Hasbro (HAS) shareholders can thank the popularity of the Disney Princess and Disney's Frozen dolls and accessories for the 7% spike in the toymaker's shares in midday trading Monday.
The Pawtucket, R.I.-based company booked better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter Monday, in which earnings of $2.03 per share topped consensus estimates by 16% as sales of $1.68 billion also beat forecasts by about 8%. Sales of toys aimed at girls climbed by 57% to $462 million year over year, compared to a 2% gain in the boys' product line to $606 million.
"2016 has been a strong year, including our third quarter -- which marked the greatest revenue and earnings quarter in Hasbro's history," CEO Brian Goldner said in a statement. "We are well positioned for what we believe will be a good holiday season."
Meanwhile, shares of insurance giant Anthem (ANTM) were down more than 2% after JPMorgan analysts cut their rating on the Indianapolis-based company's stock to Neutral from Overweight, citing concerns of the company's exposure to fleeting demand among individual exchanges. JPMorgan also cut the price target on Anthem stock to $132 from $154, noting the company also has a slim chance of getting near-term approval for its proposed tie-up with Cigna (CI) .
And a slip in oil prices by more than 1% to under $50 a barrel helped pull down overall U.S. markets, which fell slightly as oil and gas stocks dipped. Shares of Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy (DVN) and Houston-based Southwestern Energy (SWN) , a member of Real Money's Stressed Out watch list, fell to the bottom of the S&P 500 in midday trading, with shares each down about 3%.
