ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS (STAR)
Cheer up, Blue Jays fans. Your team may have the worst record in baseball, but parent Rogers Communications is making so much money it might be able to buy its way out of the basement eventually. Fuelled by strong growth in wireless subscribers and higher average revenue per user, the company posted a 28-per-cent increase in first-quarter profit, sending the stock skyward like a Jose Bautista home run. Remember those?
RCI.B (TSX), $62.12 up $1.71 or 2.8% over week
GNC HOLDINGS (STAR)
Whether you're into body-building, martial arts or you just want to kick sand in someone's face at the beach, GNC has the protein powders and nutritional supplements that will get you ripped in a hurry. GNC's stock is also getting in shape: Even as first-quarter revenue and earnings fell from a year earlier, results came in above expectations thanks to a new loyalty program, giving the long-struggling shares a lift. We're going to pump … you up.
GNC (NYSE), $8.24 (U.S.) up 94¢ or 12.9% over week
HOME CAPITAL GROUP (DOG)
Business quiz! Shares of mortgage lender Home Capital plunged after: a) The Ontario government capped all mortgages at $20,000 in a desperate move to cool the housing market; b) no offers were received on a crappy bungalow in a terrible neighbourhood; c) The OSC alleged that three current or former Home Capital executives broke securities laws by not properly disclosing results of an internal investigation into fraudulent broker practices. Answer: c.
HCG (TSX), $19.25 down $2.45 or 11.3% over week
MATTEL (DOG)
Who wants to play with real, physical toys and games when you can play with simulated, virtual representations of toys and games online? Citing an overhang of unsold inventory from the holidays, the maker of Barbie, Fisher-Price and Hot Wheels said first-quarter sales plunged 15 per cent as it posted an adjusted loss of 32 cents a share – nearly twice as big as analysts had expected. Kids, it's your fault that a lot of mommys and daddys are losing money on this stock.
MAT (Nasdaq), $21.79 (U.S.) down $3.22 or 12.9% over week
JOHNSON & JOHNSON (DOG)
Johnson & Johnson shareholders could have used an Extra-Strength Tylenol after the company's first-quarter results. Held back by sluggish sales of over-the-counter products and pharmaceuticals that were hit by pricing pressures and competition, J&J's revenue missed Wall Street estimates even as earnings topped forecasts. With the stock suffering its biggest one-day loss in more than eight years, investors have a throbbing migraine.
JNJ (NYSE), $121.76 (U.S.) down $3.23 or 2.6% over week