Top Stock Gainers & News Inspiring The Rally

(RTTNews) - Drugstores retailer Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) continued the positive momentum yesterday, up another 14%, after the company said Monday that it transferred 97 Rite Aid stores and related assets to Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA). Under an amended asset purchase agreement, Walgreens will purchase a total of 1,932 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory from Rite Aid for an all-cash purchase price of $4.375 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The store transfer will happen in phases and completion is expected in spring of 2018. Rite Aid will use the sale proceeds to repay debt.

Shares of Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) soared more than 9% on Wednesday, after the home-furnishings retailer announced the launch of Pottery Barn 3D Room View, to promote visualization of products in homes. With the new augmented reality (AR) application, customers can virtually place life-sized, three-dimensional Pottery Barn products in a room, save and share room designs, and connect through the app to shop. Williams-Sonoma is among the first home furnishings brands to introduce an AR-enabled app that is available on iOS for iPhone and iPad. On Tuesday, Williams-Sonoma agreed to acquire Outward Inc., a 3D imaging and augmented reality technology company, for $112 million in cash.

Target Corp. (TGT) also joined this growing list of retailers that are adopting augmented reality application to transform the design process into a digitally-enabled, interactive experience. TGT shares climbed 8.94% Wednesday, reflecting the company's highly competitive holiday season plans. The discount retailer has done a good job of building out an online presence.

Shares of department store chain Macy's Inc. (M) were up 8.16%, reflecting optimism about the holiday shopping season. Earlier this month, Macy's reported a profit that more than doubled for the third quarter as lower costs and expenses more than offset a decline in sales. Despite declining sales, the company reiterated its financial outlook for fiscal 2017.

Shares of Advance Auto Parts Inc. (AAP) continue to accelerate following the release of its third-quarter results on November 14. The company posted better-than-expected third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.43 vs. consensus $1.21. Shares closed up 7.66% on Wednesday.