Smith & Wesson jumps on results; Facebook tops S&P 500

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. surged on robust earnings on Wednesday while Facebook Inc. rose to the top of the S&P 500 on the back of a price target hike from an analyst.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC) shares jumped 16%. The gun maker's quarterly results beat earnings forecasts and it raised its outlook for the year. The firm raised its full-year earnings per share estimate for continuing operations to a range of $1.39 to $1.42, beating the Wall Street forecast of $1.33 per share, according to FactSet.

Facebook (FB)  advanced 4%. The stock's target was raised to $82 from $72 at Stifel Nicolaus. "Recent checks suggest Facebook continues to gain share of overall marketing spend," wrote Jordan Rohan at Stifel in a note.

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Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW)  shares added 4%. The insurer on Wednesday said it plans to expand and restructure its sales team this year to better work with mortgage originators.

Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI)  shares rose 4%. The company, which makes products for the aerospace and petrochemical industries, last week declared a quarterly dividend of 18 cents a share. The dividend will be paid on March 26 to shareholders of record at the close of the business day on March 12.

Decliners

Lorillard Inc. (LO)  shares retreated 3.2% after four sessions of strong gains. The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Reynolds American Inc. (RAI)  is considering a takeover of Lorillard. Shares of Reynolds also slid 3.6%.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)  shares fell 2.8%. Exxon said Wednesday that it is likely to cut capital spending and that its output in 2014 is likely to be flat.

Tickers to Watch

BFB: Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B)  Class B shares gained 3.7%. The alcoholic beverage maker reported fiscal third-quarter earnings Wednesday that beat expectations and boosted its full-year view on per-share earnings to between $2.95 and $3.05.

BAC: Bank of America Corp. (BAC)  shares climbed 3.2%. The stock is getting a boost in part on speculation that the bank could raise its dividend for the coming fiscal year significantly, according to The Motley Fool.

MJN: Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (MJN)  shares declined 1.3%. The company is investigating possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act at its Chinese unit, according to reports.

PETM: PetSmart Inc. (PETM)  shares dropped 1.5%. The company reported a decline in fourth-quarter profit to $131.5 million from $134.0 million a year earlier, while per-share earnings rose to $1.28 from $1.24. The company noted the fourth quarter of 2012 had an extra week that represented 17 cents in per-share earnings. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $1.21 a share.

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