Why Buffalo Wild Wings, Whiting Petroleum, and Spirit Airlines Jumped Today

The stock market had a relatively quiet day on Thursday, with major benchmarks inching higher as investors continued to believe in the long-term prospects for the U.S. economy. Market participants are looking forward to getting their first major reading on earnings from the biggest technology-sector players in the coming days, but for now, investor sentiment has been able to overcome what would ordinarily be a troubling rise in long-term bond yields that could signal a steeper move higher for interest rates in the near future. Some stocks responded quite favorably to good news, and Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD), Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL), and Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE) 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.

Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings finished higher by more than 19% after the company reported third-quarter financial results. At first glance, the sports bar and casual-dining establishment's numbers might not have seemed all that impressive, with a revenue gain of less than 1% and a double-digit drop in adjusted net income. Yet despite declines in comparable-restaurant sales of about 2% to 3%, Buffalo Wild Wings impressed its shareholders with the extent to which it has followed through on cost-cutting moves to improve its internal efficiency. Even though some investors had feared that changing a popular half-price wings deal could backfire, Buffalo Wild Wings has executed well, and that could point to even better times ahead.

Image source: Buffalo Wild Wings.

Source: Fool.com