Lucent Shares Rise on Optimism for Earnings, Sales Growth
Murray Hill, New Jersey, April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Lucent Technologies Inc., the world's largest maker of phone equipment, rose as much as 10 percent amid optimism for earnings and sales growth.
Lucent, which split its shares 2-for-1 yesterday, rose 5 to 63 13/16 in late trading of 24.3 million, making it third-most active in U.S. markets. Shares touched a record 64 3/4 earlier, after gaining 5.4 percent yesterday.
Shares of Lucent, the second-most widely held U.S. stock behind former parent AT&T Corp., have risen ninefold in the three years since the initial public offering as the company topped analysts' earnings expectations. The split makes the shares more affordable for individual investors, who are betting on a continued strong performance.
''Great companies do well after stock splits,'' said Ken Leon, an analyst at ABN Amro, who rates Lucent ''hold.'' ''Lucent is very capable of exceeding expectations.''
Shares of Ascend Communications Inc., which Murray Hill, New Jersey-based Lucent agreed to acquire, rose 7 1/4 to 98 7/8.
15:11:04 04/06/1999
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