The Ticker A Look Back At The Past Week On Wall Street

What’s hot

It was a rough week on Wall Street, but one direct-selling company bucked the downward trend to put the blush back into investors’ cheeks.

Avon Products climbed $6.88 Friday to finish the day at $73.75. The company said late Thursday it plans to take pretax charges of up to $200 million over the next two years to cover restructuring costs, including the elimination of 30 percent of its beauty-products line.

Sofamor/Danek Group, a Memphis-based manufacturer of computer-assisted surgery products, closed up $5.44 Friday to end the week at $69.13 on reports that third-quarter earnings were in line with Wall Street estimates, prompting Smith Barney to upgrade the stock.

What’s Not

On the flip side, Harbinger dropped $8.50 to close Friday at $31.88 after announcing the acquisition of Great Britain’s Atlas Products International and Premenos, whose stock rose $2.75 after the announcement. Harbinger, an Atlanta-based provider of electronic commerce software, also reported third-quarter earnings well below analysts’ expectations.

Lower-than-expected earnings also put WFS Financial on the downside this week. The Irvine, Calif., consumer finance company fell $3.56 on the news to end the week at $14.13.