10:20 ET Adv. Fibre Comm (AFCI) 21.93 +2.13 (+10.8%): Telecom equipment stock continues to demonstrate strength; today's advance prompted by positive comments out of DB Alex. Brown, which reiterated its Buy rating on the stock amid reports that Nortel has discontinued its digital loop carrier business; firm views this as a major positive for AFCI as it presents an opportunity to pick up significant new business.
10:17 ET Krispy Kreme (KKD) 58.89 +2.49 (+4.4%): Merrill Lynch reiterates (pre-open) its near-term Reduce rating on issue following sharp uptick in price yesterday; says price action prompts concerns that "silly season for trading is open again."
10:13 ET Check Point Sftwr (CHKP) 57.89 +3.70 (+6.8%): -- Technical -- Strong extension halted for the time being near resistance in the 59.8/60 area (50 day simple ma/bottom of late April range). Intraday there is support at 57 with a secondary floor at 56/55.5. Breach of above resistance opens door initially to 62.50/63.
10:08 ET Transmeta (TMTA) 13.20 +0.10 (+0.8%): Announces that Sharp Electronics has introduced the Crusoe-based Mebius PC-SX1-H1 notebook PC in Japan.
10:03 ET Economic Data : Index of Leading Economic Indicators for April rose 0.1% in line with the consensus; the May Philly Fed Index came in at -8.8 which was slightly weaker than the consensus of -8.0.
10:00 ET Market Action : -- Technical -- Follow through momentum develops with INTC, JDSU and VTSS recently pushing past their 50 day simple ma. Sustained action above (at 28.4, 21.3 and 31.4, respectively) bolsters view that month long consolidation is complete. Short term resistances for INTC are at 29.5, 30.5; for JDSU at 23, 24.5 and at 33.50, 35 for VTSS.
09:51 ET RF Micro Device (RFMD) 32.48 +0.78 (+2.5%): Company to hold conference call at 11ET to discuss strategic alliance with Agere Systems (AGR.A) to develop chips for the cellular market; dial-in number is 800-240-5318.
09:47 ET Tellium (TELM) : IPO priced at 15, the upper end of its initial range.
09:39 ET Comverse Tech (CMVT) 71.33 +2.97 (+4.3%): Company selected as the first non-Chinese vendor authorized to sell both voicemail and short message systems (SMS) to service providers in China.
09:37 ET Sector Watch : Mixed bag for the market indices and the sectors but the tone appears to be improving. Posting modest gains are networking, software, Internet, semiconductor, gold, retail and biotech. On the downside are healthcare, chemical, banking and energy.
09:37 ET Aremissoft (AREM) 13.28: -- Update -- Trading in stock has been halted.
09:36 ET Concord EFS (CEFT) 45.50 -0.3 (-0.7%): Files registration with the SEC for the proposed public offering of 24.4 mln shares of common stock. The shares to be offered include 19.2 mln held by the former owners of Star Systems, which was acquired by Concord in February.
09:26 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 58.90: -- Update -- Stock now slightly lower at 58.45 as Q&A segment of the conference call drags on; no additional significant news expected at this point. For Briefing.com's quick take on the call, see Story Stocks.
09:25 ET PeopleSoft (PSFT) 40.00: CSFB saying the sequential decline in deferred license revs revealed in last night's release of the10-Q should have been expected as PSFT has been warning investors that deferred license balance will trend down over time as they cleanse old contracting practices; LEH expects deferred license will reach a steady state balance of around $20-25M; rates stock a BUY.
09:24 ET Aremissoft (AREM) 13.28: Stumbles to $11 in pre-market on NY Times report that documents filed by the company with the SEC and comments by World Bank officials indicate that company may have substantially overstated the value of contract to overhaul Bulgaria's health information network. Also of concern is blind trusts used by two top executives to sell 10 mln shares of stk over the past yr.
09:16 ET Caterpillar (CAT) 55.91: Lehman cautious on stock as it sees declines in machinery demand, emerging softening in housing and reduced capacity utilization rates; firm continues to await negative preannouncement from CAT as guidance incorporates a 2H '01 economic rebound which is not visible to any other machinery companies; trims 2001 EPS ests. to $2.40 EPS from $2.52 EPS owing to expected pricing and margin pressures.
09:12 ET Tyco Intl (TYC) 55.70: Enters definitive agreement to acquire the electronic security systems businesses of Cambridge Protection Industries. The transaction is valued at approximately $1 bln.
09:08 ET Research In Motion (RIMM) 33.50: Research In Motion (RIMM) files complaint against Glenayre Electronics (GEMS) alleging patent and trademark infringement in connection with the development, marketing and sale of wireless handheld products.
09:03 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 58.90: -- Update -- Stock falls from +7% to -1% in a matter of minutes, dragging the Nasdaq futures (+11) along with it; while company's forecast of a 1 percentage point decline in gross margins is not earthshaking, vulnerability to "desperate" pricing measures by competitors is exposing the first chink in Ciena's armor.
09:01 ET Convera (CNVR) 5.04: Lazard Freres downgrades to HOLD from Outperform due to risks associated with the revision of its business model, customer reluctance to utilize the company's services and sales force execution issues.
08:59 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 58.90: -- Update -- Stock had been up as much as 4 pts pre-market, now down 1 pt. The reversal was triggered by the company's discussion of "desperate" pricing measures by competitors and likelihood of lower gross margins in the Jul qtr as a result.
08:57 ET Robt Half Intl (RHI) 30.11: Legg Mason downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy based on valuation; after a recent run-up in price, the shares now trade near $32 target price.
08:55 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 58.90: -- Update -- Expects EPS range of $0.15-0.18 for Jul qtr; consensus is $0.18. Stock quickly gives back earlier gains due to comments on pricing and gross margins.
08:53 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 58.90: -- Update -- Company guides gross margins down 100 bp in Jul qtr (were 45.6% in Apr qtr) due to what it calls "desperate" pricing measures by some of its competitors.
08:52 ET CacheFlow (CFLO) 8.40: Wedbush Morgan downgrades to LT ATTRACTIVE from Buy. Says CacheFlow remains well positioned, but faces some near-term challenges in cost control and protecting market share; recommend that investors keep a close eye on CFLO shares and use price weakness to establish positions. |
