Buffett Was a Buyer on Friday (TSN, PETS, BSFT, VRTX)

Stocks ended the day mixed following Friday’s big sell-off. The market looked poised to continue the downward trend following the results of the French election, but stocks quickly regained their composure to trade pretty much unchanged. While Warren Buffett was a buyer on Friday, we’re still looking for a little more selling pressure before starting to dip a toe into the investment waters.

The Cancer Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) with a 55% gain. The Communication Services Stocks Index was the day’s worst performing tickerspy Index, with BroadSoft (BSFT) down -19%.

Stocks finished the day mixed, with the Dow down -30 points to 13,009. The Nasdaq rose 1 point to 2,958, while the S&P closed up fractionally to 1,370. Oil fell -55 cents to $97.94 a barrel, while gold slipped -$6.10 to $1,639.10 an ounce.

In earnings news, Tyson Foods (TSN) said its fiscal second-quarter profit climbed 4% to $166 million, or 44 cents per share, from $159 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 3% to $8.3 billion. Analysts had expected a profit of 39 cents a share on revenue of $8.47 billion. Shares of Tyson rose 3.2%.

Shares of PetMed Express (PETS) plunged -19.6% after the company said operating costs rose 15%, eating into its fiscal fourth-quarter profit. PetMed said it earned $4.0 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $4.1 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed to $55.9 million from $50.9 million. Analysts had been expecting EPS of 18 cents on sales of $52.1 million.

Shares of BroadSoft, the Internet communications firm, slid -18.9% after the company issued weak guidance. Its first-quarter profit fell to $1.7 million, or 6 cents per share, from $3.7 million, or 13 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted EPS came in at 29 cents. Analysts had been looking for EPS of 23 cents. For Q2, BroadSoft forecast adjusted EPS of 17-23 cents on revenue of $36-$38 million. Analysts were expecting EPS of 28 cents on revenue of $38.5 million. Three pros counted BroadSoft among their top holdings at the end of Q1 and nearly 50 tickerspy members own the stock in their portfolios.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals surged 55.4% after the company reported better-than-expected results for its cystic fibrosis treatment Kalydeco and the molecule VX-809, which are in a mid-stage trial. VX-809 has not yet been approved by the FDA. Complete data from the study will be available by mid-year. Seven pros counted Vertex among their top holdings at the end of Q1 and nearly 200 tickerspy members own the stock in their portfolios.

Tags: BSFT, PETS, TSN, VRTX