10:12 ET Emulex (EMLX) 47.24 +3.94 (+9%): -- Update -- Partnering with Cisco to demonstrate iSCSI technology at
NetWorld+Interop May 8 - 11. Will show how block-level data may be accessed from a Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN),
running over an Internet protocol (IP) network. The recently-introduced Cisco SN 5420 Storage Router bridges the IP network to the Fibre
Channel SAN enabling access of block-level storage.
10:08 ET LanOptics, Ltd. (LNOP) : Thinly traded stock surges on news that Avaya (AV) to use the EZchip Tech NP-1 network
processor in Avaya's next generation of 10-Gigabit routing switches. EZchip is a subsidiary of LanOptics... Rally has occurred on thin
volume of 120K shares.
10:04 ET Prof. Detailing (PDII) 76.56 +1.09 (+1.4%): Enters a non-binding letter of intent with a leading pharmaceutical company under
which PDI would redeploy the sales force associated with the recently terminated product detailing contract with GlaxoSmithKline. In
February, PDII shares tumbled more than 40% on an intraday basis on news that GlaxoSmithKline planned to terminate its fee for service
agreement with PDI.
09:57 ET Computer Assoc (CA) 28.29 -2..41 (-7.9%): According to SG Cowen pre-market comment, CA inadvertently reported diluted
EPS for year-ending Mar 31 of $0.40 rather than actual $0.16. Firm does not view this as a big deal, noting that anyone who bothered to
calculate the FY reported numbers would have seen the mistake.
09:54 ET Tecnomatix Tech (TCNO) 7.50 +0.23 (+3.1%): Announced that Ford, a long time customer, is expanding its use of eMPower
in order to reduce costs and improve product and process design.
09:50 ET Early Movers : Shares of Imclone Systems (IMCL 41.02 +1.77) advance in response to "60 Minutes" segment on the
'compassionate use' of experimental drugs that highlighted IMCL's C-225 as a highly sought after drug among terminally ill cancer patients...
Seeing a bit of a squeeze in Krispy Kreme (KREM 46.53 +2.41) after lock-up expiration failed to break the stock... Impressive recovery
in homebuilding stocks, led by Ryland Group (RYL +6%) and Beazer Homes (BZH +5%).
09:40 ET BEA Systems (BEAS) 36.21 +0.23 (+0.6%): Dain Rauscher downgrades to BUY-AGGR from Strong Buy-Aggressive based
on lengthening sales cycles, smaller deal sizes, and the potential of a slowdown in Europe. Longer-term issues include increasing competition
and resultant pricing issues.
09:38 ET Sector Watch : Mixed but improving performance thus far with semiconductor, biotech, networking, oil and natural gas leading.
Losing sectors include: retail, insurance, banking, broker/dealer, gold and healthcare.
09:35 ET Portal Software (PRSF) 6.35 -2.93 (-31.6%): -- Update -- CIBC World Markets downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy after
company missed its qtr significantly and issued zero guidance. Views $5 area as bottom for the stock.
09:32 ET Transmeta (TMTA) 12 -2.57 (-17.6%): -- Update -- Continues to come under heavy selling pressure as lock-up restrictions
expire on more than 100 mln shares. News out this morning that Toshiba has introduced, in Japan, its Crusoe-based Libretto
L1/060TNMM notebook PC has failed to act as a catalyst.
09:26 ET Andrx (ADRX) 58.98: After the close Friday, AstraZeneca (AZN) announced a lawsuit against Andrx Pharmaceuticals alleging
Andrx's proposed generic version of PRILOSEC will infringe on an AstraZeneca patent.
09:23 ET Biotech : A number of conferences this week could affect the sector: American Psychiatric Association and American Academy
of Neurology already underway; American Society of Clinical Oncology Conference begins on Friday. At the Psychiatric meeting,
Robertson Stephens sources say that one presentation claimed that PFE's Geodon drug for schizophrenia was as effective as LLY's Zyprexa
but with less weight gain. Also notes that other stocks that could be affected by this week's conferences include: BGEN, CEPH, DNA,
IMCL, ABGX, MLNM.
09:22 ET Handspring (HAND) 13.03: Announces price reduction on its most popular Visor handheld, discounting the Visor Deluxe by
$50 from $249 to $199.
09:18 ET Nova Corp (NIS) 23.52: U.S. Bancorp (USB) to acquire provider of integrated transaction-processing services in a cash/stock
deal valued at approx. $2.1 bln. NOVA shareholders have the option of receiving 1.407 shares of USB common stock or $31.00 in cash,
subject to 60% of NOVA shares being exchanged for USB stock.
09:12 ET Extreme Networks (EXTR) 32.10: Salomon Smith Barney raises price target to $45 from $30; cites early stages of recovery in
Enterprise and stabilization of prices; firm feels that its ($0.03) estimate for the qtr is too conservative.
09:11 ET Cisco Systems (CSCO) 19.64: -- Update -- Sources at Robertson Stephens saying that the firm spoke positively on Cisco; may
have seen a pick-up in enterprise business since their preannouncement, which would benefit names such as EXTR, FDRY, CS, BRCD, and
EMLX.
09:09 ET Barrett Resources (BRR) 67.30: -- Update -- CNBC reporting that company has agreed to be acquired by Williams Cos
(WMB) for $2.8 bln, or $73 per share, in cash and stock.
09:05 ET 3Com Corp (COMS) 6.90: Announces across-the-board reduction in workforce of approx. 3,000 people including full-time
regular employees and alternative workforce.
09:00 ET Informix (IFMX) 5.02: -- Update -- Company projects revenue growth of 35%-40% in 2001 and approx. 40%-50% in 2002.
Continues to expect to achieve sustained profitability, before charges and nonrecurring items, during Q4.
08:56 ET VeriSign (VRSN) 57.04: Controversial short-selling firm Asensio & Company out with another note on VeriSign; under
Asenio's interpretation, ICANN's new proposed agreement with VeriSign does not comply with Department of Commerce's regulations
governing ICANN's authority to exercise control over the domain name system; believes the new agreement merits rejection because it is
anti-competitive and unnecessary.
08:48 ET Yahoo! (YHOO) 20.13: Hearing from sources at Wit SoundView that the firm believes a continued weak ad market will limit
Yahoo's revenue growth, and a sale of the company is less likely given that it would highly dilutive to an acquirer; firm says it would be a
seller of the stock at these levels.
08:46 ET JP Morgan Chase (JPM) 50.60: Prudential downgrades to SELL from Hold on view that the consensus estimate is too high
and concern that a slower economy should cause problem loans to continue to increase. Notes that company's chief credit officer left
position after only a few months. Reduces FY01 view to $3.10 from $3.50 and FY02 to $3.95 from $4.25.
08:43 ET Informix (IFMX) 5.02: Company reaffirms outlook and provides expanded guidance in SEC filing.
08:41 ET Willamette (WLL) 48.65: Weyerhaeuser (WY) raises its fully financed cash tend offer for forest products company to $50 per
share from $48.
08:39 ET Microsoft (MSFT) 70.75: -- Update -- CNET news reported late Friday that sources close to MSFT product plans said that
Windows XP would be on sale in stores Oct 29.
08:37 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures -1.2, or 0.8 pts above fair value; Nasdaq 100 pre-market indicator +3.5. Quiet action and
directionless trading continues pre-market.
08:33 ET Vitesse Semi (VTSS) 35.44: Optical networking site Light Reading reporting that VTSS will unveil a new switch fabric at
Networld+Interop tomorrow; the new product - GigaStream - can support 64 gigabit ethernet ports, and features load balancing among the
chips on the switch card.
08:33 ET Portal Software (PRSF) 9.28: -- Update -- Earnings warning conference call (8:30ET) can be accessed at 800-967-7185 or
portal.com. Stock trading at $7 in pre-market.
08:32 ET Carreker Corp (CANI) 26.05: Robertson Stephens downgrades to LT ATTRACTIVE from Buy as the shares have achieved
target valuation of 30.0x 2001 EPS estimate of $0.88.
08:25 ET PMC-Sierra (PMCS) 41.25: Company told investors JP Morgan H&Q Conference (Friday) that it sees about another 5
months of tough sledding before a turn in the business is likely to occur. At that point thinks a turn is almost guaranteed, unless carrier capital
expenditures fall any further. Stated that cancellations are behind company, and it is now seeing a small backlog.
08:24 ET TTM Tech (TTMI) 9.25: Thomas Weisel Partners upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy. Analyst believes that a major North
American competitor is in the process of closing three facilities that likely generate in excess of $100 mln in annual revenues. Asian
competitors have slowed capacity expansion plans, particularly with low-cost Chinese facilities. 6-month price target is $14.
08:17 ET Perot Systems (PER) 13.23: JP Morgan upgrades to BUY from LT Buy, reiterates $18 price target; cites positive inflection in
the business, easy comparisons during next three quarters and record $7.5 bb pipeline.
08:14 ET Microsoft (MSFT) 70.75: UBS Warburg analyst Don Young believes that company is in the process of making a major change
to their software licensing policies and a public announcement may be coming shortly. Key aspect is a shift from perpetual software
licenses to non-perpetual licenses. Move would result in more stable and predictable license revenues for mature software lines like windows
and office, and lessen dependency on volatile PC shipments and software upgrade cycles... Analyst reiterates Strong Buy rating.
08:12 ET Guitar Center (GTRC) 19.49: Goldman Sachs downgrades to MKT OUTPERFORMER from Recommended List; continue
to regard GTRC as well-positioned, and as a core growth retail holding, however retail operating income growth has stagnated, and recent
diversification was surprising given that existing core businesses still have significant room for growth.
08:12 ET Ask Jeeves (ASKJ) 2.24: Compaq Computer (CPQ) renews its contract to use the Ask Jeeves customized question answering
service for customer support.
08:10 ET Concur Tech (CNQR) 1.40: Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) has selected Concur Expense to provide company-wide
automation of its travel and entertainment (T&E) expense management process.
08:08 ET FreeMarkets (FMKT) 11.43: Signs up Taiwan's MiTAC International as a user of its B2B Global Marketplace, which MiTAC
will use as a platform for sourcing goods and services for its operations.
08:08 ET Shamrock Logistics (UDL) 28.15: Goldman Sachs initiates coverage with a RECOMMENDED LIST rating and $35 price
target.
08:06 ET AOL Time Warner (AOL) 52.20: Enters cross-promotion agreement with CompUSA. Deal calls for CompUSA to create
prominent AOL displays in its 218 CompUSA Superstores nationwide. In addition, America Online will provide CompUSA prominent
branding and promotion across several of its interactive brands.
08:05 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures -4.2, or 2.2 pts below fair value; Nasdaq 100 futures -7.5, or 1.5 pts above fair value.
Have not seen any clear direction in the futures over the past half hour; still pointing to roughly flat open.
08:02 ET FedEx Corp (FDX) 41.28: -- Update -- Expects the economic softness to continue into company's fiscal 2002, which begins
June 1.
07:58 ET FedEx Corp (FDX) 41.28: Reduces Q4 outlook to a range of $0.50-$0.60 (consensus $0.69) due deteriorating economic
conditions and the rapid decline in the high-tech and other durable goods industries.
07:56 ET ViroPharma (VPHM) 33.55: Indicated 3 pts lower in pre-market in reaction to Barron's article questioning the efficacy of
company's Picovir cold drug. Article states that only one of the drug's two Phase III trials on adults showed Picovir to be effective; even
then, patients showed only a one day improvement in symptoms. Barron's questions how many people would be willing to pay the $40-$65
price for the treatment.
07:48 ET Proxicom (PXCM) 5.66: E-consulting company receives a $7.50 per share cash bid to be acquired by Dimension Data Holdings
plc. Last month, PXCM entered into an agreement to be purchased by Compaq for $5.75 per share in cash. Proxicom's Board has
authorized company to enter into negotiations with Dimension Data. Agreement with Compaq has a $10 mln termination fee.
07:43 ET Transocean Sedco (RIG) 51.51: Offshore driller reports Q1 net of $0.05 a share, 2 cents above consensus. Revenues
increased 83% to $550.1 mln.
07:36 ET AFLAC (AFL) 30.90: Lehman downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy. After recent trip to Asia, firm says that there are more
competitors than it thought interested in taking on AFLAC in this market and that competitors in general seem more confident that they can
compete against the giant of cancer insurance.
07:31 ET Opening Indications : This morning's fair value figures -- S&P 500 fair value: 1271; closed 2 pts above fair value. Nasdaq 100
fair value: 1933; closed 9 pts above fair value. Current indications: S&P 500 futures are -2.7, or 0.7 pts below fair value. Nasdaq 100 is
-9.5, or 0.5 pts below fair value... The futures have traded in a tight range for most of the morning with little direction provided from
European markets (U.K. closed for holiday, Germany and France mixed).
07:22 ET Guidant Corp (GDT) 33: CS First Boston downgrades to HOLD from Buy. Fears that should Contak CD be delayed by the
FDA and GDT is required to do another study and drug coated stents come to market as expected, GDT would be limited to low teens
earnings growth over the next couple of yrs. If this were to occur, could see multiple compression to about 15x forward earnings, suggesting
a stock price in the $28-$30 range.
07:17 ET Cisco Systems (CSCO) 19.64: Signs framework cooperation agreement with China Telecom to supply more than 500
high-speed Cisco routers over the next year and network equipment to expand nodes in more than 300 cities.
07:11 ET Level 3 Comms (LVLT) 16.71: Kmart's BlueLight.com expands agreement to use multiple Level 3 services, including plans to
extend its use of LVLT Connect Modem from 24 to 47 markets in the U.S.
07:05 ET Portal Software (PRSF) 9.28: Warns of a Q1 pro forma loss of $0.19-$0.21 a share vs the $0.01 profit anticipated by analysts.
Puts revenue in the $42-$44 mln range. Plans to reduce Q2 expenses by 20%-25% through a combination of workforce reductions, facilities
consolidations, and asset write-offs.
07:02 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 11.15: Company's CFO Deborah Hopkins resigns from position after just one year on the job. The former
Boeing executive is being replaced by Frank D'Amelio, who previously served as group president of Lucent's Switching Solutions Group and
CFO of Lucent's Network Systems business. Speculation is that Ms. Hopkins was forced out by new Chairman Henry Schacht.
06:51 ET Valero Energy (VLO) 45.47: Announces acquisition of independent refiner Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS 42.71) for $4
bln in cash and stock, plus the assumption of $2 bln in debt. Deal calls for UDS holders to receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.228 shares of
VLO common stock for approx. half of the UDS outstanding shares (equivalent to about $55.84 per share), and $55 in cash for the
remaining shares.
06:43 ET Barrett Resources (BRR) 67.30: WSJ reports that Williams Cos (WMB) is in advanced talks to acquire the natural gas and
crude oil producer for at least $2.3 bln in cash and stock. The price would exceed the approx. $2 bln offered by Royal Dutch/Shell as part
of its hostile bid to acquire BRR. The stock has traded well above Shell's cash offer (valued at $60 per share) in anticipation of a bidding
war.
06:35 ET Genentech (DNA) 54: Announces that a federal jury unanimously found that DNA's two leading oncology products, Herceptin
and Rituxan, do not infringe patents held by GlaxoSmithKline and therefore that Genentech is not required to pay royalties to
GlaxoSmithKline on those products.
06:07 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1270, 1.0 points below fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1935, 2.0 points over
fair value. The 30-year bond is up 6 ticks at 5.660%. The dollar is a tad weaker against the yen, but a bit firmer against the euro.
06:06 ET European Markets : FTSE closed%, DAX +0.14% -- European stocks modestly higher, though UK markets are closed for
holiday. Technology and drug shares outperforming. Swiss drugs and diagnostics group Roche higher following a Novartis purchase of a
20% stake in Roche for 4.8 mln Swiss francs. Nokia helping to boost tech after the world’s largest mobile phone maker said Friday that it is
still possible for the company to garner a 40% market share for handsets, even if it has yet to reach its goal.
06:05 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei +0.75%, Hang Seng +1.57% -- Asian stocks higher with Japan’s Nikkei pushing to its best levels for
the year. NTT DoCoMo led the way higher, surging 7.4% to a five-month high ahead of the company’s earnings announcement on
Wednesday. Good foreign buying was reported once again. Hong Kong closed 1.57% higher with help from an 8.6% gain in China Unicom,
while Korea’s Kospi gained 1.9%, closing higher for the fifth consecutive session. |
