Michaels Companies (STAR)
MIK - Nasdaq
The biggest benefit of stay-at-home orders? More time for crafts! Whether you’re into painting, knitting or just gluing a bunch of random crap together and showing it to your mommy, Michaels Companies Inc. has all the arts and crafts supplies you’ll ever need. With people devoting more time to hobbies during the pandemic, shares of the retailer rocketed nearly 400 per cent over the past year. And they soared again this week after Apollo Global Management agreed to take Michaels private for US$3.3-billion or US$22 a share – a 46.7-per-cent premium to the price before news of the deal leaked last week. Think of all the yarn that could buy!
Sleep Country Canada (STAR)
ZZZ - TSX
Some people like to count sheep when they’re falling asleep. Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. investors prefer to count stacks of cash. Shares of the mattress and bedding retailer surged after the company reported a 33.4-per-cent increase in revenue for the fourth quarter, including growth of more than 100 per cent in e-commerce sales for its Sleep Country, Dormez-vous? and Endy brands. With analysts hiking their price targets on the stock – which has more than tripled from its lows last March – investors are sleeping very well indeed
Lemonade (DOG)
LMND - NYSE
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But think twice before investing in Lemonade Inc. Shares of the online insurance company got squeezed after it posted results that beat expectations but gave an outlook that was below analysts’ forecasts. Concerns about the recent massive power outages in Texas – where one-quarter of Lemonade’s customers live – may have also weighed on the stock, although CEO Daniel Schreiber said that, thanks to reinsurance, he doesn’t expect the deep freeze to have “a material adverse impact on our financials in 2021.” Even so, investors are still feeling sour.
Spin Master (STAR)
TOY - TSX
If you want to make a child smile, give the kid a brand new toy. But if you want to make an adult smile, there’s no substitute for money. Spin Master Corp. has got both demographics covered: The toy-maker posted fourth-quarter results that gave its stock a big lift, helped by rising sales of puzzles and action figures, surging popularity of digital games such as Toca Boca and improvements in supply chain problems that had dogged the toy-maker. Speaking of dogs, Spin Master’s first feature film – the animated Paw Patrol – is scheduled for release in August. Investors are barking up the right tree.
Vroom (DOG)
VRM - Nasdaq
Vroom? More like screeeech! Shares of online used-car seller Vroom Inc. skidded off the road after it reported a bigger-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter and warned that its first-quarter loss will also be worse than analysts’ estimates. Citing “constraints” in sales staff, the company said its vehicle inventory aged and had to be discounted or liquidated through wholesale channels. “Said another way, we bought more inventory than we could actually process and that excess inventory needed to be moved in Q4 and will continue to be moved in Q1,” Vroom CEO Paul Hennessy said on an earnings call. Sounds like the stock could be in the shop for a while.
A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
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John Heinzl