A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
Rogers Communications Inc. (DOG)
Somebody start a Reddit thread! Shares of Rogers Communications could use a little help after the telecom company reported a lacklustre fourth quarter and opted to forgo any financial guidance for 2021. Something about a pandemic making it hard to forecast results. Revenue, earnings and cash flow all drifted lower in the latest quarter, as COVID-19 travel restrictions weighed on roaming revenue, and a late start to pro hockey dampened the media division. Barring a sudden chat-room buying campaign, it looks like no bubble for Rogers shares any time soon. But the dividend yield north of 3 per cent ain’t half bad as investors wait for the picture to clear up.
Facedrive Inc. (STAR)
Facedrive bills itself as a “people-and-planet-first” tech ecosystem with a host of business lines including a ride-sharing app, food-delivery service, social-media platform and health services. Sounds big – except there’s not much yet to show on the bottom line. Nor the top line. Facedrive had reported a loss of $3.5-million for the third quarter, on revenue of just $266,000. The company has been the focus of stock-promotion campaigns and the target of short-sellers. No matter – investors have pushed the company’s TSX Venture-listed shares into the stratosphere, giving it a market cap of around $2.5-billion. Let’s hope there’s no faceplant in the works for investors.
Goodfood Market Corp. (DOG)
Goodfood Market has been nourishing portfolios ever since the lockdowns of last March, and this past week, investors proclaimed it was getting overdone. The provider of meal-kits saves trips to the grocery store by delivering constantly evolving culinary concoctions right to your front door. It’s been expanding into groceries, too. But while revenues soared 62 per cent over a year ago in its most recent quarter as hungry stay-at-homers subscribed, it still reported a net loss. On some comparable metrics, investors were paying more for the stock than the giant in the industry – German-based HelloFresh Group. And one really has to ask: Will meal-kits really be all that popular once an evening out will be more than a trip to the neighbourhood drive-thru at the Golden Arches?
Koss Corp. (STAR)
A 1,816-per-cent gain in just five days? Now that’s music to every investor’s ears. The company that pioneered stereo headphones in the 1950s found itself instantly a target among the young Reddit rascals after a widely followed tweeter pointed out the stock’s high short interest and single-digit price. Then just as some investors were taking profits, the company announced a 18.4 per cent sales boost in its latest quarter, and the stock shot up again. With so many studying and working from home, margins are up thanks to direct-to-consumer sales instead of relying on folks hanging out at the mall. For now, this stock is rocking and those noise-cancelling headphones have been great for tuning out the shorts.
Fossil Group Inc. (STAR)
Who could have guessed a high-fashion accessory retailer would be so popular among the kids trading stocks in sweatpants and oversized hoodies from their folks’ rumpus rooms. Fossil Group, a maker of trendy watches, jewellery and other luxury products that look great when there’s actually a place to go to wear them, saw its stock double on Wednesday thanks to the Robinhood crowd battling short-sellers. But fashionable trends aren’t known for their longevity, and this one was no exception: The stock fell 38 per cent the next day. With Fossil’s sales dropping 19 per cent in its most recent quarter – competing smartwatches and fitness trackers and shuttered department stores are taking their toll – this stock is having trouble staying in vogue.