Apogee Enterprises

The Architectural Billings Index for September declined slightly to 48.4 from 49.7 in August. Apogee (NSDQ: APOG) and other commercial building-related stocks have sold off on fears that demand is softening. We will keep a close eye on this indicator, which measures demand 12 months out. But we agree with American Institute of Architects Chief Economist Kermit Baker, who thinks the decline stems from the November election’s uncertainty. Says Baker: “The fact that new work coming into architecture continues to slowly increase suggests that billings will resume their growth in the coming months.”

Cynosure

The medical treatments company reported a strong quarter on Oct. 25. Revenue rose 36% to $106 million, $5 million higher than analysts’ estimates and $3 million higher than my own internal estimate. Earnings were 29 cents, 3 cents better than estimates. SculpSure, the company’s new noninvasive fat reduction treatment, is bringing in new customers. Almost 70% of SculpSure sales in the past two quarters have been to first-time customers of Cynosure (NSDQ: CYNO). These noncore doctors (anyone who is not a dermatologist or a cosmetic surgeon) are now buying other Cynosure products as well. International markets, which make up just 10% of total revenue, will ramp up with new distribution and approvals in place.

Ethan Allen

Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH) jumped 7% after providing a preliminary view of the first quarter. The company gave investors a quick look at first-quarter (ending September) numbers ahead of its Oct. 26 analyst day. Although earnings will be 7 cents less than expected, sales are strong and higher than estimates. Investors chose to excuse the higher expenses as they are partly related to the company’s launch of a Disney-inspired line of furniture. Growth in orders written, an indicator of future sales, was up a strong 8%.

Installed Building Products

The company (NYSE: IBP) announced the acquisition of East Coast Insulators, which provides installation services to residential and commercial customers in the Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia and Maryland markets through two Virginia locations. Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “With $20 million of annualized revenue, East Coast Insulators has a large presence within strong and growing markets, and this acquisition will help expand our presence in the mid-Atlantic.”

Integrated Device Technologies

The stock of this semiconductor maker (NSDQ: IDTI) slumped due to its business with Samsung. You’ve probably seen the news that Samsung is recalling and halting production of its Note 7 Smartphone, which Integrated makes some components for. While this is obviously bad news, the company has often mentioned that smartphone revenue is a relatively small part of its business. It does not list Samsung as a 10% customer, information that the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to divulge. I recommended the stock for its automotive exposure through its ZMDI acquisition, which is working out quite well. We should get more clarity from the company when it reports earnings Oct. 31.

Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice (NSDQ: LSCC) also has been hit by the Samsung news, but its profits should be secure. Samsung represented 9% of Lattice’s revenue in 2015 but has dropped precipitously since then. In fact, for 2015, Samsung bought $36 million of product from Lattice, half of what it purchased the previous year. I do not think Lattice’s numbers are at risk from the problems at Samsung. As Lattice chips were found in a recent teardown of Apple’s newest iPhone, Lattice may actually benefit from Samsung’s woes, as more consumers shift over to iPhones.

Omnova Solutions

Omnova’s stock (NYSE: OMN) jumped after the company’s Director James Mitarotonda disclosed in a filing earlier that he’d bought 38,313 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $8.11 per share on Sept. 28 and 29. This is proof of management confidence after the stock dropped hard when a big customer delayed a purchase.