09:24 ET PMC-Sierra (PMCS) 38.62: Wit SoundView believes that customer demand continues to be weak as customers wrestle with
excess inventory and weak carrier demand; firm maintains Strong Buy rating based on long-term growth prospects but expects next couple of
quarters to be difficult.
09:20 ET Plug Power (PLUG) 32.12: Friedman Billings Ramsey downgrades to ACCUMULATE from Buy based purely on price;
continues to be optimistic on the future for Plug Power and recommends accumulating shares on weakness.
09:16 ET Positive EMS Comments : Dain Rauscher recommends overweighting sector, cites hints of order stabilization from OEMs and
likelihood of reduced inventories in Q2. Separately, Bear Stearns' Ripple Effect says that SCI Systems (SCI) can be added to the list of
EMS players for whom this quarter's EPS estimates have become more achievable. Others that Bear has previously cited as having
achievable estimates are: FLEX, CLS, and JBL.
09:12 ET Procter & Gamble (PG) 67.48: -- Update -- Conference call to discuss Clairol acquisition: 10:00 ET, 800-406-5345 or
913-981-5571.
09:12 ET Gapping Up : UBET +59% (Gemstar deal)... IBEM +36% (enters strategic relationship with DoubleClick)... DMED +26%
(receives FDA clearance for new catheter)... ATHM +8% (AT&T news)... Momentum players showing interest in fuel cell stocks for the
third consecutive session, bidding up BCON (+9%), EFCX (+9%), SATC (+3%) in pre-market... Stocks lifting on upgrades: NETA
(+8%), PALM (+6%), VIGN (+6%).
09:09 ET Veritas Software (VRTS) 73.81: Pacific Crest initiates coverage with a BUY; says VRTS is the best poised company to
displace proprietary software bundled with servers and storage networking devices that lack interoperability among different vendors.
09:01 ET Akamai Tech (AKAM) 10.01: Company expands relationship with EDS (EDS); under agreement, EDS to offer Akamai's
EdgeSuite service with EDS hosting services.
08:54 ET JPM on Sectors : JP Morgan strategist Doug Cliggott likes cyclicals; upgrades Aluminum and Railroad sectors to overweight
from market-weight, and adds Alcoa (AA) and Union Pacific (UNP) to Strategist 30 stock list.
08:49 ET Agilent Tech (A) 36: Merrill Lynch lowers n/t rating to NEUTRAL from Accumulate following earnings warning last week; in
light of the losses firm now expects through the end of 2001, thinks it may take a while before the shares attract investors with an intermediate
time horizons.
08:45 ET Machinery Downgraded : Legg Mason downgrades Caterpillar (CAT), Eaton (ETN), and Ingersoll-Rand (IR) to MKT
PERFORM. Analyst says Spring rally will be difficult to maintain, cites seasonality of the group and advises investors to lighten machinery
positions in the event of a short, sharp spike in the very near term.
08:43 ET E*TRADE (ET) 9.20: Announces acquisition of Web Street (WEBS), parent of online broker Web Street Securities, for $45
mln in stock or roughly $1.74/share using Web Street's most recently reported share count. The deal is expected to add annual revenues of
about $25 mln to ET results.
08:41 ET AOL Time Warner (AOL) 54.43: SG Cowen raising estimates as confidence grows on heels of ad channel checks and recent
marketing deals; FY01 rev. forecast goes to $10.7 bln from $10.3 bln and EBITDA to $39.8 bln from $38.7 bln; also raising implied CAGR
to 22% from 20%... Lifts target price to $70 from $60.
08:38 ET EMC Corp (EMC) 40.35: Hearing from sources at Wit SoundView that the firm is downgrading EMC to a HOLD from a Buy;
reportedly cites field checks that indicate the quarter is unfolding poorly; reduces EPS estimate for the quarter to $0.18 from $0.19 and
expects company to announces layoffs soon.
08:36 ET Roxio (ROXI) 12.54: Morgan Stanley initiates coverage with a NEUTRAL rating, based mainly on valuation; shares are now at
the high end of target P/E range of 10-15x.
08:33 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures at 1296 trade two points over fair value, Nasdaq 100 pre-market indicator reads +2.8. It
continues to be a quiet morning, with little in the way of market moving news or events to drive the futures.
08:32 ET Pixar Animation (PIXR) 37.83: --Correction-- DreamWorks feature "Shrek" was the highest grossing film of the weekend,
opening with $42.1 mln in box office receipts; places film number two behind "Toy Story 2" for the best opening for an animated feature for a
Friday-to-Sunday period... Positive reception bodes well for Pixar animated feature "Monsters Inc," which is scheduled to open in Nov.
08:32 ET Pfizer (PFE) 44.85: Reuters reports that an inhaled form of insulin developed by PFE was able to help control blood sugar levels
in daibetics for two years without harming lung functions; the insulin is absorbed into the body through an aerosol made by Inhale
Therapeutics (INHL 25.89).
08:27 ET Federated (FD) 47.21: Late Friday, company upped its share repurchase program by $500 mln; this morning, Robertson
Stephens upgrades the stock to STRONG BUY from Buy with a price target of $64; citing Fingerhut returning to profitability and
Federated's solid first quarter earnings results.
08:25 ET Ford Motor (F) 27.13: CSFB downgrades to HOLD from Strong Buy and removes from Focus List citing concerns about
Explorer brand; Ford recalled 50K 2002 Explorers for tire damage, CSFB says the integrity of the brand is now at risk.
08:22 ET Micron Tech (MU) 40.09: --Correction-- Merrill Lynch reduces FY01 est. to $0.73 from $1.38 and reduces outlook for the
May qtr to a loss of $0.02; sees no evidence that a DRAM pricing recovery is at hand... Reiterates l/t Accumulate rating based on company's
position to emerge intact from the current brutal downturn.
08:21 ET Networks Assoc (NETA) 13.81: Morgan Stanley upgrades to STRONG BUY from Neutral with a $19 price target; cites these
catalysts: continued spending on security, a more conservative revenue recognition model, and key appointments in senior management.
Stock trading up to $15.25 pre-market.
08:20 ET Fiserv (FISV) 54.07: Robertson Stephens upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy; believes the shares will benefit from a
re-acceleration of internal revenue growth in 2H01 following difficult Securities Processing comparisons in the first two quarters.
08:09 ET Intel (INTC) 28.76: Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha cuts FY01 view to $0.53 from $0.67 (mean $0.56) and FY02 est. to $0.79
from $0.83 (mean $0.81); cites continued weakness in the PC market; has doubts about the company's ability to realize a significant margin
recovery in 2002.
08:07 ET Advanced Micro (AMD) 32.49: Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha trims FY01 est. to $1.37 from $1.52 and FY02 to $1.81 from
$2.09; doesn't see why investors need to own the stock as numbers continue to come down; investment rating remains Neutral.
08:07 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures at 1294 trade even with fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures at 1930 trade four points under fair
value. It continues to be a quiet morning, with little in the way of market moving news or events to drive the futures.
08:05 ET Walt Disney (DIS) 32.60: Salomon Smith Barney upgrades to BUY from Outperform and ups PT from $35 to $40; sees the
movie PearlHarbor as a catalyst from a psychological stand point; other positives: launch of aggressive newprime time line-up for ABC, easy
2002 comps in consumer products and could benefit from an imroving economic backdrop; stock trading at 12% discount to entertainment
group.
08:04 ET Diagnostic Products (DP) 71.77: Manufacturer of automated laboratory instrumentation declares a 2-for-1 stock split, payable
June 18.
08:02 ET Excite@Home (ATHM) 3.94: After the close, AT&T announced revised terms under which the company will satisfy the March
28, 2000 Excite@Home put obligations to Cox Communications and Comcast. Cox and Comcast have agreed to retain their stakes in
Excite@Home thus forgoing the tax-free exchange. In the new agreement, which will result in a substantial tax benefit for AT&T, AT&T will
issue 75 million shares to Cox and more than 80 million shares to Comcast... AT&T will retain a 23% stake in ATHM... ATHM and T
currently discussing a joint initiative to maintain and improve current network performance levels.
07:53 ET Pharmacia (PHA) 49.60: Company has received a "not approvable" letter from the FDA for Vestra, the company's
investigational antidepressant. FDA has agreed to convene an advisory committee meeting of outside experts later this year to review the
VESTRA submission.
07:50 ET Vignette (VIGN) 10.02: Salomon Smith Barney upgrades to OUTPERFORM from Neutral and raises price target to $12 from
$8; believes business has stabilized, ties are deepening with key system integration partners, migration to J2EE is complete, and the company
is focused on profitability.
07:48 ET Neurocrine Biosci (NBIX) 31.44: Robertson Stephens upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy and arrives a one yr price target
of $61; expects NBIX to become a late-stage product story in Q3 as it initiates Phase III clinical trials of its insomnia compound.
07:44 ET Vertex Pharm (VRTX) 36.51: Robertson Stephens upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy and establishes a 12-month price
target of $60; believes that VRTX is establishing itself as the premier small molecule-focused drug-discovery company in the
biopharmaceutical industry.
07:42 ET Human Genome (HGSI) 67.93: Robertson Stephens upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy; expects a flow of announcements
from current partners over the next 6 weeks; HGSI remains one of firm's favorite names for 2001.
07:40 ET Level 3 Comms (LVLT) 13.75: Robertson Stephens downgrades to MKT PERFORM from Strong Buy; after re-evaluating the
Level 3 business model, firm believes that its previous long-term estimates were too aggressive and that LVEL is no longer fully funded
($1.6-$1.7 bln funding gap in business plan).
07:34 ET E.piphany (EPNY) 13.70: ABN AMRO upgrades to ADD from Hold, citing 1) a firming in IT budgets, 2) stabilizing
macroeconomic environment, 3) greater visibility of CRM solution amongst purchasing managers, CIOs, and CEOs... Firm's $18 price target
is based on stock achieving a multiple of 6x 2002 revenue est. of $224 mln.
07:30 ET Opening Indications : This morning's fair value figures -- S&P 500 fair value: 1294; closed 1 pt above fair value. Nasdaq 100
fair value: 1934; closed even with fair value. Current indications: S&P 500 futures are -2, or 1 pt below fair value. Nasdaq 100 is -4, or 4
pts below fair value... Extremely quiet morning, with little in the way of market moving news or events to drive the futures.
07:23 ET Palm Inc (PALM) 5.05: UBS Warburg upgrades to STRONG BUY from Hold; believes that at roughly 1x FY02 revenues net
of cash, PALM offers a very appealing and defensive valuation for a company with great growth prospects and a strong intellectual property
position; also believes that there is a potentially long list of well capitalized strategic buyers should management fail to execute... Firm's new
present fair value of $11 is based on PEG of 1x CY03 revenues of $4.5 bln.
07:12 ET VeriSign (VRSN) 60.74: On Friday, U.S. Dept. of Commerce approved new registry agreements passed by ICANN and
VeriSign. Terms of the deal allow VeriSign to operate the .com registry through 2007; company to divest of its .org registry in 2002;
VeriSign's .net registry agreement will now be open to recompetition in June 2005.
07:07 ET Limited (LTD) 17.10: Retailer reports Q1 earnings of $0.07 a share, in line with consensus, vs yr-ago EPS of $0.14; sales were
flat at $2.13 bln... Company expects EPS to be down significantly in Q2 and down slightly for the full yr; cites continuing negative
comparable store sales trends.
07:00 ET Youbet.com (UBET) 0.75: Online gaming company forms strategic relationship with Gemstar-TV Guide (GMST) TVG, a
24-hour interactive horse racing network. Deal gives UBET a non-exclusive right to video stream and accept online pari-mutuel wagers on
horse racing from virtually all of TVG's exclusive partner racetracks. UBET will pay to TVG fees based on the handle and will issue a warrant
to purchase a majority stake (51%) in UBET at an exercise price of $2.50.
06:50 ET MP3.com (MPPP) 3.01: Agrees to be acquired by Vivendi Universal (V) for $5 per share ($372 mln) in cash and stock.
06:45 ET Restoration Hrdwr (RSTO) 5.98: Retailer completes private placement of $24.5 mln of its common stock at $5.43 per share.
06:41 ET Procter & Gamble (PG) 67.48: Acquires the Clairol business from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) for $4.950 bln in cash. PG
expects deal to have a dilutive effect in the first yr of $0.06-$0.08 and to be slightly accretive in year two.
06:35 ET Lowe's Cos (LOW) 68.40: Reports Q1 earnings of $0.58 a share, 4 cents above consensus, vs yr-ago EPS of $0.49; sales
increased 18% to $5.28 bln... Projects Q2 earnings of $0.80-$0.82 (mean $0.81) and full yr net of $2.45-$2.48 (mean $2.43)... Expects
series of 5 rate cuts by Fed to positively influence consumer spending in the coming months.
06:29 ET SciClone Pharma (SCLN) 4.48: Reports that chronic hepatitis B patients treated with a combination of company's Zadaxin and
alpha interferon showed significantly greater sustained response rates than those treated with alpha interferon alone.
06:18 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1295.50, 1.5 points over fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1925, 9.0 points below
fair value. The 30-year bond is down 6 ticks at 5.779%. The dollar is weaker against the yen, but stronger against the euro.
06:17 ET European Markets : FTSE +0.20%, DAX -0.30% -- European stocks mixed. Oil shares outperforming on the back of $30 a
barrel oil. Middle East tensions on the rise, while shares also helped by the increase in the energy group in the MSCI World Index. This
weekend’s MSCI changes rewards free floats, or percent of shares available for trading, versus the traditional measure of market value.
Shares with large blocks of government ownership like France Telecom and Allianz, all underperforming. BMW also hit hard following an
unexpected MSCI exclusion. UK the big MSCI winner.
06:17 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei +2.15%, Hang Seng +1.95% -- Asian stocks mostly higher. Favorable MSCI changes help boost
Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Cut in Tokyo’s weighting smaller than expected. Taiwan shares underperform, falling to a 20-month low with
the country’s weighting cut by 25%. |
