Jabil Circuit Dn 5%; Met Street 3Q Views Late Thurs
Dow Jones Newswires -- June 16, 2000
NEW YORK -- Investors soured a bit on Jabil Circuit
Friday, after the computer maker late Thursday
announced third-quarter earnings that met Wall Street
expectations.
As reported, Jabil earned 21 cents a share, matching
analyst estimates. For the fourth quarter, it projected
earnings of 24 cents a share and 8% revenue growth.
The news had a slew of analysts voicing their thoughts
Friday morning, with Prudential on the bullish side with
an upgrade to strong buy from accumulate and Robertson
Stephens on the bearish, cutting the company rating to
long-term accumulate from buy.
In between were six other firms, including Bear Stearns,
CSFB and CIBC World Markets, who reiterated their
positions on the Palo Alto, Calif., concern. Three stood
ground at buy and the other three pounded the table with
reiterated strong buy ratings.
Investors seemed to agree the most with Robertson Stephens
analyst J. Keith Dunne, who wrote in the downgrade that,
despite a solid quarter, he feels the stock's 45% climb
since early January has basically brought the stock to
"near peak valuations."
Jabil was recently trading at 45 1/4, down 1 3/4 or 3.72%,
on Big Board volume of 1.7 million shares which compares
with a daily average of about 1.6 million.
The stock closed Thursday at its 52-week high, 47, first
set June 2. In Friday composite trading, it reached a high
of 48 1/2 before investors changed their minds.
Officials at Jabil were immediately unavailable for
comment.
(Hi Y'all! Peter) |
