09:23 ET RealNetworks (RNWK) 10.62: Announces an agreement with Intel Corp (INTC) under which RealNetworks' media management software will be distributed with two new Intel PC desktop boards.
09:15 ET Wal-Mart (WMT) 51.21: Lehman Bros. reiterates STRONG BUY rating and $80 price target ahead of shareholder and analyst meetings. Believes progress in food, international, club and discount retailing should sustain 15% growth rate for the next 3-5 years.
09:13 ET Braun Consulting (BRNC) 8.70: DB Alex. Brown upgrades shares of e-consulting firm to BUY from Mkt Perform.
09:06 ET Universal Health (UHS) 77.80: Legg Mason upgrades to BUY from Mkt Perform based on valuation; stock has declined 30% year-to-date, is trading at 90% of the market multiple, and has the potential to appreciate nearly 25% to fair value of $95 per share.
09:04 ET Gapping Down : COGN falls 11% on earnings warning; BOBJ slips 7% in sympathy... Morgan Stanley downgrades hit fiber optics names SCMR (-9.4%), TLAB (-7%), JDSU (-6%), with additional fallout seen in IC comm suppliers such as BRCM (-5.5%) and AMCC (-5%)... Other movers of note: SUNW (-7.3%), JNPR (-4.5%), CSCO (-3.2%), CIEN (-2.9%).
08:59 ET Gapping Up : ITRU +15% (awarded two new patents)... TELK +10% (announces positive Phase II data from ovarian cancer treatment trial)... RBAK +4% (Alcatel takeover speculation)... TARO +3% (FDA approves dermatological cream).
08:58 ET Triangle Pharm (VIRS) 4.75: Ladenburg Thalmann initiates coverage with a BUY rating and 12-month price target of $10. Lead product, Coviracil, has demonstrated clinical activity against a broad range of HIV-1 strains as well as HBV. Analyst says company is undervalued relative to its peers.
08:51 ET Cell Genesys (CEGE) 17.86: Needham initiates coverage with a BUY rating and 12-month target price range of $24-26; believe CEGE is currently undervalued compared to peers in the cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy spaces.
08:51 ET Corning Inc (GLW) 20.67: Merrill Lynch reducing 2000 and 2001 estimates by a nickel to $0.85 (down 30%) and $1.00 (up 18%), respectively. Thinks that an inventory correction in the LCD glass market probably takes a larger portion of 2001 to complete than firm previously modeled.
08:46 ET webMethods (WEBM) 30.14: KPMG Consulting (KCIN) has designated webMethods a preferred alliance and will offer the webMethods solution as part of its full range of consulting and integration services.
08:44 ET INRANGE (INRG) 18.05: Merrill Lynch starts coverage with an Accumulate rating and 18-month price target of $23; believes that as the only company offering a 128-port Director, INRANGE is well positioned to address the growing demand for SAN consolidation and growth; firm still prefers Brocade's (BRCD) positioning at this point, but expects that demand will lift all boats for the next yr.
08:43 ET Best Buy (BBY) 59.24: Bear Stearns downgrades to NEUTRAL from Attractive based on: shares hit $57-$60 price target range, economic slowdown and higher energy and fuel prices is leading to sluggish overall retail sales, general weakness in computer and computer-related sales, overall softness in sales of wireless products and durable goods.
08:43 ET Lehman on CY/MU : Lehman analyst Dan Niles cutting estimates on Cypress (CY) and Micron (MU); CY goes to $0.21 from $0.35 for FY01 vs consensus of $0.32; MU goes to $0.25 from $0.50 for FY01 vs consensus of $0.63. Niles cites fact that calendar Q1 stability was due more to inventory replenishment than sustainable pickup in memory demand.
08:40 ET ClickAction (CLAC) 2: Enters agreement to bundle its Email Marketing Automation solution with several BEA Systems (BEAS) solutions.
08:36 ET MarketWatch.com (MKTW) 2.90: Company announces plans to reduce its workforce by more than 15%; cites changing dynamics in the Internet advertising market and the overall economy.
08:33 ET RSA Security (RSAS) 29.94: BEA Systems (BEAS) selects RSA software to provide cryptographic and encryption algorithms for BEA WebLogic Server.
08:32 ET More on Opticals : More on the Morgan Stanley call on opticals: downgrades due to reduced carrier capex plans, fact that new carrier financing is not being spent on capex, limited to no visibility at optical cos, and increasing pricing pressure. Morgan cites following prices as trough values for downgraded stocks: NT at $10, TLAB at $27, SCMR at $6, JDSU at $12-13.
08:30 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures at 1264, trade six points under fair value while the Nasdaq 100 pre-market indicator is down 39 points. Cautious comments on optics and chips from Morgan Stanley are contributing to the negative bias.
08:28 ET Bank of America (BAC) 59.60: ABN AMRO upgrades to BUY from Add and raises EPS estimates by $0.20 in 2001 to $5.00, and by $0.10 in 2002 to $5.35 to reflect improved expense management discipline. 12-month price target raised to $75 from $70.
08:23 ET RadioShack (RSH) 32.85: -- Update -- Thomas Weisel Partners reduces FY01 est. to $1.66 from $1.94 and FY02 to $2.09 from $2.20 after RSH guided down numbers; company cited weak wireless sales.
08:21 ET Rayovac (ROV) 22.95: Goldman Sachs initiates coverage with a MKT OUTPERFORM rating, cites attractive valuation and strong growth prospects.
08:20 ET Jabil Circuit (JBL) 31.76: CIBC World Markets downgrades to a BUY from a Strong Buy on valuation; firm believes that P/E as high as 30 is too rich relative to group average in the low 20s.
08:17 ET Morgan Stanley on Semis : Morgan Stanley cuts estimates on a number of semi companies; TXN goes to $0.28 from $0.35 for FY01; CY to $0.15 from $0.25; RMBS to $0.28 from $0.30; BRCM to a loss of $0.25 from a profit of $0.05 for FY01 with a 32% sequential revenue decline in Q2; NSM to $0.05 from $0.20 for FY02. Cites weak demand, inventory drawdowns, and pricing pressures for most of the reductions.
08:15 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 8.32: -- Update -- Banc of America Sec downgrades to BUY from Strong Buy. Due to weak component market, the pending Agere spinout failed to serve as a near-term catalyst which was primary reason for maintaining previous rating; believe the upside in stand-alone LU remains extremely limited at this time.
08:12 ET Fox Entertainment (FOX) 25.40: -- Update -- Merrill Lynch upgrades to NT BUY from Accumulate with a 12-month price objective of $40, calls FOX the most compelling value in the sector, cites Fox's $2.5 bln television syndication backlog, impressive cable network portfolio growth, improved network ratings and Chris Craft acquisition.
08:09 ET Microtune (TUNE) 14.95: Announces that Motorola (MOT) plans to qualify Microtune's radio frequency (RF) silicon amplifier chips with its line of Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS)-based cable modems and its family of advanced digital set-top terminals.
08:08 ET Surebeam (SURE) 19: Merrill Lynch downgrades to NT ACCUMULATE from Buy; says the release of the processed food regulations by mid-year allowing electronic pasteurization now looks to be a Q3 event, also cites the 90% run in the stock since its IPO; maintains long-term Buy rating.
08:07 ET Dreyer's Ice Cream (DRYR) 29.39: Lehman Bros initiates coverage with a STRONG BUY rating and $34 price target based on 11x 2002 EBITDA estimate of $127 mln.
08:06 ET Morgan Stanley Cuts Opticals : Morgan Stanley downgrades four optical cos to NEUTRAL from Outperform: Nortel (NT), JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Tellabs (TLAB), and Sycamore (SCMR); says that a recovery in optical networking demand might not be seen until Q3 2002.
08:02 ET Energizer (ENR) 23.10: Goldman Sachs initiates coverage with a MKT PERFORM rating; says although the company holds the #2 position in a rapidly growing category, near-term earnings growth could be tempered by increased A&P spending, competition from Duracell, and excess inventory levels at retail.
08:02 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 57.01: FLAG Telecom (FTHL) to deploy CIENA optical systems in its FLAG North Asia Loop project - a submarine network that spans Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.
07:59 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures trade at 1264, or six points under fair value. Nasdaq 100 futures trade at 1827, or 50 points under fair value. Last night's earnings warning from Sun Microsystems (SUNW) continues to weigh on the markets.
07:57 ET Medtronic (MDT) 42.95: Reaches agreement to acquire insulin pump manufacturer MiniMed Inc. (MNMD 44) for $48 per share in cash. In a separate but related transaction, Medtronic has agreed to acquire Medical Research Group for $420 mln in cash/stock. MiniMed is a shareholder of MRG.
07:55 ET RadioShack (RSH) 32.85: After the close, electronics retailer guided down Q2 outlook to $0.25-$0.27 from $0.34 consensus estimate; also cautioned that full yr results could fall 10% from the yr-ago (company was expected to increased earnings 4% for the yr).
07:50 ET Salton (SFP) 19.57: First Union Sec. initiates coverage with a STRONG BUY rating and $35 target price.
07:42 ET Cyberian Outpost (COOL) 0.80: Online retailer agrees to be acquired by PC Connection (PCCC 16.03) in a stock-for-stock transaction. The exchange ratio will vary with the level of total revenues generated by Cyberian Outpost for the months of June, July and August 2001, as well as with changes in the average closing price of PCCC common stock.
07:33 ET Opening Indications : This morning's fair value figures -- S&P 500 fair value: 1270; closed 1 pt below fair value. Nasdaq 100 fair value: 1877; closed 21 pts below fair value. Current indications: S&P 500 futures are -4.5, or 5.5 pts below fair value. Nasdaq 100 is -26.5, or 47.5 pts below fair value... Sun Micro (SUNW) earnings warning weighing on market; new twist to the story is greater than anticipated weakness in Europe... Morgan Stanley cutting fiber optics stocks; details to come.
07:29 ET Redback Ntwrks (RBAK) 13.70: Several news services reporting that Redback potentially has moved to the top of Alcatel's list of takeover candidates after the French telecom maker failed to close a buyout of Lucent.
07:20 ET Cognos Inc (COGN) 18.50: Provider of enterprise business intelligence solutions lowers Q1 outlook to ($0.04) to $0.00, compared to the $0.04 profit anticipated by analysts. Expects revenues in the range of $106-$110 mln (mean $119 mln). Company to reduce workforce by 10% or approx. 300 people.
07:16 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 8.32: Climbed 0.28 in extended hours after confirming that it had been in merger discussions with Alcatel (ALA), but that talks ended after the companies failed to reach an agreement.
07:11 ET Sun Microsystems (SUNW) 18.67: After the close company warned of Q4 EPS in the $0.02-$0.04 range vs $0.06 mean, citing deterioration in Europe; revenue outlook reduced to $3.8-$4.0 bln (mean $4.35 bln).
07:06 ET Loudeye Tech (LOUD) 1.08: Enters multi-year agreement to provide America Online with music samples and digital media services to support digital music content across certain AOL properties.
06:59 ET Amazon.com (AMZN) 17.22: WSJ reports that the FTC has concluded that Amazon.com and its Alexa Web-tracking subsidiary probably made deceptive statements about privacy practices, but should not be punished because the problem has been addressed. In a letter to Amazon.com letters, the FTC found that company and Alexa likely engaged in deception when they claimed they didn't keep personally identifiable info on Alexa's database of Web-usage patterns.
06:50 ET Tyco Intl (TYC) 57: Enters definitive agreement to acquire health care products manufacturer C. R. Bard (BCR 46) for $3.2 bln in stock. The deal values BCR at approx. $60 per share, based on Tyco's closing price. Tyco will discuss the acquisition during a conference call at 9ET: 800-611-1147.
06:42 ET Altera (ALTR) 24.87: WSJ reports that Nortel (NT) has selected Altera as a chip supplier in a five-yr deal estimated at several hundred million dollars per year. The agreement is expected to be announced today.
06:35 ET Aether Systems (AETH) 12.13: Company says that based on current information, they remain confident in meeting previously disclosed Q2 guidance of $37 mln in revenues for Q2 and $160 mln for the full yr; additionally announces company buyback of $20 million in convertible debt.
06:12 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1266.10, 3.9 points below fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1837, 40.0 points below fair value. The 30-year bond is up 6 ticks at 5.845%. The dollar is little changed against both the yen and the euro.
06:11 ET European Markets : FTSE -1.00%, DAX -0.62% -- European stocks under the gun as well. Early Alcatel bounce on the back of a break-off in talks with Lucent not able to hold. Technology underperforming with most of the buying seen in the defensive names. Earnings concerns also a negative following news from ThyssenKrupp that the German steelmaker a slowdown in the US and Europe has forced it to scale back full-year profit forecasts for the second time. Philipps hit by second cut in fiscal fourth quarter sales and profit forecasts amid slumping capital spending. Data not particularly friendly with French business confidence at two-year lows.
06:10 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei -2.04%, Hang Seng -1.54% -- Asian stocks lower on the back of yesterday’s Sun-induced sell-off in the Nasdaq. Nikkei hit for more than 2% on the back of Deutsche Securities downgrade of 13 Japanese tech firms. Hong Kong weighed down by China Mobile and better selling in the property stocks. Korea pressured by foreign sellers of tech and telecom, while Singapore fell for the third straight session. Taiwan suffered from Chunghwa Telecom’s announcement that it will sell 480 mln new shares at a discount to the IPO price. |
