Today’s Earnings: Pulte Home, Danaher Rally; JetBlue Dives

Big earnings movers early Tuesday included GE Aerospace (GE), General Motors (GM) and UPS (UPS). PulteGroup (PHM), Danaher (DHR) and JetBlue (JBLU) were also making big moves on earnings today, on both good and bad news.

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Earnings Today: PulteGroup Margins Widen

Homebuilder PulteGroup popped higher in morning trade Tuesday. The Atlanta, Ga.-based builder reported EPS of $3.10, clobbering consensus views for $2.36. Revenue was $3.95 billion, above the $3.59 billion target. Its home sales gross margin increased 50 basis points to 29.6%.

Chief executive Ryan Marshall cited, a “balanced operating model that allows us to more effectively meet the individual needs of first-time, move-up and active-adult consumers.”

The industry received an added boost after the open, when the Commerce Department reported new home sales rose nearly 9% in March, to an annually adjusted rate of 693,000. Economists had projected a sales pace of 670,000 new homes.

PHM shares jumped nearly 4% in early action. The stock is angling toward its first weekly gain, after a four-week pullback from record highs.

Danaher a ‘Quality Proxy’

Danaher rallied better than 7% early, leading the S&P 500 after it reported earnings today. The diversified owner of Beckman Coulter and other medical products and equipment brands reported an 8% drop in EPS to $1.92 — less than the projected 13% decline. Revenue fell 19%, to $5.8 billion, also less of a drop than expected.

DHR stock received an upgrade to buy on April 17 from HSBC. The note raised the stock’s price target from 250 to 280, about 19% above where shares closed on Monday. It said, “order books might be on a recovery path for the life sciences tools sector.”

HSBC added that the “geopolitical divide” of biotech funding around the U.S. Biosecure Act might result in a better pricing environment for outsourcers, potentially supporting incremental margins and multiples.” It upgraded Danaher as a “quality proxy for the Biotech funding recovery,” as reported by The Fly.

A gain on Tuesday would put Danaher on track for its first weekly gain after a four-week pullback. The stock has dropped 9% from an early March high.

JetBlue Veers Lower On Q2 Outlook

JetBlue plunged as much as 17% Tuesday, despite a not-as-terrible-as-feared first quarter loss. The Long Island-based airline report a loss of 43 cents per share, vs. views for a 52-cent loss. Revenue met expectations at $2.2 billion, down 4%.

The company projected a Q2 revenue slip of as much as 10.5%, targeting full-year revenue as down in low single digits.

The stock had been running into resistance at around 7.50 since February. The stock’s tumble on earnings today sent shares sharply below their 10-week moving average.

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