Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Saks jumped twice today, first gaining 11% during the trading session on strong sales in its earnings report, and then surging another 19% after-hours on reports that it retained Goldman Sachs to look into a possible sale. Its share price climbed 33% over the two sessions

So what: The upscale retailer first reported an adjusted earnings per share of $0.19, in line with estimates, but same-store sales came in well ahead of expectations, growing 5.9% versus the projected 2.6%. Overall revenue was up 5.2% to $793.2 million, topping expectations of $778.1 million.

After hours, the New York Post said that the high-end clothing chain may be sold to a private equity firm in a leveraged buyout, though the company refused to comment. Interested parties include KKR and Leonard Green & Partners.

Now what: Ironically, today’s jump could help spoil the buyout, as shares may be too highly priced for a potential buyer, now worth a third more than they were just a day ago. Saks Fifth Avenue is a strong brand, but shares look pricey at a P/E near 40 with little anticipated growth. Similarly, the company said it expects same-store sales of 4%-6% for the rest of the year, down from its current clip. Considering the above that shares are at a five-year high, I’d say now is a great time to sell.

Keep an eye on this developing story. Add Saks to your Watchlist by clicking right here.  

The article Why Saks Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Goldman Sachs. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Monro Muffler Brake were accelerating higher today, gaining as much as 13% after posting a strong earnings report.

So what: The auto repair service delivered earnings per share of $0.25 in line with estimates, while revenues jumped 14.1% to $195.9 million, beating the expert view of $190.4 million. Despite the increase in overall sales, same-store sales, seen as a better measure of organic growth, fell 5.6% after adjusting for an increase in calendar days. However, that was still better than the company’s projection of -6% to -9%. EPS guidance for the current quarter was also below estimates as Monro expects $0.42-$0.46, worse than the consensus at $0.48. Management noted “the continued impact of the challenging economic environment” as part of the reason for the underwhelming projection.

Now what: The jump in Monro shares seems to have come mostly from low expectations as the revenue beat was mostly due to an acquisition that contributed more than 20% of total sales.  Shareholders may have also liked the announced 10% dividend increase, boosting the yield slightly to 0.95%. Management also said it saw an improvement in comparable sales after January once the weather improved, and expects comparable sales growth of 3-4% in the current quarter so the company appears to be moving in the right direction once again.

Want more on Monro? Add the company to your Watchlist by clicking right here.

The article Why Monro Muffler Brake Shares Shot Up originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Jeremy Bowman and The Motley Fool have no position in any stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Intelsat Announces Pricing of Senior Notes

LUXEMBOURG–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Intelsat S.A. [NYSE: I], the world’s leading provider of satellite services, today announced that its subsidiary, Intelsat Jackson Holdings S.A. (“Intelsat Jackson”), priced $2,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5 1/2% senior notes due 2023 (the “2023 notes”) at an offering price of 100% and $635,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 6 5/8% senior notes due 2022 (the “2022 notes” and collectively with the 2023 notes, the “notes”) at an offering price of 106.25%. The 2022 notes will provide an effective yield of 5.76%.

The notes offering is expected to close on June 5, 2013, subject to certain conditions.

The 2023 notes will be guaranteed by certain of Intelsat Jackson’s parent companies and subsidiaries.

The 2022 notes will be issued under the same indenture as Intelsat Jackson’s existing 6 5/8% Senior Notes due 2022. Intelsat Jackson’s obligations under the 2022 notes will be guaranteed by certain of its parent companies. The 2022 notes will not be guaranteed by Intelsat Jackson’s subsidiaries.

The net proceeds from the sale of the 2023 notes are expected to be used by Intelsat Jackson to repay all amounts outstanding (approximately $868 million principal amount) under its two senior unsecured credit agreements.

In addition, Intelsat Jackson expects to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes, together with other available cash, to make a dividend to Intelsat (Luxembourg) S.A., which will use such funds to redeem all of its 11 1/4% Senior Notes due 2017 in its previously announced redemption on June 12, 2013. The remaining net proceeds are expected to be used to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes.

The notes referred to above are being offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and to persons outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act and applicable exemptions from registration, prospectus or like requirements under the laws and regulations of the relevant jurisdictions outside the United States. The notes will not be registered under the Securities Act and, until registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The notes referred to above will also not be registered in any jurisdiction outside of the United States and no action or steps will be taken to permit the offer of the notes in any such jurisdiction where any registration or other action or steps would be required to permit an offer of the notes.

The notes may therefore not be offered or sold in any such jurisdiction except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the relevant requirements of laws and regulations of such jurisdictions.

No prospectus as required by the Directive 2003/71/EC (and the implementing laws and regulations in the relevant member states) has been filed with respect to the notes and therefore no offers of notes may be made in any Member States of the European Economic Area unless made pursuant to an exemption under the Directive 2003/71/EC (and the implementing laws and regulations in the relevant Member States).

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes or any other securities of Intelsat, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of the notes in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Intelsat

Intelsat [NYSE: I] is the leading provider of satellite services worldwide. For almost 50 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, internet service providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.

Intelsat Safe Harbor Statement

Some of the statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” that do not directly or exclusively relate to historical facts. The forward-looking statements made in this release reflect Intelsat’s intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events, including the offerings, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Intelsat’s control. Known risks include, among others, market risk and the risks included in Intelsat’s final prospectus related to its 5.75% Series A mandatory convertible junior non-voting preferred shares, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and its other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the political, economic and legal conditions in the markets we are targeting for communications services or in which we operate and other risks and uncertainties inherent in the telecommunications business in general and the satellite communications business in particular. Because actual results could differ materially from Intelsat’s intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all forward-looking statements contained in this news release with caution. Intelsat does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Intelsat
Dianne VanBeber
Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications
+1 202-944-7406
dianne.vanbeber@intelsat.com

KEYWORDS:   Luxembourg  Europe

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The article Intelsat Announces Pricing of Senior Notes originally appeared on Fool.com.

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The Dow Jones Industrials closed at another record high today, climbing 52 points in a broad-based advance that saw new all-time highs from the S&P 500 as well. In the latest in the ongoing push-and-pull among various members of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee, today’s comments swung the pendulum back toward the camp that favors continued accommodative monetary policy that includes further bond purchases. That had the predictable Pavlovian reaction from investors, helping the market recover from early losses even with New York Fed President William Dudley’s reminder that the next move from the Fed could result in more bond purchases, indicating continuing concerns about the overall health of the U.S. economy.

In the context of a longer-term market rally, it’s important to take daily movements on stocks with a grain of salt. For instance, as I pointed out earlier, Travelers dropped more than 2% today as the company faces the financial fallout of a deadly tornado in Oklahoma. Yet while drops like these almost always happen after catastrophic events, claim payouts are a natural part of Travelers’ business. Moreover, the more important long-term drivers of Travelers’ future growth are likely to come from the fate of the bond market, and so Travelers investors should keep a close eye on the Fed to see if further interest-rate rises for bonds lead to improved investment returns for the insurance company’s portfolio.

Similarly, telecoms AT&T and Verizon both gave up ground today yet still show plenty of long-term promise. AT&T fell 0.75% as the company announced that it would allow some of its unlimited-data users to enable the FaceTime video-chat feature on iPhones, after initial resistance. In the long run, though, encouraging greater data usage will pay off in higher subscriber fees, even if the company takes a short-term hit. With Verizon, which dropped more than 1%, an overemphasis of the idea that the company has to take full control of its Verizon Wireless joint venture distracts from the huge potential that Verizon has for future growth. Even a 55% stake gives Verizon plenty of exposure to the still-expanding mobile market, and further refinements down the road could leave Verizon in a stronger position because of the shared burden through the joint venture.

Most importantly, even after today’s drops, all three of these stocks are still trading fairly close to their 52-week highs, with Travelers backing off from all-time records recently. As a result, to give these stocks too much credit in holding back the Dow is to have too much of a tunnel-vision approach on a single day’s trading.

The article What These Laggards Say About the Dow’s Record Close originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter: @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

JPMorgan Chase  CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon has come under a lot of pressure from shareholders recently to relinquish one of his two roles at the bank, though it now looks like he will come through the shareholder vote on the subject retaining both. Is this once-revered banking CEO really as bad for JPMorgan as many are claiming?

In the video below, Motley Fool financial analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson discuss Jamie Dimon and his role at JPMorgan, telling investors why the negative press Dimon is getting at the moment may be too much.

The article Don’t Buy the Negative Hype on Jamie Dimon originally appeared on Fool.com.

David Hanson has no position in any stocks mentioned. Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.