Winners and Losers: March 20-24th

Big Winners

Shareholders of gaming device manufacturer Shuffle Master Inc (SHFL) were certainly dealt a winning hand by Wall Street this week. The company's shares soared over the course of the week, its rally beginning Tuesday morning as the firm released outstanding financial numbers for its first fiscal quarter. The Las Vegas-based company, which produces automatic card shuffling devices and table gambling games, saw net income increase a solid 20% year-over-year. This prompted many analysts to turn bullish on the stock, with Bear Stearns upgrading its SHFL recommendation from peer perform to outperform. Common shares in the company forged ahead throughout the remainder of the week to close at $33.66 -- a new 52 week high.

Investors owning Healthways Inc (HWAY) received a boost to their financial health as well this week. The specialized health care services firm released solid fiscal second quarter financial results early in the week, sending its shares skyward to the tune of 25% gains for the week. The company's outlook for fiscal year 2006 was also increased, adding to investors' bullishness for the stock. HWAY is now expecting to earn at least $1.16 per share for 2006, up from previous estimates of at least $1.10 per share.




Big Losers

It was a week of lessons learned the hard way for Scholastic Corporation (SCHL), however, its shares trading downwards for what amounted to 14% losses for the week. The children's book publisher and distributor saw its stock price gaining downward momentum for the first three trading days this week, with the bottom eventually falling out Thursday morning as the company released poor financial results for the quarter. SCHL incurred a quarterly loss that was a fair amount larger than analysts expected, missing estimates by 30 cents per share and revising its full-year guidance downward as well. The New York-based company, whose portfolio includes the highly successful Harry Potter series, has plans to cut costs in the coming years, but still has a long way to go before its financial statements will be a pleasant reading experience for investors.

Drug manufacturer Cephalon Inc (CEPH) endured some pain this week as well, its share price making a nice run-up during Wednesday's session only to end up gapping downwards at Friday's open. The primarily cause of investors' flight away from the stock was the Food and Drug Administration's decision Thursday to not recommend approval for Cephalon's experimental drug Sparlon, intended to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The company intends to market Sparlon to children aged 6 to 17, but the FDA requested that an additional one-month study of the drug's side affects be conducted before possible approval can take place. CEPH shares were relatively flat during Friday's session, the majority of the price depreciation coming in one shot as the stock opened much lower than Wednesday's closing price of $73.31.