Tesla rebounds, Twitter makes splash ahead of IPO

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Tesla Motors Inc. shares made up for some lost ground on Friday after three sessions of losses in the wake of a YouTube video showing a Model S car engulfed in flames after crashing into a large object.

But the story of the day may be Twitter Inc., which has already made its mark in the market even before it goes public, by helping a liquidated company surge as much as 1,800%.

Top Tickers Trending

$TSLA: Tesla (TSLA)  rallied 2.4%, but the stock is poised for a significant weekly decline following the circulation of the video. However, analysts have generally maintained their upbeat outlook on the electric-car maker. "Although this incident will likely weigh on near-term sentiment, we do not expect this to derail near-term Model S orders and delivery momentum," Craig Irwin at Wedbush wrote in a note on Thursday.

Click to Play Watch Facebook, Potbelly

Polya Lesova takes a look at which stocks traders will be watching during market action, including Facebook, Union Pacific Railroad, and Potbelly.

$TWTR: Twitter Inc., the microblogging company that allows users to enjoy their 15 seconds of fame in 140 characters, filed for an initial public offering on Thursday, setting the stage for the most watched tech IPO since Facebook Inc. (FB)  went public in 2012. Twitter is looking to raise up to $1 billion via the stock offering.

Meanwhile, Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc. (TWTRQ)  is benefiting from a case of mistaken identity with the stock up 505% in recent trade as some investors bid on the stock, believing they are buying a stake in Twitter.

$PBPB: Potbelly Corp. (PBPB)  shares soared 135% on their debut on the market. The company priced 7.5 million shares at $14 each to raise about $105 million, not including over allotments. Potbelly is a sandwich chain that sells sandwiches, salads and milk shakes made to order. The company operates 288 shops in the U.S.

Gainers

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL)  shares gained 2.9%. Delta on Wednesday said its consolidated passenger unit revenue rose 5.5% in September, thanks to trans-Atlantic and domestic business.

Shares of H&R Block Inc. (HRB)  climbed 4%. H&R Block's stock has been on a steady rise in recent days, in part because of a belief that its business will be bolstered by people who are required to file tax returns to receive a government subsidy for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Shares of Discovery Laboratories Inc. (DSCO)  surged 39%. The company said the Food and Drug Administration had agreed to the company's updated product specifications for its Surfaxin intratracheal suspension, which was approved for the prevention of respiratory distress in prematurely born infants.

Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY)  shares rose 3%. The stock was raised to buy from underperform at Bank of America, according to Benzinga.

St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ)  shares advanced 3.3%. Analysts at Leerink Swann Research said Friday Food and Drug Administration's briefing documents suggest support for approval of CardioMEMS/Champion Heart Failure monitoring device.

Decliners

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP)  shares fell for a sixth session, shedding 5.5%. The stock has been battered by weak business and liquidity worries, particularly after the sale of 84 million shares last week to raise funds.

Home builder stocks were among the biggest S&P 500 (SPX)  losers ahead of the looming debt ceiling deadline. D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI)  slid 4%, PulteGroup Inc. (PHM)  declined 2.8%, and Lennar Corp. (LEN)  fell 3.4%. The U.S. Treasury Department had warned on Thursday that a failure to raise the debt ceiling could trigger a crisis even more severe than the financial meltdown of 2008.

Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX)  dropped 6.7%. The company late Thursday reported a 70% drop in third-quarter earnings and offered a somewhat downbeat fourth-quarter forecast. The U.K.-based maker of data-storage and manufacturing equipment said it expects fourth-quarter results to range between a loss of four cents and a profit of 20 cents on revenue of $190 million to $220 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had produced a forecast for profit of 16 cents on revenue of $218 million. Shares are up by around 43% for the year to date.

Forest Oil Corp. (FST)  shares slid 5.4%. The company said late Thursday that it would sell its Texas Panhandle assets for $1 billion. The sale price exceeds Forest's roughly $770 million market cap, based on the value of shares at Thursday's close.