briefing.com............
08:47 ET SafeNet (SFNT) 33 3/8: Warns that Q1 revenue and earnings will be lower than previously communicated. Attributes revenue shortfall to order cancellations and reduced expectations from OEM accounts in the networking industry.
08:43 ET CheckFree (CKFR) 31 7/8: Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown initiates coverage with a BUY rating a $44 price target. Market opportunity is huge; consumers mail over 11 bln checks a year to pay their bills; expect a significant percentage of these payments to migrate to the Internet. CheckFree is in a good position to profit from the migration.
08:43 ET VocalTec Comms (VOCL) 3 11/16: NTT Communications selects VocalTec to provide voice, as a new value-added service, over NTT Com's ARCSTAR VPN.
08:38 ET Morgan Stanley on Pharmaceuticals : Morgan Stanley Dean Witter making positive comments on the pharmaceuticals sector: Expect new products to ramp up throughout 2001, expect improved news flow as year progresses; don't see much of a fundamental change; comfortable with 13%-14% LT growth rate, don't see much downside risk. Favorite names ranked in order: ABT, JNJ, MDT. Least desirable: MRK, BSX, LLY.
08:31 ET Economic Numbers : Initial jobless claims fell 20,000 to 362K vs 375K consensus. GDP revised down to 1.0% growth, compared to 1.1% consensus. Market showing little interest in the numbers.
08:31 ET Portal Software (PRSF) 7 9/16: Thomas Weisel Partners resumes coverage with a MKT PERFORM rating. Says April quarter is tracking well given recent wins w/ Vodafone and Time Warner, but cautious on their ability to sign new customers given the overall slowing in capital expenditures.
08:29 ET Opening Indications : Equity futures have recovered off lows of the morning, although still trading in negative territory. S&Ps are about 1.7 pts below fair value. Nasdaq PMI is 4.5 pts in the red.
08:23 ET Delphi Auto (DPH) 13.94: -- Update -- Prudential believes management will be lowering EPS guidance on this morning's conference call. Delphi is highly dependent on General Motors (GM) (70% of revenues). Based on GM's latest published production schedule, believe that a range of $0.04 - $0.06 for Q1 (consensus is $0.17) and $0.19 - $0.21 for Q2 (consensus is $0.38) are reasonable estimates. DPH hosting 9 am conference call: (212) 896-6035.
08:21 ET Ingersoll-Rand (IR) 41.68: Revises Q1 forecast to $0.50-$0.52 from management's previous range of $0.60-$0.65. Mean estimate for the qtr is $0.62. Each of company's major end markets in N. America deteriorated during March.
08:17 ET Opening Indications : Seeing continued improvement in the indexes pre-market; S&P 500 now 0.5 pts below fair value; Nasdaq 100 16 pts below fair value.
08:15 ET USG Corp (USG) 15.39: Hearing from sources at CSFB that firm downgrading building materials manufacturer to SELL from HOLD. Also said to be talk in morning call of reason behind 10% stake in company acquired by Warren Buffett.
08:14 ET BEA Systems (BEAS) 27: Salomon Smith Barney reiterates BUY rating. BEAS has been down on competitive concerns regarding SUNW's bundling of iPlanet, Solaris and a new workstation into a discounted package. Salomon analyst does not think the current quarter is at risk, but BEAS is not immune to pricing pressures.
08:13 ET Verizon Comms (VZ) 47.19: NY Times reports that Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) may be attempting to acquire Verizon Wireless. The company already holds a 45% stake in the wireless company.
08:10 ET Brocade Comms (BRCD) 22.22: Merrill Lynch on BRCD: Firms says near term situation remains tough; odds of a preannouncement continue to rise. February was very weak, March was improved, but lumpy; last week in March will be key since it is when the OEMs end their quarters. Longer term, company's strategic position is stronger than ever. Software will be the key differentiator in network storage; Brocade will be a leader here, and the size of the potential market remains underestimated.
08:10 ET Micromuse (MUSE) 34.8: Announces global reseller agreement under which Sun Microsystems' Professional Services group is reselling, integrating and supporting MUSE's Netcool solutions... Merrill Lynch believes that Sun has already brought MUSE a large deal with a leading Canadian cable company. Firm reiterates ACCUMULATE rating and maintains confidence that MUSE will exceed firm's Q1 estimates of $54 mln in revenue and EPS of $0.11 (mean $0.10).
08:06 ET Allergan (AGN) 71.06: Merrill Lynch names issue its Focus 1 Stock of the Week. Calls AGN one of the few specialty pharma companies that has a fully integrated business model, with discovery research, development capabilities, through global sales and marketing. Firm has a 12-month price target of $90.
08:03 ET NS Group (NSS) 9.50: Company raising guidance based on strong than expected operating performance. Before charges, sees March qtr EPS of $0.00-$0.05 and June qtr net of $0.35-$0.40. Current mean estimates for the qtrs are ($0.23) and $0.17. Company also initiates stock repurchase program to buyback up to 2 mln common shares.
08:01 ET Opening Indications : Seeing improvement in the futures in the past half hour; S&P 500 now just 1.5 pts below fair value; Nasdaq 100 is 22 pts below fair value.
08:00 ET Abgenix (ABGX) 21 15/16: Chiron (CHIR) to use Abgenix's XenoMouse technology to generate fully human monoclonal antibody therapies against multiple cancer-specific antigen targets supplied by Chiron over a multi-year term.
07:58 ET Sun Microsystems (SUNW) 15.85: -- Update -- Lehman calls JNI Corp (JNIC) another negative datapoint. Firm also concerned by recent checks that reveal SUNW is engaged in very aggressive pricing, creating the possibility for further margin erosion; feels additional estimates reductions could be needed given lack of visibility.
07:51 ET Inktomi (INKT) 6.29: CS First Boston initiates coverage with a HOLD rating. Expects remainder of 2001 to be challenging for Inktomi's network infrastructure product line, as market conditions increase the difficulty of closing large deals with new customers.
07:49 ET Symbol Techs (SBL) 39.10: Lehman downgrades to BUY from STRONG BUY to a deterioration in Symbol's end markets. Recent warnings by UPS, FDX, and PALM causes firm to question how long Symbol can buck the trends surrounding its market.
07:47 ET Delphi Auto (DPH) 13.94: Announces global restructuring that will eliminate 11,500 positions and that will result in a charge of $450 mln against 2001 earnings. DPH also warning that weaker than expected vehicle manufacturer orders and soft U.S. aftermarket sales will result in Q1 results ranging from a net loss of $50 mln to breakeven. Company was expected to post a profit of $0.17 per share for the qtr.
07:41 ET Capex Spending : Major S. Korean chipmaker, Samsung Electronics, has decided to reduce its 2001 capital expenditure by about $770 mln because of a slowdown in the global chip market, reports Reuters, citing a local newspaper.
07:38 ET Immunex (IMNX) 12 5/8: UBS Warburg upgrades to BUY from HOLD based on revenue and earnings opportunities represented by Enbrel. Firm's new 12-month price target is $17.
07:35 ET Alcatel (ALA) 34.23: Merrill Lynch lowers near and long-term ratings to NEUTRAL from ACCUMULATE, citing lower capex spending.
07:34 ET Fair Value : This morning's fair value figures -- S&P 500: 1160.5, or +1.0 vs yesterday's close. Nasdaq 100: 1617, or +7 vs yesterday's close. Current indications: S&P 500 futures are -4, or 5 pts below fair value. Nasdaq 100 is -20, or 27 pts below fair value.
07:33 ET Mylan Labs (MYL) 24.98: Received FDA approval to market a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb's anxiety disorder treatment BuSpar. As the first company to file a Paragraph IV certification, Mylan will be entitled to 180 days of exclusivity on this dosage form. MYL will begin shipping the product immediately, but does not expect a significant impact on Q4 due to the limited shipping days remaining.
07:27 ET Digex (DIGX) 13 3/4: WR Hambrecht initiates coverage with a BUY rating and $17 target price. Although company is expected to remain unprofitable for the foreseeable future, believes Digex is in a power position over the long-term as Internet infrastructure outsourcing. proliferates among corporations across the globe.
07:21 ET Coca-Cola Entprs (CCE) : Soft drink distributor sees a Q1 loss of $0.19-$0.21 vs red ink of $0.08 anticipated by analysts; cites a soft N. American volume and a competitive pricing environment.
07:17 ET WD-40 Company (WDFC) 22 25/64: Lubricant maker announced a 15.6% reduction in its dividend to $0.27. Company said the new dividend rate allows it to get a more favorable credit facility for financing an upcoming acquisition.
07:11 ET Boeing (BA) 55.00: Citing an industry source, Reuters reported last night that Boeing might shelve its plans for a super-jumbo 747X, and focus instead on a mid-sized plane that would fly just below the speed of sound and cut a transatlantic flight by 90 minutes.
07:09 ET Concord EFS (CEFT) 45 11/16: Initiates company-wide consolidation related to recent acquisitions. Approximately 250 positions, or about 10% of company's workforce, are expected to be eliminated.
07:05 ET Liberate Tech (LBRT) 7 13/16: Charter Communications (CHTR) selects Liberate TV Platform software for their rollout of interactive cable television services to advanced set-tops.
07:00 ET JNI Corp (JNIC) 9 1/8: After the close, supplier of Fibre Channel host bus adapters to the storage market warned that Q1 EPS would post between $0.03 and $0.04 vs $0.14 mean estimate. Company blamed shortfall on continued weakness in the Sun Microsystems (SUNW) server marketplace.
06:53 ET Terayon Comm (TERN) 3 9/16: Receives an order for 250,000 modems from Shaw Communications (SJR). The Canadian broadband service provider expects to take delivery of the equipment over the next 9-12 months.
06:48 ET El Paso (EPG) 63.85: WSJ reporting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a California complain that the company manipulated the bidding process for natural gas pipeline capacity in an attempt to boost prices.
06:44 ET Pfizer (PFE) 39.93: Wall St Journal reporting that Pfizer will form a joint venture with Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM (IBM) to sell software and services to doctors; venture could be a competitive threat to firms such as WebMD (HLTH).
06:43 ET PMC-Sierra (PMCS) 28.01: Company's MIPS RISC microprocessor has been selected for Hewlett-Packard's (HWP) new LaserJet 4100 printers.
06:40 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1161.8, 1.3 points over fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1600, 17.0 points below fair value. Both the S&P and Nasdaq futures are currently indicating a relatively flat open despite losses in overseas markets. Lack of additional high profile warnings after the NT and PALM debacles producing a more constructive tone this morning. Sectors to watch today include PCs, after yesterday afternoon's warning from reseller Tech Data (TECD), and storage, after a warning from JNI Corp (JNIC).
06:30 ET European Markets : FTSE -0.84%, DAX -0.41% -- Europe is faring better than the US and Japan, but major markets are nevertheless trading lower this morning. Tech stocks are of course leading the declines, with Marconi (MONI) and Nokia (NOK) off over 6% and chip-makers STMicroelectronics (STM) and Infineon (IFX) both off more than 4%. A Wall St Journal report that German insurer Allianz was considering a bid for Dresdner Bank at a 25% premium to current prices lifted Dresdner shares. UK retailer Marks & Spencer was boosted by its plans to restructure and lay off over 4K workers.
06:21 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei -5.04%, Hang Seng -1.35% -- Taking its cue from the US, the Nikkei reversed course and fell sharply on Thursday. The 5% decline followed a gain of roughly 13% in the prior five sessions. In addition to continued concern about the US, Japanese stocks were also hit by a weaker than expected 0.4% increase in Feb industrial production (expected at 2.7%). Tech stocks led the way lower; fiber optic company Furukawa plunged 11.4% and electronics cos such as Sony, Toshiba, and Fujitsu were hit hard as well. Mitsubishi Motors fell 3% after issuing a profit warning.
00:14 ET Allianz AG (AZ) 27.44: German insurance company is in advanced negotiations to acquire Dresdner Bank, Germany's third largest bank, in a stock and cash deal valued at about $19.5 billion, reports the WSJ.
Content provided by Briefing.com, a leading Internet provider of Live market analysis.
Copyright © 1999 Briefing.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Statement of Financial Condition * Not FDIC Insured * No Bank Guarantee * May Lose Value. About brokerage insurance.
System response and account access times may vary due to a variety of factors, including trading volumes, market conditions, system performance, and other factors.
Copyright © 2001 E*TRADE Securities, Inc. Member NASD/SIPC. All rights reserved. User Agreement. Privacy Statement. Version 2.5. web7w4m2.etrade.com |
