings estimates of 36 cents advanced by more than 50% from last year’s 23 cents, while also topping the consensus by 20%. Revenue jumped by almost 16% to $186.7 million.
Earnings estimates on Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT - Snapshot Report) are moving sharply higher for this year, gaining 67% in 2 months and 22.3% in just the past 7 days. The company, which was featured as a Momentum Stock of the Day at Zacks.com on Oct 24, became a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank last week as shares rose 6.6%.
ALGT, which is focused on linking travelers in small cities to world-class leisure destinations, announced a solid third quarter on Oct 21. The company earned 24 cents per share on revenue of $116.9 million. Its EPS result marked a positive surprise of more than 33% over the consensus while revenue advanced 35% year over year. ALGT stated that the recent moderation in the price of oil, if it continues, bodes well for the rest of 2008 and 2009.
Genzyme (GENZ - Analyst Report) experienced double-digit growth in every business unit during its third quarter, helping revenue to rise 21% to $1.16 billion from $960.2 million last year. Furthermore, earnings per share, excluding items, surpassed the consensus. Shares of this biotech company advanced 6.5% last week.
Over the past 7 days, earnings estimates for this year are up 1.5%. Analysts currently expect a 20% growth in profit for next year over this year. GENZ stated that its geographic diversification, cash position and market-leading products will allow it to sustain growth through the current environment and over the longer term.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWR - Snapshot Report) will report its third-quarter results next week. In its second quarter, the operator of short line and regional freight railroads reported earnings per share that improved from the previous year. Sales gained by practically 22%. Last week, shares of the company improved 6.2%, which was enough to secure a spot on the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List.
Over the past month, earnings estimates for this year and next are up 1.2% and 5%, respectively. At the moment, next year's earnings are expected to improve approximately 25% from this year. Earlier this month, GWR announced that traffic in September from continuing operations was up 3.2% to 65,999 carloads, while traffic in the third quarter decreased 0.4%.
Knoll, Inc. (KNL - Snapshot Report) has watched earnings estimates for this year climb by 8.3% over the past month. On Oct 16, the office furniture company announced third-quarter earnings per share of 52 cents on net sales of $283.5 million. The earnings result compared to 37 cents a year earlier and beat the consensus by almost 27%. The company has a good record of surpassing Wall Street's quarterly expectations, amassing an average surprise of more than 16% in the past 4 quarters. Meanwhile, net sales advanced 11.6%.
For its fourth quarter, KNL forecasted between 44 cents and 47 cents. At the time of the announcement, analysts were anticipating 44 cents on average. As a result, earnings estimates for the quarter have also improved over the past month. Shares of KNL, which was featured as an Aggressive Growth Stock of the Day at Zacks.com on Oct 21, advanced 2.4% last week.