By most measures, Vail Resorts Inc. had a good quarter.
The ski-resort operator, soon to move its headquarters from Avon to Broomfield, posted a quarterly profit of $68.3 million on sales of $341 million this month. Both numbers soundly beat Wall Street expectations.
In response, two Wall Street analysts raised or reaffirmed their price targets for the stock, one upping it to $48 a share.
But a broader downdraft on Wall Street overshadowed those positives. Vail Resorts’ stock is down 8.2 percent so far during the second quarter, which ends Friday. Vail shares closed up 4 cents Tuesday at $35.10. Its shares are up 6.2 percent for the year.
“Typically, the market’s mood accounts for 80 percent of a stock’s movement,” said Dennis McAlpine, an independent analyst in Scarsdale, N.Y.
McAlpine, who follows Vail, said a slumping market is like “a one-edged sword.”
If a company reports earnings above estimates, the upside is limited; but if a company reports earnings below estimates, the downside is much bigger, he said.
Stocks could face additional head winds. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by at least a quarter of a percentage point Thursday, in an effort to fight inflation.
Wall Street’s tumult has already sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 down 4.3 percent so far for the quarter, erasing gains from the first quarter.
Companies within and outside that index – even ones that reported better-than-expected earnings – have taken a hit.
Wild Oats Markets, a Boulder-based natural-foods chain, and Array BioPharma, a Boulder-based biotechnology company, saw stock-price declines despite topping analyst estimates.
Wild Oats reported quarterly earnings in May. The grocer posted a profit of $2.9 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.2 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of 4 cents per share.
In addition, KeyBanc analyst Charles Cerankosky upgraded Wild Oats from “hold” to “buy” on June 6, saying a recent drop in the company’s share price presented a buying opportunity.
Shares of Wild Oats on Tuesday closed down 13.1 percent for the quarter. The stock is still up 46.3 percent for the year.
Array BioPharma in May beat analyst expectations when it reported a slight rise in revenue and a loss of 24 cents per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 29 cents per share.
The company also saw its share price jump 9.1 percent June 7 after a Jefferies & Co. analyst initiated coverage with a “buy” rating. That marked the third such analyst endorsement this year.
Nonetheless, shares of Array, which closed down 25 cents Tuesday at $8.02, have declined by 12.3 percent during the quarter. The stock is up 14.4 percent year-to-date.
“It’s (pessimism) about biotechnology in general,” said Howard Liang, an analyst with Leerink Swann in Boston.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
