Stocks on the Rise Today: Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Solar3D

Stocks on the rise today (Tuesday) that are poised to end with huge gains include: Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), which soared on its annual profit outlook; Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), which made a move to increase efficiency, and small-cap Solar3D, which may have just uncovered a groundbreaking solar energy development.

Tiffany & Co
(NYSE: TIF)


Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) stock surges after high earnings forecast: Tiffany, the world's second largest upscale jewelry retailer, announced Tuesday it expects this year's sales growth to beat estimates.

Tiffany forecast profit will rise to as high as $4.05 a share for the year ending Jan. 31, 2013. That's about 3.3% higher than the average analyst estimate of $3.92, according to Bloomberg News.

TIF stock soared in the morning after news that Tiffany could overcome this season's lighter-than-expected holiday sales.

"That was the first warning that the luxury party was coming to an end, but now it seems it was just a speed bump," Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand told Reuters.

Tiffany credits U.S. stock-market gains as the catalyst to get its consumers back in stores. Fourth-quarter sales were up 7.8% to $1.19 billion.
"Their guidance suggests that business has reaccelerated," David Schick, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore, told Bloomberg. "When the financial markets, economic conditions and consumer sentiment improve, people go shopping."

The company expects 10% sales growth this year. It'll also be able to shed the relocation costs that weighed on Tiffany's fourth-quarter profits. The jeweler recently moved its New York headquarters.

Heavy moving expenses, paired with higher product costs, caused net earnings for the quarter to slip 2% to $178 million.

The company expects two regions to drive sales growth in 2012: The Americas and Asia-Pacific. Tiffany plans to open 16 stores in those regions, and 24 stores total around the world.

TIF shares were up about 7% to $73.43 by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) invests in efficiency: Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer, will be fulfilling customer orders faster with a little help... from robots.

Amazon.com announced Tuesday it would pay $775 million for Kiva Systems Inc., which makes robots that can move packages around warehouses.

The robots can slide under shelves and containers for easier transport. The deal could ultimately cut high labor costs from Amazon.com hiring temporary workers when shipments increase, and reduce expenses when the company expands operations.

Amazon.com has been investing more in its warehouse operations. The company spent $4.6 billion last year on warehouses - Amazon.com's largest operating expense at 9.5% of sales, according to its annual report.

"It's an internal infrastructure play, and it comes at a time when their headcount has been growing faster than revenue," Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners LP, told Bloomberg. "One of the knocks on Amazon is that their fulfillment is an expensive, manual process. They're not getting the benefits of scale. So they're taking some steps towards it."

Today marks another big move by Amazon.com, one that the company hopes will lure you to its online deals site, AmazonLocal.

Amazon.com is selling $10 gift cards for $5, hoping the deal will attract customers who typically go to Groupon and LivingSocial.

AMZN shares were up 4.4% to $193.68 by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Solar3D Inc. announces game-changing energy development: This small-cap stock took off Tuesday to gain 35% by 2 p.m. after announcing a breakthrough in solar cell development.

Solar3D reported that it completed detailed simulation analysis comparing its breakthrough solar cell with conventional solar cells.Test results showed Solar3D's cells could produce 200% of the power output of conventional solar cells.

Solar3D's cells include two patent-pending features for light collection and conversion, increasing performance beyond conventional models.

Solar3D CEO Jim Nelson said the discovery was revolutionary in the industry, and answers questions that the solar energy sector has pondered for years.

The company just announced last week it would work with Redwood Renewables, a solar roofing company, to study how solar cells work when integrated into roof tiles. These breakthrough cells could allow smaller space to generate more power, saving users money.

"One of the biggest challenges in [photovoltaic] integrated roof tiles is low power output from conventional cells," said Tom Faust, president of Redwood Renewables. "Buildings using high efficiency PV roof tiles will not only generate electricity for immediate use, but may even help pay the mortgage after a short payback period."

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