Stocks in Motion: Gander Mountain

Shares fall following second-quarter report.

Author:: Mark Martinez
Publish date:: Aug 17, 2005 11:39 AM EDT

Shares of

Gander Mountain

( GMTN) were among the

Nasdaq's

losers Wednesday, falling 9% after the outdoor specialty retailer posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss and said that comparable-store sales for the full year would be below previous guidance.

The company reported a loss of $10.4 million, or 73 cents a share, on sales of $173.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting a loss of 16 cents a share on sales of $172.8 million. A year ago the company posted a loss of $3.9 million, or 27 cents a share, on sales of $128.1 million. In the most recent period, Gander reported a 4.2% decrease in comp-store sales, compared with an increase of 1.8% a year ago. "While we were disappointed in our comparable-store sales performance and loss," the company said, "we had anticipated incurring a loss in the second quarter because of seasonality of our business."

Looking ahead, Gander reiterated its belief that sales would exceed $850 million during fiscal 2005. Comp-store sales, however, are now expected to be flat, which is below previous guidance of up at least 2%. Analysts are expecting 2005 sales of $861.4 million. Shares were trading down $1.06 to $10.20.

Nextel Partners

( NXTP) rose 4% after

TheStreet.com

reported that

Sprint Nextel

(S) - Get Report

is preparing to acquire the affiliate during the next few weeks. Sprint, which owns almost 33% of the wireless service provider, downplayed the speculation in an interview, but people familiar with the company said the deal could be worth about $7 billion, or $30 a share, for Nextel Partners shareholders. Shares were recently trading up $1.13 to $27.24.

Shares of

Charming Shoppes

(CHRS) - Get Report

rose 11% after the women's apparel retailer posted second-quarter earnings that topped forecasts and upped its full-year earnings outlook. The company earned $39.6 million, or 30 cents a share, on sales of $688.4 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 27 cents a share on sales of $696.6 million. A year ago the company earned $27.1 million, or 21 cents a share, on sales of $611.7 million. Looking ahead, Charming Shoppes forecast third-quarter earnings of 7 cents to 8 cents a share on sales of $650 million to $660 million. Analysts are expecting earnings of 8 cents a share on sales of $656.9 million. For the full year, Charming now expects earnings of 73 cents to 75 cents a share, up from previous guidance of 69 cents to 73 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 71 cents a share. Shares were trading up $1.23 to $12.04.

Too

(TOO) - Get Report

rose 4% after the specialty retailer posted second-quarter earnings that were above expectations. The specialty retailer earned $4 million, or 12 cents a share, on sales of $154.9 million. Earnings came in ahead of the company's recent guidance of 10 cents to 11 cents a share and ahead of analysts' expectations of 11 cents a share. Analysts were expecting sales of $156.6 million. A year ago the company earned $1.6 million, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $139.9 million. Looking ahead, Too forecast third-quarter earnings of 39 cents a share on a comp-store sales increase of 3% to 4%. Analysts are expecting earnings of 39 cents a share. Shares were trading up $1.05 to $28.13.

Shares of

Aeroflex

( ARXX) rose 9% after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings that were better than expected. The maker of electronic components reported pro forma earnings of $7.9 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $128 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 10 cents a share on sales of $125 million. A year ago the company earned $9.6 million, or 13 cents a share, on sales of $125.3 million. Looking ahead, Aeroflex forecast first-quarter pro forma earnings of 8 cents to 9 cents a share on sales of $121 million to $123 million. Analysts are expecting earnings of 8 cents a share on sales of $120 million. Shares were trading up 80 cents to $9.98.

NYSE

volume leaders included

Hewlett-Packard

(HPQ) - Get Report

, up $2.32 to $26.02;

Lucent Technologies

( LU), down 1 cent to $2.87;

Rite Aid

(RAD) - Get Report

, up 4 cents to $4.46;

Beverly Enterprises

( BEV), down 39 cents to $12.55;