Wind River Sys (WIND) 22.68 -0.59: Needham & Co reiterates BUY rating following yesterday's earnings announcement; company still has a dominant position in the market and expects that revenue growth will return to 30%+ levels once customers begin to see a turn around in their businesses.
Flowers Indus (FLO) 30.33 +0.82: Janney Montgomery Scott reiterates BUY rating and 12-month price target of $35; despite strong move in the share price, firm continues to find the stock a compelling value and strongly recommends purchase of these shares.
E.piphany (EPNY) 13.95 +1.62: Dain Rauscher Wessels reiterates BUY SPECULATIVE rating following yesterday's analyst meeting; despite Siebel's (SEBL) dominant position, brokerage believes E.piphany has the necessary resources to compete successfully; with the higher priority now placed on CRM and the rapidly dwindling competitive landscape, believes the long-term outlook for company is great; however, still remain guarded in the short term on the deal closure rate.
Industrial Gas Producer Downgrades : Lehman Brothers downgrades Air Products (APD 46.45) to MARKET PERFORM from BUY and downgrades Praxair (PX 52.28) to BUY from STRONG BUY based on valuation; modestly concerned about the potential impact of the burgeoning electricity crisis in the U.S. on both companies; company-specific issues include the electricity crisis and economic/financial uncertainties in Brazil for PX and the potential impact of the electronics slowdown on APD.
11:00 -- 12:00 ET (Updated throughout the hour)******
Extended Systems (XTND) 10.12 +0.18: Wit SoundView upgrades to BUY from HOLD based on the artificially low stock price, a result of having been saddled with Palm Inc (PALM) currency; since the merger announcement Palm's share price has plummeted, valuing the deal at a very low $100 mln; there is no termination fee payable in the breakup.
Instinet (INET) 18.55 +4.55: Reuters spinoff opens at $17 after pricing its 32 mln share initial public offering at $14.50, above the $11.50-13.50 range; CSFB is the lead underwriter; see press release.
Palm Inc (PALM) 5.03 -2.02: -- Update -- CIBC World Markets downgrades to BUY from STRONG BUY citing worsening inventory problems; reduces Q4 revenue estimate to $126 mln from $315 mln, below the $140-160 mln preannounced by the company after the close yesterday; lowers price target to $12 from $20.
Handspring (HAND) 9.16 -1.22: CIBC World Markets downgrades to BUY from STRONG BUY due to likely inventory and margin pressure; because of pricing pressure on Palm Inc (PALM), firm believes HAND is selling more of its lower priced, lower margin products and fewer of the more expensive high end devices such as the new Visor Edge; lowers price target to $15 from $25.
Refiner Downgrades : Prudential downgrades Tosco (TOS 52.34), Valero Energy (VLO 51.70) and Ultramar Diamond (UDS 55.72) to HOLD from STRONG BUY based on price; the refiners have outperformed the market by 61% since the market peak on March 24, 2000 and 45% year-to-date; refining fundamentals should remain strong for an additional 12-18 months. |
