A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week
Walt Disney (STAR)
If there’s one thing everybody can agree on, it’s that there aren’t enough superhero films. How many times have you wanted to watch the next instalment in the Captain What’s-His-Face series, only to learn that it doesn’t make its debut in theatres until the following week? Well, thanks to the new Disney+ streaming service, you can watch dozens of old Marvel superhero films – plus hundreds of other movies and TV shows from Disney, Pixar and Lucasfilm – all day, every day from the comfort of your home. Judging by the 10 million subscribers who signed up on the service’s first day, Walt Disney’s stock could emerge as the real hero in this drama.
Home Capital Group (STAR)
Remember a few years ago when Home Capital’s stock was getting crushed, depositors were fleeing and company executives were under scrutiny by regulators? That was obviously the perfect time to buy, people! Shares of the alternative mortgage lender continued their remarkable recovery after third-quarter adjusted earnings jumped 76 per cent to 72 cents a share – blowing away the average analyst estimate of 56 cents. With mortgage originations also rising and provisions for credit losses falling, the stock has been a Home run.
Canada Goose Holdings (DOG)
What’s more financially draining than buying a ridiculously overpriced Canada Goose parka? Owning Canada Goose stock, that’s what. Even as second-quarter revenue soared 28 per cent and topped expectations, the shares plunged after the company warned that wholesale orders will fall in the current quarter because winter shipments happened early this year. Adding to investor pessimism, CEO Dani Reiss said performance of stores in Hong Kong had been “impacted significantly” by protests there. Now that Canada Goose shares have been nearly cut in half over the past year, investors are shivering in the cold.
MAV Beauty Brands (DOG)
For a company that sells shampoos and conditioners, MAV Beauty Brands’ stock sure is looking dull and lifeless. Already trading at less than half of its July, 2018, IPO price of $14, MAV suffered a one-day tumble of nearly 40 per cent after warning that fourth-quarter revenue will be below year-earlier levels. With MAV’s business hurt by a combination of weaker orders for higher-priced products, slower-than-expected international growth and fewer promotions, it’s enough to make you pull your hair out.
Canopy Growth (DOG)
For marijuana investors, the bad trip just got worse. Shares of Canopy Growth sank to their lowest in nearly two years after Canada’s largest cannabis producer posted a second-quarter loss of $374.6-million and said net revenue fell 15 per cent from the previous quarter, primarily because of product returns and price cuts on its slower-selling oils and gelatin capsules. Legalization was supposed to bring great riches to cannabis investors, but if you’d bought Canopy stock on Oct. 17, 2018, when recreational buds became legal, you’d be down about 68 per cent. Bummer, man.