Why L Brands, Ascendis Pharma, and Phillips 66 Partners Jumped Today

Stock crawled to the finish line for the week on Friday as market participants appeared content with the status quo. Major benchmarks were little changed despite new concerns about a potential hydrogen bomb test by North Korea, and even though analysts increasingly believe that the market's valuation is high, prices have thus far been resilient. Some good news from several companies also helped bolster investor sentiment, and L Brands (NYSE: LB), Ascendis Pharma (NASDAQ: ASND), and Phillips 66 Partners (NYSE: PSXP) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.

L Brands pushed its stock up by 7.5%, regaining nearly all of the ground that the parent of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works had lost earlier in the week. Analysts had downgraded the retailer's stock on Wednesday, citing both the general malaise in the brick-and-mortar retail industry as well as company-specific issues about fashion and rising competition in intimate apparel. After a couple of days of substantial declines, the stock benefited from bargain hunters stepping in today. With L Brands having seen a large 8% drop in comparable sales in its most recent quarter, it'll be up to the retailer to get its fundamental business back in order before investors should expect a much longer-term rebound in L Brands shares.

Image source: L Brands.

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Source: Fool.com