10:07 ET ONI Systems (ONIS) 34.90 +1.00: Sources at CSFB telling Briefing.com that the firm is speaking positively on ONIS after meeting with management; CSFB sees strong top line visibility in core products and a bullish ramp on new products; competition from NT and CIEN, but NT is being aggressive on price with an inferior product; CSFB is positive on top-line but notes that margins could come in at the low end due to competitive pricing environment.
10:04 ET Economic Data : Factory Orders for April was reported at -3.0%, below the consensus of -2.7%; excluding transportation at -1.7%. NAPM Services for May was reported at 46.6% with the price index unchanged at 59.5
10:02 ET Aremissoft (AREM) halted: -- Update -- Trading halt comes after an NY Times article that questions the company's employee tally for India as well as the value of a contract with the Indian army; these questions follow earlier reports that the company might have overstated the value of a Bulgarian contract.
09:56 ET Sector Watch: Biotech : Traders pressing genomics/biotech stocks in the A.M. Attracting interest to the sector is news of Myriad (MYGN +5.5%) cholesterol gene discovery and Human Genome's (HGSI +4.9%) INDA approval.
09:39 ET Sector Watch : Solid start for the tech sector with networking (+2.3%) and semiconductor (+2.3%) pacing the way. Other groups on the move to the upside include: biotech (+1.9%), software (+1%) and telecom (+0.7%). Mixed action in the alternative energy group (ESLR, BCON, MKTY and ACPW higher), with the oil, oil service, paper, chemical and utility sectors losing ground.
09:36 ET Cisco Systems (CSCO) 20.37 +0.64: Hearing that Salomon Smith Barney just made positive comments on CSCO after talking to Kevin Kennedy, head of the Service Provider Line; Salomon said that earlier pricing pressures are not as evident, sees demand shifting from long haul to metro, and notes a better outlook for the incumbent data segment of the mkt.
09:29 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 8.00: Company reaffirms guidance for Q3; continues to expect greater sequential improvement over the $0.37 loss posted in Q2 and modest sequential growth in revenue (mean loss est. for Q3 is $0.21). LU also to accelerate cost reduction efforts.
09:24 ET RF Micro Device (RFMD) 24.78: Merrill Lynch out with positive comments this morning; notes RFMD was down 10% yesterday on AXTI's pre-announcement; Merrill's channel checks indicate RFMD is on track to meet or exceed our June and September quarter ests; believes RFMD has "an excellent chance to post upside to its earnings and revenue ests going forward"; reiterates intermediate-term Accumulate and long-term Buy ratings and price target of 31.
09:14 ET Yahoo! (YHOO) 19.78: Wit SoundView says that its proprietary checks with some of Yahoo's largest advertisers indicate that May was more challenging than April; and June is typically weaker than May. Wit believes that revenue estimates for Yahoo's second half could be at risk to downward revision; Wit cuts H2 revenue estimates by $15 mln to $718 mln; maintains HOLD rating.
08:55 ET Pru on PC Hardware : Prudential channel checks indicate that PC demand remains weak with multiple sources suggesting Q2 is off to a slower than expected start. Europe appears to be the biggest contributor to a potential Q2 shortfall. Firm believes that CPQ's expectations for Q2 are overly aggressive, while DELL, GTW, AAPL are more realistic. Continues to see PC stocks underperforming in Q2.
08:50 ET Softlines Retailing : Banc of America cautious on the group ahead of May sales reports this Thursday; expects a continuation of weak consumer trends; believes Federated (FD) and MAY are likely to report below plan comps.
08:47 ET Oil Prices : A lot of talk about oil on the heels of Iraq's announcement that it will halt exports and ahead of an OPEC meeting today; so far, though, there is little market reaction -- Brent crude is trading off a penny this morning as investors are betting that OPEC will make good on its pledge to offset any Iraqi cuts with production increases elsewhere.
08:13 ET Check Point Sftwr (CHKP) 49.29: The CHKP saga continues; Lehman Brothers this morning says that based on mixed feedback on channel checks, would encourage investors to remain on sidelines; Lehman notes increasing competition in VPN market, slowing economy, and the fact that price is becoming a differentiating factor.
08:06 ET Nokia (NOK) 29.28: CSFB makes positive comments on Nokia after Vodafone's (VOD) analyst meeting in NY yesterday; says that VOD will encourage affiliate VZ to adopt W-CDMA for its 3G technology; CSFB believes this would open up a large market opportunity for NOK infrastructure and handsets.
07:57 ET Affymetrix (AFFX) 45.02: Thomas Weisel Partners upgrades AFFX to STRONG BUY from Buy with a target of 70; says core business visibility is stronger than ever.
07:45 ET Human Genome (HGSI) 69.97: FDA approves company's investigational new drug application for a long-acting recombinant growth hormone. HGSI will now proceed with its planned Phase 1 human clinical trial for Albutropin in growth hormone deficient adults.
07:38 ET Beazer Homes (BZH) 61.00: Homebuilder reports a 35.2% increase in unit net orders for the month ended May 31. |
