09:14 ET BEA Systems (BEAS) 35.09: SG Cowen believes company is experiencing a tiny bit of slowdown in Europe, although not as much as Rational Software (RATL). Expects BEAS shares to remain in a $35-$40 trading range near-term. BEAS is holding an analyst meeting in London today.
09:09 ET General Electric (GE) 47.85: -- Update -- CEO Welch states that the Commission's extraordinary demands are far beyond the point at which the company would do the Honeywell (HON) deal. "This shows you are never too old to get surprised. In this case, the European regulators demands exceeded anything I or our European advisors imagined, and differed sharply from antitrust counterparts in the U.S. and Canada."
09:07 ET General Electric (GE) 47.85: States that its final proposal to the European Commission of divestitures are far short of the EC's demands, which seek billions more than the proposed GE divestitures. GE is not optimistic that its proposal will meet with European regulatory approval.
09:05 ET Charles Schwab (SCH) 17.35: Reports May client daily average trades of 219.1K, down 11% from yr-ago and down 7% from April.
09:02 ET Gapping Up/Down : XYBR +10% (highlighted last night on CNBC)... VIGN +5% (IBM selects VIGN solution)... MTON +3.5% (raises guidance for qtr and yr)... RCOM +2% (carryover momentum from 2-day run)... Gapping Down: SSTI -12% (earnings warning)... MUSE -10.5% (downgrades following cautious conference presentation)... GNTX -10% (warning)... PRCS -10% (CIBC downgrade)... BEAS -6.5% (holding analyst day in London)... ENZN -4.5% (plans convertible notes offering).
08:57 ET STMicroelectronics (STM) 34.10: Lowers Q2 revenue forecast to $1.55-$1.60 bln from previous forecast of $1.65-$1.80 bln; says gross margin has been affected by lower-than-expected utilization rates and difficult pricing environment.
08:53 ET Robbie on ITWO/SEBL : Hearing from sources at Robertson Stephens that the firm says there is risk to the quarter for i2 (ITWO 19.21) and Siebel (SEBL 45.10); would continue to take profits in the near-term as business is very tough coming into the back-end of the quarter. SEBL trading down 1 pre-market.
08:43 ET TriZetto Group (TZIX) 9.47: Prices 6 mln share public offering at $9.25.
08:42 ET PRAECIS (PRCS) 15.42: CIBC downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy and cuts target to $26 from $46 due to the uncertainty on the timeline for the approval of abarelix; still believes drug will be approved but timing is uncertain. Separately, PRCS says in a press release that it will respond to the deficiencies cited by the FDA, but that it could not predict when its response will be completed.
08:41 ET Vignette (VIGN) 8.20: Reuters reports that IBM Corp (IBM) has chosen Vignette software to manage Web content for several of its branded Internet sites.
08:33 ET Economic Reports : PPI rose 0.1% total and 0.2% core, roughly in line with expectations. Initial claims fell 12K to 428K, a bit higher than expected. Nothing particularly surprising in these reports, but seeing a positive reaction in the futures nonetheless; S&P futures now 2 pts above fair value; Nasdaq 100 pre-market indicator +4.
08:29 ET Micromuse (MUSE) 35.25: -- Update -- Morgan Stanley downgrades to NEUTRAL from Strong Buy citing reduced forward visibility and increased potential risk to numbers. Believes that new deals are taking longer to close and the deals are marginally smaller in size.
08:25 ET Superior Industries (SUP) 37.01: Prudential upgrades to BUY from Hold and designates stock a "Single Best Idea." Upgrade based on firm's new confidence that its new aluminum suspension components business start up risk has been reduced and strong expected wheel shipments during 2H01 and 2002. Views recent weakness as a buying opportunity.
08:20 ET IMPCO Tech (IMCO) 36.68: Designer of alternative fuel systems reports a Q4 loss of $0.66 a share, 16 cents wider than consensus, vs a yr-ago loss of $0.09. Revenues declined 6.5% to $27.2 mln. Core revenues declined 9.5% due to slowing worldwide economy and unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates.
08:20 ET Cisco Systems (CSCO) 19.02: Sources at Morgan Stanley saying that the firm is skeptical of recent rumors that Cisco might warn in the next several days, arguing that it is too early to make a call on the quarter and that a near-term warning is therefore highly unlikely; says checks on North American enterprise indicate that business could be weaker than expected and recovery unlikely until FQ1/Q2 of 2002, but anticipation of recovery is still the reason to own the stock.
08:06 ET Wet Seal (WTSLA) 34.50: Speciality retailer announces the resignation of CFO Ann Cadier-Kim. Ms. Kim will remain with the company through a suitable transition period.
08:00 ET Merrill on R2K Effects : Merrill Lynch notes that stocks being added to the Russell 2000 have outperformed those being deleted by 29% from the end of March through the end of May; argues that the more pronounced Russell effect this year might lead to a more severe reversal with deletions outperforming additions going forward.
08:00 ET Youbet.com (UBET) 1.06: Provider of online live event and wagering for the horse racing industry expects to achieve positive cash flow and a crossover into profitable operations in the 1st-half of 2002.
07:59 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures, at 1249, are 2 points below fair value while the Nasdaq 100 futures, at 1785, are 24 points below fair value... Not much news to drive buying interest this morning as the focus remains on yesterday's disappointing outing and the upcoming PPI report at 8:30 ET... Consensus estimates for total and core-PPI are increases of 0.3% and 0.2% respectively.
07:53 ET Emulex (EMLX) 34.48: Sources at Thomas Weisel Partners telling us that the firm upgraded EMLX to BUY from Market Perform, citing an improving environment.
07:52 ET Schlumberger (SLB) 60.22: Reports that revenues at its recently acquired Sema plc unit is lower than previously estimated; cites global slowdown in the telecommunications industry and a further weakening of the European currency.
07:46 ET H.J. Heinz Co (HNZ) 42.43: Reports Q4 earnings of $0.53 a share, in line with consensus, vs yr-ago net of $0.63. Company sees Q1 in the range of $0.60-$0.62 (mean $0.65); cites current strength of the U.S. dollar, high energy costs and softness in the quick-serve segment of its U.S. Foodservice biz.
07:44 ET Solectron (SLR) 20.17: CSFB previews Monday's earnings report; sees SLR reporting Q3 (May) EPS of $0.11 vs consensus of $0.13; does not expect improvement in Q4 and does not expect guidance beyond Q4 due to limited visibility.
07:41 ET Opening Indications : This morning's fair value figures -- S&P 500 fair value: 1251; closed 2 pts above fair value. Nasdaq 100 fair value: 1809; closed 1 pt below fair value. Current indications: S&P 500 futures are -3.3, or -1.3 pts below fair value. Nasdaq 100 is -21, or 22 pts below fair value... Tone in tech sector has been weak throughout the morning, an extension of late fade in the market yesterday. Downgrades of GLW and MUSE not helping matters.
07:40 ET Digital Lightwave (DIGL) 41.80: Hearing from sources at Pacific Growth that the firm is downgrading DIGL to BUY from Strong Buy; cites uncertainty relating to increased competition and the potential impact on margins.
07:38 ET Sybase (SY) 16.22: Merrill Lynch downgrades to near-term ACCUMULATE from Buy and reduces FY01 EPS estimate to $1.12 from $1.23 while revenues are seen higher at $1.08 bln from $1.00 bln; cites NEON acquisition; says SY has some company-specific hurdles to clear.
07:34 ET Micromuse (MUSE) 35.25: DB Alex. Brown downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy as anecdotal evidence accumulates suggesting slowing business momentum. Says that customers opting for smaller initial deployments and management tone is incrementally cautious with regard to outlook. Firm maintaining estimates but sees diminished opportunity for upside driven by traditional MUSE performance in this environment.
07:30 ET Affiliated Computer (ACS) 76.55: Lehman downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy after stock rallies through firm's 12-month price target of $75. Stock has now closed the P/E valuation gap with the peer group of defensive transaction processing stocks. Seeing early signs that the weak U.S. economy could be having a moderate impact on the commercial business.
07:28 ET Microsoft (MSFT) 70.69: Prudential initiates coverage with a BUY rating and 12-month price target of $90. Thinks the DOJ issues will be resolved incrementally in favor of Microsoft. Significant product upgrades mean visibility should improve.
07:26 ET Texas Instruments (TXN) 34.02: Prudential reduces FY01 est. to $0.24 from $0.35 and FY02 to $0.30 from $0.55 to reflect the continuation of soft bookings trends. Firm maintaining numbers for Q2 as it appears that company will not need to pre-announce this qtr.
07:15 ET Corning Inc (GLW) 17,35: Merrill Lynch lowers near-term rating to NEUTRAL from Accumulate. Recent field checks suggest that results in GLW's high margin fiber business (20-25% of sales) over the next few quarters will be below firm's worst case scenario. Reduces FY01 est. to $0.75 from $0.85 and FY02 to $0.80 from $1.00.
07:10 ET Silicon Storage (SSTI) 10.67: After the close, company lowered Q2 earnings outlook to $0.00-$0.03 (consensus $0.06); company sees revenues of $60-$68 mln vs $83 mean estimate; cited excess inventory at customers and continuing slowdown in new orders.
06:59 ET IPO Pricing : FMC Technologies (FTI) prices 11.05 mln share IPO at $20, the middle of the revised range. FMC is a provider of subsea drilling and production systems. Merrill Lynch is serving as lead underwriter of the offering. The stock will begin trading on the NYSE this morning.
06:52 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 7.24: WSJ reports that Lucent's plan to sell two manufacturing plants to Flextronics International (FLEX) has fallen through, citing people familiar with the situation. Lucent was expected to raise $600-$900 mln for the facilities. Company has no reopened bidding to another of other contract manufacturers.
06:44 ET Metro One (MTON) 54.56: Provider of Enhanced Directory Assistance telecom services expects results for Q2 and the calendar year to be better than previously anticipated. Sees Q2 net of $0.38-$0.41 (consensus $0.30) and full yr net of $1.33-$1.40 (consensus $1.25).
06:36 ET Enzon (ENZN) 68.70: Company announces it intends to make a private offering of $400 mln of convertible notes, with an option to issue an additional $60 million of notes.
06:15 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1249.40, 1.6 points below fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1784.50, 24.5 points below fair value. The 30-year bond is up 3 ticks at 5.654%. The dollar is firmer against both the yen and the euro.
06:14 ET European Markets : FTSE -1.23%, DAX -1.16% -- European stocks under pressure. Technology underperforming amid speculation (according to Reuters) that France's STMicroeletronics will issue a profit warning (Nokia fallout). Mainstays such as Nokia, Ericsson, Alcatel, Marconi and Siemens all hit hard. Stagflation concerns also a factor as the ECB lowered its growth forecast to 2.2% from 2.6%, but also raised its inflation forecast. Italian industrial production also fell more than expected. Swissair hit for the fifth straight session.
06:14 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei +0.18%, Hang Seng -2.03% -- Asian stocks mostly lower. Tech short covering in Japan lifts Nikkei 0.18%, but bank stocks hit hard, falling to three year lows. Taiwan down almost 2.0% following an earthquake that measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. Hong Kong underperformed with the Hang Seng dropping more than 2% on concern that China will clamp down on illegal buying of Hong-Kong-traded stocks. |
