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What goes down does not always come back up again in this stock market climate.
But two medical staffing IPOs in Boca Raton that experienced a meteoric rise and fall this year are now bucking Wall Street doldrums.
Booming demand for nursing services has fueled earnings, revenues and stock prices for the pair of staffing firms. The turnaround comes on the heels of bad news last week when a competitor issued guidance that disappointed investors.
Shares of Cross Country (Nasdaq: CCRN) and Medical Staffing Network Holdings (NYSE: MRN) fell by 14 percent and 8 percent after shares of rival AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE: AHS) fell more than 20 percent, giving back gains the stock made the previous week.
The downfall of a key competitor would normally be an ominous sign for Cross Country, which, despite reporting earnings of 25 cents a share in August - a penny greater than Wall Street estimates - saw its stock plunge 45 percent just one day later after management warned analysts to lower thirdquarter expectations.
But last month, its Boca Raton neighbor, Medical Staffing, beat First Call consensus forecasts by a penny and posted its best sales...