U.S. stock market indexes opened higher on the first day of August. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94 points to 21,984.25, hitting a new high as investors remained optimistic about second-quarter earnings. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained six points to 2,476 and futures for the Nasdaq 100 index jumped 15.5 points to 6,363.68.
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (LL, Financial) shares were up almost 29% in morning trading on the back of the company reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue for its second quarter. EPS of 16 cents beat expectations by 23 cents while revenue of $263.5 million beat estimates by $6.7 million and is up 10.7% year over year. Net sales in comparable stores increased 8.8%, fueled by an increase in the number of customers invoiced and in the average sale. Gross profit reached $97.5 million, a 38.1% increase when compared to the same quarter a year ago. CEO Dennis Knowles said "In the quarter, we saw positive results in net revenues, comparable store sales and customer traffic, in addition to gross margin expansion which drove positive operating results.”
Shopify Inc.Ă‚ (SHOP, Financial) is gaining ground as the company reported second-quarter EPS of negative one cent on revenue of $151.66 million. Sales increased 75% year over year, beating revenue estimates by $8.02 million. Profits also exceeded by six cents per share. Subscription solutions revenue grew 64% to $71.6 million. Recently, the company announced the integration of eBay (EBAY, Financial) and Buzzfeed as new channels for merchants.
Cognex Corp.'s (CGNX, Financial) stock has rallied 12.5% after the company reported second-quarter EPS of 42 cents on revenue of $134.94 million, beating profit estimates by 13 cents per share and revenue expectations by $10.25 million. Cognex’s revenue rose 40.3% year over year while its gross margin inched up one percentage point to 79%.
Gainers
CombiMatrix Corp. (CBMX, Financial), Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (MLCO, Financial), Celldex Therapetics (CLDX, Financial), Groupon Inc. (GRPN, Financial), Golden Ocean Group Ltd. (GOGL, Financial) and BP PLC (BP, Financial).
Losers
Zion Oil & Gas Inc. (ZN), AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (ACRX), Endo International (ENDP), AirMedia Group (AMCN), Apache Corp. (APA), Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTX), Extended Stay America Inc. (STAY).
Global Markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The FTSE 100, German DAX, French CAC 40 and the IBEX 35 advanced approximately 1%.
In Asia, markets closed higher. Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite Index, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and India’s BSE Sensex closed in green territory.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
