09:19 ET Salomon on Semi Equip : Salomon Smith Barney says that last week's semi equipment book-to-bill ratio makes the expectation
of sequential order growth seem more remote; expects companies such as Novellus (NVLS 52.37) and Lam Research (LRCX 30.40) to
lower guidance. NVLS has a mid-qtr update on Thursday.
09:15 ET Sun Microsystems (SUNW) 20.47: -- Update -- Bear Stearns' Ripple Effect speculates that Friday's change in the time of
today's mid-qtr update call to 4:30 pm ET from 1:30 pm raises the probability that company will give new, more cautious guidance.
09:15 ET Gapping Up/Down : SCIO +17% (receives nod from FDA panel)... XYBR +15% (momentum continues from Friday; traders
using company plan to license TXN technology as excuse to push stock this morning)... AKAM +12% (selected to power Web ops of
several government organizations)... OMNY +10.5% (raises guidance)... Pre-Market Losers: CTLM -7% (Solly downgrade)... SUNW
-6.2% (Goldman est. cut).
09:07 ET Vaxgen (VXGN) 18.89: Presented data last week at a scientific conference indicating that the company's HIV/AIDS vaccine
induces immune responses capable of preventing infection from a broader array of HIV strains than previously detected. Finding represents
new evidence that the vaccine may be effective against HIV strains found in nature.
09:01 ET Oracle Corp (ORCL) 16.51: Thomas Weisel Partners cuts ests. for Q4 and FY2002 citing channel checks which indicate
demand is "not brightening"; believes enterprises continue to be wary about spending new IT dollars and sees a tough pricing environment;
cuts Q4 revenue and EPS estimates to $3.3 bln and $0.14 EPS from $3.6 bln and $0.15 EPS and FY2002 to $12.2 bln and $0.48 EPS
from $13.1 bln and $0.55 EPS.
08:59 ET Macrovision (MVSN) 56: Thomas Weisel Partners views any weakness associated with negative Forbes article as an excellent
buying opportunity. In the article Forbes states that 35% of Q1 reported net income came from interest on MVSN's cash balance of $105
mln. Firm says it is not sure how the author arrived at 35%, nor the significance of the ratio.
08:59 ET Sun Microsystems (SUNW) 20.47: -- Update -- Time of mid-quarter update call was changed to 16:30 ET from 13:30 ET;
dial-in numbers are 888-423-3273 and 612-332-0630.
08:56 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures -1, or 2 pts below fair value; Nasdaq 100 pre-market indicator -14. Techs coming under
pressure as Goldman Sachs is lowering estimates on tech giants EMC (EMC 37.10) and Sun Micro (SUNW 20.47) as they continue to
suffer from pricing pressure.
08:48 ET Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.05: Thomas Weisel Partners transitioning coverage with a Buy rating and price target of 30; cites
continued dominance of enterprise data networking and increased traction among carriers; sees 35-40% growth longer-term; firm's channel
checks indicate enterprise spending should bottom in June/July time frame; sees limited downside at this juncture as investors look "beyond
the Valley".
08:47 ET RCN Corp (RCNC) 6.85: Provider of bundled phone, cable and high speed Internet services announces $50 mln private
placement led by Board member Walter Scott, Jr. The purchase price of the common stock (and accompanying warrants) is approxx $6.53
per share. RCNC will use the proceeds to repurchase debt securities in a tender offer.
08:43 ET Interplay Enter (IPLY) 3.11: Gaming software developer is engaged in discussions with a third party concerning the acquisition
of the company. Notes that there can be no assurance that an agreement will be reached and that price discussions to date reflected a
modest premium to the average trading price over the last 20 trading days.
08:38 ET Apogent Tech (AOT) 23.95: Thomas Weisel upgrades supplier of laboratory staples to BUY from Mkt Perform. Believes
earnings surprises can occur and drive estimates and internal growth assumptions higher.
08:36 ET MWD Ups Insurers : Morgan Stanley upgrades Chubb (CB 73.22) to OUTPERFORM from Neutral and an $85 target, and
WR Berkley (BER 39.90) to STRONG BUY from Outperform and a $54 target; cites cycle turn for insurers. Says that Chubb will benefit
from a mix shift toward more profitable lines; calls BER the most leveraged play on the cycle.
08:33 ET Merrill Lynch on the Economy : Firm says concerns inflation will derail Fed easing are premature; also sees concerns selective
inflation will undermine the equity advance as misguided; believes economy still looks likely to avoid outright recession, despite the downward
revision to first-quarter growth; sees inventory correction as largely complete, removing a major drag on economic growth.
08:32 ET Economic Data : April Personal Income rises 0.3%, in line with consensus. Personal Spending rose 0.4%, which also matched
expectations.
08:29 ET Salomon Cuts Drugstores : Salomon Smith Barney downgrades CVS (CVS 55.17) to NEUTRAL from Outperform with a
target of $55 and Walgreens (WAG 40.49) to NEUTRAL from Buy with a target of $40; cites revitalization efforts at Eckerd and Rite Aid,
continued share loss to Wal-Mart, growing competition from supermarket pharmacies, and valuation/macro issues.
08:22 ET Centillium Comms (CTLM) 28.03: Salomon Smith Barney downgrades CTLM to NEUTRAL from Outperform and cuts price
target to $40 from $67; also trims FY01 estimate to $0.18 from $0.23 and FY02 to $0.40 from $0.61; cites loss of Nortel (NT) and
potentially Lucent (LU), which will place emphasis on Japanese business -- believes carriers' goals for Japan may be hard to meet.
08:21 ET OmniSky (OMNY) 2.81: Wireless data provider revises Q2 and full yr guidance 2001 to reflect more rapid growth anticipated
as a result of its recent transaction with News Corp.
08:20 ET Lehman on Communication Chips : Lehman expects neither Altera (ALTR) nor Xilinx (XLNX) will change June quarter
guidance in their monthly updates; however firm sees both companies tracking towards lower end of estimates for the quarter and barring a
strong pickup in June demand sees revenues flat to down 10% in calendar Q3; expects aggressive cost controls such as layoffs soon and
states "at some point EPS will probably need to be lowered for both."
08:11 ET FreeMarkets (FMKT) 14.80: Announces expanded relationship with SPX Corp (SPW). Under the terms of its agreement with
FreeMarkets, SPX will use the ASP-based, private marketplace application to create its own online markets for goods and services.
08:10 ET Nortel Networks (NT) 14.60: Lehman feels that NT shares may prove attractive for patient investors as news flow may be
bottoming and sum-of-the-parts valuation may highlight an investment opportunity. While firm recognizes that near-term trends remain
challenging, sees potential catalysts in the form of contract wins, new products at Supercomm trade show, and possible IPO of optcial
components biz.
07:57 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures -2, or 3 pts below fair value; Nasdaq 100 futures -17, or 14 pts below fair value. Techs
weak in the pre-market as Goldman Sachs is lowering estimates on tech giants EMC (EMC 37.10) and Sun Micro (SUNW 20.47).
07:53 ET Walt Disney (DIS) 32.64: According to ABN AMRO, "Pearl Harbor's" $75 mln in opening weekend ticket sales exceeded
firm's $65-$70 mln estimate, but was below optimistic forecasts that had anticipated film as the second coming of "Titanic." Thinks upside to
firm's box office sales forecast was related to a wider than expected release (3,214 screens vs firm's 3,000 assumption). ABN AMRO now
expects $230-$235 mln in US box office receipts, $285 mln in international ticket sales, and ultimate total revenue of $735-$740 mln. Sees
film contributing a nominal $0.01 per share in EPS to DIS earnings in fiscal 2001.
07:43 ET Goldman Lowers Est. on SUNW & EMC : Goldman Sachs analyst Laura Conigliaro is lowering estimates on both Sun
Microsystems (SUNW) and EMC Corp (EMC) as ongoing checks continue to suggest that, even on downwardly revised expectations both
companies may have trouble meeting forecasts. For SUNW, firm reducing 2002 est. to $0.50 from $0.53 and lowering its rev. growth target
to 12.8% from 15%... Firm lowers EMC's CY01 est. $0.76 from $0.81 and rev. growth target to 14% from 20%.
07:29 ET Opening Indications : This morning's fair value figures -- S&P 500 fair value: 1280; closed 1 pt below fair value. Nasdaq 100
fair value: 1965; closed 3 pts above fair value. Current indications: S&P 500 futures are -1.7, or 2.7 pts below fair value. Nasdaq 100 is
-22, or 19 pts below fair value... Nasdaq futures stumble out of positive territory after Goldman Sachs cuts estimates on SUNW and EMC.
07:26 ET AOL Time Warner (AOL) 53.53: Responding to AOL's recent rate increase, Microsoft's MSN today launched a $50 mln
switcher campaign with nationwide advertisements and a limited-time promotional offer, designed to persuade consumers to drop their AOL
service and sign up for MSN Internet Access. The campaign will offer three months of free internet access and a $21.95-per-month rate
guarantee until Jan. 1, 2003.
07:14 ET VISX (EYE) 21.51: Enters a Settlement and License Agreement with LaserSight (VISX) to license patents held by VISX that
relate to refractive excimer lasers. LaserSight has agreed to pay a royalty for each procedure performed in the United States using a
LaserSight refractive laser.
07:07 ET Gemini Genomics (GMNI) 5.60: Enters into agreement to be acquired by SEQUENOM (SQNM) in a stock-for-stock
exchange. Under the terms of the deal, Gemini holders will receive 0.2000 of a share of newly issued SQNM stock. Holders of Gemini
American Depository Shares (ADSs) will receive 0.40 of a share of newly issued SQNM common stock.
07:00 ET Scios (SCIO) 24.56: An FDA panel unanimously recommended approval of Natrecor for the treatment of acute congestive heart
failure (CHF). In anticipation of final FDA approval of Natrecor, Scios entered into a commercialization and marketing agreement for
Natrecor in the U.S. with the commercialization unit of Quintiles Transnational (QTRN).
06:51 ET EchoStar (DISH) 34.02: WSJ reports that EchoStar is in talks with SBC Communications (SBC) and two other telecom firms
(BLS and DT) to help finance a bid for Hughes Electronics Corp. (GMH). On Friday, Hughes announced the abrupt departure of
Chairman/CEO Michael Smith.
06:43 ET Conoco (COC.B) 5.92: Reaches agreement to acquire Gulf Canada Resources Limited (GOU) $8.02 per share in cash or $4.3
bln. also will assume approx. $2 bln of Gulf Canada's net debt, preferred stock and minority interests.
06:35 ET Akamai Tech (AKAM) 10.95: Announces that the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Government Printing Office, and the Voice of
America will outsource their Web infrastructure to Akamai.
06:13 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1281.80, 1.8 points over fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1977, 12.0 points over
fair value. The 30-year bond is up 2 ticks at 5.847%. The dollar is weaker against the yen, but stronger against the euro.
06:12 ET European Markets : FTSE -0.18%, DAX +0.15% -- European stocks mixed in uneventful trading. Alcatel up big on reports
that the company will not pay as much as initially expected for Lucent. WSJ reports the purchase will be worth $23.4 bln in stock given the
fact that the deal will not include Lucent’s 58% stake in Agere Systems. Other telecoms not faring as well with Vodafone hit by a sell the fact
mentality surrounding slightly better than expected earnings. Stock still hampered by large share placement earlier this month. Deutsche
Telekom also under pressure, while export-oriented shares have moved higher on the back of euro weakness.
06:11 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei +0.26%, Hang Seng -0.80% -- Asian stocks mostly higher with the exception of Hong Kong, which
took a hit as a drop in mortgage loans last month led to better selling in bank and property stocks. Korea’s Kospi outperformed, pushing to a
new high for the year as GM announced that it would submit a bid for Daewoo Motor Corp during negotiations expected to start to
tomorrow. Japan closed a tad higher with some help from comments from FinMin Shiokawa, who said that he would favor a reduction in the
capital gains tax to encourage individual investment. Technology did underperform however, as slumping demand continued to weigh.
03:53 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 9.40: France's Alcatel (ALA 28.11) expected to announce acquisition of Lucent as early as Wednesday...
Wall Street Journal reporting that all-stock deal will be in the $23-$24 bln area... Deal also expected to exclude Lucent's 58% stake in Agere
Systems, which will be spun off as planned to Lucent shareholders and won't be acquired by Alcatel... Under this scenario, LU shareholders
will receive little to no premium over the current stock price. |
