Thursday was mixed on Wall Street as major stock indexes stayed in positive territory for much of the session before losing steam near the end of the day. Investors are starting to prepare for the beginning of third-quarter earnings season next month, but in the interim, there's not much to focus on other than broad-based macroeconomic trends and various political and regulatory moves. Yet despite the fairly quiet day for the market, some stocks saw solid gains. Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD), Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH), and New Media Investment Group (NYSE: NEWM) were among the top performers. Here's why they did so well.
Shares of Rite Aid picked up 4%, bouncing back from some of their recent declines. The drugstore chain has been under pressure for a long time, especially once it become clear that it would only have a portion of its store base bought by competitors. Rite Aid's main challenges have involved finding a balance between addressing the difficult conditions in the retail pharmacy industry and forging new collaborative relationships with medical professionals and healthcare coverage providers. So far, the company hasn't found the perfect answer. Shareholders might be optimistic today that the drugstore chain will find a way forward, but skeptical investors are waiting for more details on exactly how Rite Aid will accomplish that goal when the company reports earnings next week.
Image source: Rite Aid.