Kohl's declines after weak February sales

Kohl's was the worst performing stock on the S&P 500 on Thursday after the department store chain reported disappointing first-quarter same-store sales and revenues after a weak performance in February.

Same-store sales, a key industry metric, gained 1.4 per cent, shy of Wall Street's forecasts for 2.5 per cent growth.

Kohl's reported profits of $127m, or 63 cents a share, compared with $125m, or 60 cents a share, in the prior-year period. Sales rose per cent to $4.1bn.

Analysts on Wall Street had forecast earnings of 55 cents a share on sales of $4.2bn.

The company said sales slowed in February before picking up in March and April. "We are very pleased with our earnings results, with a more balanced promotional calendar driving merchandise margin combined with strong expense control," said Kevin Mansell, chief executive.

Shares of Kohl's, which have gained 18 per cent in the past year, fell 13 per cent to $64.61.

JC Penney shares slid 8 per cent to $8.04 after the family retailer said first-quarter comparable sales growth missed estimates.

The Plano-Texas based company said same-store sales rose 3.4 per cent, slower than the 7.4 per cent growth in the prior-year period and lower than Wall Street forecasts for 3.7 per cent growth.

The company reported a narrower than expected first-quarter loss and sales that were largely in line with forecasts.

JC Penney also lifted its full year same-store sales forecasts to the range of 4-5 per cent for the year compared with Wall Street forecasts for 4.1 per cent growth.

After lifting its full-year sales outlook, shares of Shake Shack ended 4 per cent lower at $65.50 after the momentum stock initially climbed as much as 13 per cent.

Short interest in the burger chain has climbed since its debut in January, with nearly 11 per cent of its shares on loan to short, according to data from Markit.

The company said it expects revenues from the current year to range between $161m and $165m, above its previous estimates for $159m or $163m, with the high end of its range meeting Wall Street estimates.

The company also reported a first-quarter loss of $12.7m or $1.06 a share, from a profit of $1.1m in the year-ago period. Sales rose 56 per cent to $37.8m.

Analysts had forecast a narrower loss of 29 cents a share on sales of $33.9m. On an adjusted basis, however, earnings of 4 cents a share topped estimates.

Shares of Puma Biotechnology fell 19 per cent to $170.67 after results from a study on the company's main drug candidate, Neratinib, fell short of Wall Street expectations.

A later stage clinical trial showed that after two years of treatment of Neratinib, the disease free survival rate for patients with a type of early stage breast cancer was 93.9 per cent, just 2.3 per cent higher than those on a placebo.

Investors had hoped it would show a difference of at least 3 per cent.

US stocks gained on Thursday as yields on US bonds retreated from recent highs and after the number of weekly claims for unemployment benefits in the US fell.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1 per cent to 2,121.09, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.1 per cent to 18,252.24 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4 per cent to 5,050.79.

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