Conn’s Home Plus (NASDAQ:CONN) may not be a familiar name, but its stock had one amazing day today. Investors pushed it up over 15% in Wednesday’s trading session, and it all seems to trace back to one key point — its earnings report.
Earlier today, Conn’s plunged in a big way thanks to that earnings report. Its fourth-quarter numbers were a disaster, as revenue dropped 16.8% in the last year, and EPS figures turned out to be much larger than the loss projected by analysts. Also, same-store sales slipped a staggering 21.8%. In short, consumers pulling back on spending left a home furnishings store like Conn’s out in the cold. Conn’s one saving grace was its e-commerce sales numbers, which held fast at around $24.2 million.
Nonetheless, Conn’s sell-off reversed rapidly today. Trading volume suddenly spiked to about four times normal, and most of it was buying. Conn’s CEO, Norm Miller, noted during the earnings call that Conn’s has embraced the multiple payment method ethos, including payment over time. That should give it a boost even in slumping conditions. Jefferies analysts even pointed out that some improvements were spotted, like in margins and same-store sales.
Looking at the last five trading days for Conn’s, today’s trading day jumps out at you. While the previous four days were a mostly mild decline, one day of trading sparked a hefty loss, a strong recovery, another hefty loss, and then an even stronger recovery.
