The U.S. stock market traded mixed, at a time the European equities rose, driven by a rally in energy stocks.
Shares of Axon Enterprise Inc. (AAXN, Financial) jumped on Wednesday trading after the company posted earnings per share of 32 cents in the first quarter on revenue of $101.2 million, which was 27.7% higher than the comparable period. The company beat revenue expectations by $9.92 million and earnings estimates by 28 cents.
Further, the consolidated gross margin reached 63.7% compared to 61.4% in the first quarter of 2017. The adjusted Ebitda was $21.3 million compared to $10.4 million in the first trimester of 2017, representing 106% growth year-over-year.
Looking ahead, the company is raising its revenue growth guidance from 16-18% to 18-20%. Also, it is expecting an operating margin expansion of 300 basis points to 400 basis points over 2017.
Gainers
• TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP, Financial)
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY, Financial)
• Devon Energy Corp. (DVN, Financial)
• Apache Corp. (APA, Financial)
Losers
• Walmart Inc. (WMT, Financial)
• Humana Inc. (HUM, Financial)
• Marriott International Inc. (MAR, Financial)
• Celgene Corp. (CELG, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded lower. The U.K.'s FTSE gained 0.09%, France's CAC slid 0.30%, Spain's Ibex retreated 0.03% and Germany's Dax fell 0.51%.
In Asia, markets closed in the green. China´s Shanghai closed down 0.07%, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.44%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.44% and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.29%.
Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
