Please read all of this and tell me if the market deserves to rally this hard on any
of this news. -->
12:40 ET Goldman Ups Steel : Goldman Sachs positive on steel sector names on view that the Bush administration is likely to impose caps
on steel imports. Firm upgrading USX-U.S. Steel (X 21.08 +1.04) and Bethlehem Steel (BS 3.43 +0.44) to MKT PERFORM from Mkt
Underperform; says would not be short these stocks if Bush legislation goes through.
12:37 ET Lehman on Forest Products : Firm suggests the reversal of a 1973 tax ruling opens the door for the completion of the PCL and
TGP merger and for timber rich companies to transition ownership of timber cash flow to a tax-advantaged structure. Lists stocks with most
leverage to timberland: TGP, WY, BCC, LPX, TIN, IP and BOW. Reiterates favorable ratings and indicates would be aggressive buyer.
12:21 ET Comm IC Stocks : -- Technical -- Classic technical development sets up with PMCS, BRCM and VTSS all recently holding
near their 62% retracement of the April rally and bouncing with daily indicators rotating higher out of oversold territory. First two has also
breached their 50 day simple ma today (similar level for VTSS at 28.8). AMCC slightly surpassed same retracement but is working back
toward its 50 day ma at 21.6.
12:12 ET Tellabs (TLAB) 35.20 +0.86: Sources at UBS Warburg telling Briefing.com that the firm is making neutral comments on TLAB
from the Supercomm conference: says TLAB's 5500 product is tracking below plan and that the company may have to lower H2 guidance;
also notes that TLAB continues to highlight industry difficulties.
11:57 ET Lucent Tech (LU) 8.66 +0.66 (+8.3%): -- Update -- According to traders, company stating at the SuperComm tradeshow that
it has no plans to pursue another merger.
11:53 ET Amazon.com (AMZN) 16.29 -0.62 (-3.7%): -- Update -- Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget comments on AMZN Analyst Day.
Company reiterating confidence in Q4 operating profit; Blodget says not new news but good to hear. Management also expressing
confidence in full yr 2002 operating profit; Blodget's model already reflects this, but analyst believes this is the first time management has
stated this objective publicly.
11:42 ET RF Micro Device (RFMD) 27.34 +2.56 (+10.3%): -- Update -- Technical -- Stock runs to the upper end of its week long
trading range and the top of the May 30 gap (27.40) after recent bounce off its 200 day simple ma amid above average volume Merrill
positive, see 09:24 comment. Sustained breach and the bullish posture of the daily indicators suggests potential to next resistance at 29.50
over the near term. Other stocks in this sector (ANAD broke above 200 day ma and AHAA broke 20/50 day ma) have accomplished
similar feats.
11:27 ET Amazon.com (AMZN) 17.24 +0.33 (2%): Spike in volume as positive comments come out of company's Analyst Day.
11:11 ET Aremissoft (AREM) 13.34 +0.34 (+2.6%): -- Update -- Trading resumed.
11:03 ET Leading % Gainers : INSN +37% (experiences thinly traded rally on Pru upgrade)... ELAS +37% (Verizon unit selects
company's EtherLoop technology)... ASTM +18% (genomics company announces collaboration for immune system cell therapy product to
treat cancer)... PROX +17% (JP Morgan upgrade)... KANA +17% (Adams Harkness upgrade)... MYGN +10.5% (discovers cholesterol
gene).
10:49 ET Amgen (AMGN) 70.14 +0.25 (+0.4%): CIBC World Markets sees several expected near-term events to drive share price
appreciation; Amgen and its Abarelix development partner, Praecis, are expecting an FDA action letter for Abarelix-M on or before June
12; firm thinks that approval or a type 1 approvable letter (which would result in approval within two to three months) is most likely... Raises
price target to $90 (from $70) and reiterates Strong Buy rating.
10:46 ET Aremissoft (AREM) halted: -- Update -- Company issues press release that claims this morning's NY Times article "inaccurately
characterized aspects of the Company's business"; AREM stands by its employee count in India, and says that the Times misread a press
release regarding contracts with the Indian army -- AREM confirms that the contracts have a value of $500,000 and that any additional
revenues from the Indian army are not guaranteed.
10:43 ET Ulticom (ULCM) 29.55 +3.36 (+12.8%): Pops on news that company has expanded its relationship with IBM Corp (IBM);
company's Signalware product will be used as the network signaling interface for IBM's Websphere software to support the new class of
emerging telecom services.
10:35 ET Heidrick & Strg (HSII) 32.24 -0.51 (-1.5%): Executive search firm warns that if revenue does not accelerate from May, Q2
revenue is likely to be in the $125 to $135 million range. Current mean est. is $148 mln... Says the U.S. economy continues to be sluggish
and Europe seems to be slowing.
10:33 ET Microsoft (MSFT) 72.35 +1.57 (+2.2%) : -- Technical -- For more than a month MSFT has been stymied by resistance near
72 (nine month high from Nov at 72.37). Intraday posture above 71 leaves the door open to a penetration with the next resistances of
interest at 73.37 and 74.87.
10:13 ET Nasdaq Composite : -- Technical -- Strong performance thus far with the index now eyeing resistances at 2216 and 2226.
These are solid short term barriers and the index may have difficulty on initial attempts to penetrate. It will be important that supports at 2174
and 2164 are not taken out if a pullback does develop.
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.
10:07 ET Elastic Networks (ELAS) 2.12 +0.22 (+11.6%): Verizon Avenue, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, selects company's
EtherLoop technology as the enabling platform for a nationwide rollout of high-speed broadband services. Verizon Avenue to deploy Elastic
products to multi-tenant dwellings in 31 states.
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.
10:00 ET Sector Watch: Networking : One of the best performing sectors today being led by CSCO (+5.5%), CMVT (+7.8%), LU
(+8.1%) and JNPR (+4%). Both CMVT and LU are working back toward their 50 day simple ma at 64 and 9.2, respectively.
09:58 ET Aremissoft (AREM) : Trading in shares of controversial company have been halted -- news pending.
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.
09:48 ET Advanced Micro (AMD) 28.79 +1.18 (+4.3%): Chip maker introduces its first multiprocessing-capable platform for one- and
two-way servers and workstations.
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.
09:35 ET Proxim (PROX) 12.60 +1.24 (+10.9%): Shares of wireless networking products company upgraded to BUY from LT Buy at JP
Morgan calling recent weakness on speculation that MOT will switch from HomeRF standard a buying opportunity; sets $30 target price.
09:29 ET Qwest Comms (Q) 36.15: In an 8K filing, Qwest once again reduces capex guidance to $8.8-9.0 bln from $9.2 bln (which was
reduced from $9.5 bln on April 24). Perhaps even more notable is the 2002 capex number of $8.0 bln, which supports the view that telecom
spending will not rebound for quite some time. Qwest cites improved buying power as a key reason for the reduced capex guidance. This is
another negative indication for telecom equipment cos.
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.
09:16 ET Schering-Plough (SGP) 42.62: Dain Rauscher upgrades to STRONG BUY from Neutral with a $60 price target; says that
anticipated FDA approval of a PEG-INTRON plus ribavirin combination therapy should prove a major catalyst in H2 of 2001 and 2002.
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.
09:11 ET Certicom Corp (CERT) 5.64: Openwave Systems (OPWV) has licensed Certicom's Security Builder toolkit to provide
increased levels of efficient security for Openwave's Mobile Browser and Mobile Access Gateway.
09:09 ET Gapping Up/Down : KANA +25% (Adams Harkness upgrade)... SBAS +14% (i2 selects technology)... CYTO +9.5% (positive
study results)... LTXX +9% (going into the S&P MidCap 400)... CMVT +6.5% (earnings, Solly upgrade)... CERT +6% (Openwave
licenses technology)... XLNX +5.5% (reiterates guidance)... Gapping Down: CPKI -9.5% (earnings warning)... ELNT -8% (earnings
warning).
08:55 ET Kana Comms (KANA) 1.98: Adams Harkness & Hill upgrades to a STRONG BUY from a Buy with a $5 price target; says
that the Kana/Broadbase (BBSW 1.93) will result in a powerful CRM player. Also ups merger partner BBSW to STRONG BUY from
Unrated, and suggests investors should arbitrage any spread that occurs ahead of deal's completion.
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.
08:51 ET Metromedia Fiber (MFNX) 3.88: Hearing from sources at Robertson Stephens that the firm met with MFNX management
yesterday and that there were indications that the pipeline is starting to improve and that the company will make Q2 numbers; financing still a
key issue, however.
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.
08:43 ET Banc of America on Lodging : Firm trims 2001 and 2002 EPS forecasts for the lodging sector; says business is strong on an
absolute basis but comparisons are difficult; notes RevPAR for all U.S. hotels declined 2.6% in April; continues to see Starwood (HOT) and
Hilton (HLT) as cheap and says both companies have "improving stories".
08:42 ET Starbase (SBAS) 2.51: i2 Technologies (ITWO) signs an agreement to implement Starbase's CaliberRM and CaliberRBT as the
company-wide standard for the management of requirements associated with all of i2's business units.
08:39 ET Commerce One (CMRC) 6.64: Bear Stearns believes that CMRC has been sustained by the belief that SAP might acquire the
company; Bear says that CMRC's price tag should fall as its position relative to SAP is weakening and its options are becoming more limited;
says acquisition price would more likely be well below $6.
08:38 ET Redback Ntwrks (RBAK) 15.45: Awarded a second multi-million dollar order from Korea's largest broadband provider to
install Redback's Subscriber Management System in five new major metropolitan cities for network expansion.
08:34 ET Arena Pharma (ARNA) 26.50: Files registration statement with the SEC for a follow-on offering of 5 mln shares.
08:30 ET Economic Data : Q1 Productivity revised to -1.2% from -0.1%; this was weaker than the -0.7% consensus but unlikely to have
much impact as the weakening in Q1 productivity is not a new story.
08:23 ET California Pizza (CPKI) 22.13: -- Update -- Q2 consensus estimate is $0.20 (not $0.23); company sees EPS for the qtr of
$0.17-$0.19.
08:22 ET Xilinx (XLNX) 41.59: -- Update -- Merrill Lynch says channel checks with communications OEMs lead them to believe more
push-outs will occur during June and result in revenues at the low end of the down 15%-25% sequential forecast XLNX provided for Q1;
firm maintains its $305 million Q1 rev estimate which is a 25% sequential decrease; also reiterates FY02 revenue and EPS estimates of $1.21
bln and $0.58 EPS.
08:20 ET Tech Upstarts : Merrill Lynch strategist Steve Milunovich releases a list of 23 global technology "upstarts" that should be
increasingly influential in the next 3-5 years: AMCC, ARMHY, ASML, BEAS, BRCD, CPST, CIEN, EXTR, FNSR, GMST, GGPZF,
HNHAF, INFA, INFY, ISIL, MERQ, MUSE, NVLS, OPWV, RIMM, TMTA, TQNT, VIATF.
08:19 ET Elantec Semicon (ELNT) 33.37: -- Update -- Sees earnings based on the revised revenue guidance of $0.06-$0.08, compared
to $0.11 consensus. Company encouraged by positive signs in its video and optical storage businesses, but continues to suffer from softness
and lack of visibility in communications (xDSL in particular)... Competitors: ADI, LLTC, MXIM, BRCM.
08:13 ET Elantec Semicon (ELNT) 33.37: Warns that Q3 revenues will fall 30%-35% on a sequentially basis; blames the
greater-than-expected decline on continued weakness in its communications biz; company to cut workforce by 15%.
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.
08:10 ET California Pizza (CPKI) 22.13: -- Update -- Reports that same-store sales trends have slowed over the past several weeks;
should trends continue, expects Q2 EPS to come in between $0.17-$0.19 (consensus $0.20).
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.
08:04 ET J.C. Penney (JCP) 20.68: Lehman upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy based on two key factors: 1) an EBITDA valuation
for Eckerd that indicates that JCPs drug store business is worth more than its current overall stock price, and 2) an improving competitive
position for department stores over the longer term. Sets price target of $33.
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.
07:54 ET SAP AG (SAP) 36.50: Goldman Sachs upgrades SAP to European RECOMMENDED LIST from Market
Outperform; believes that CIOs and investors are transitioning away from newer, point solution companies to larger enterprise vendors that
can ensure a technology roadmap into the future.
07:54 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures trading at 1271, 3 pts above over fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1862, 21.0 points
over fair value... Bloomberg reporting that Saudi Arabia signaling there will be no increase in oil supplies at today's meeting.
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.
07:32 ET Electronic Components Stks Started : UBS Warburg initiates coverage of US passive component suppliers Kemet (KEM)
and Vishay (VSH) with Buy ratings; firm starts AVX Corp (AVX) with a Strong Buy; says normalized valuations are below typical levels for
cyclical downturn.
07:23 ET BioSphere Medical (BSMD) 17.95: Files for public offering of 5 mln shares. Of the total shares, 3 mln are expected to be sold
by stockholder Sepracor (SEPR).
07:17 ET Comverse Tech (CMVT) 58.66: Salomon Smith Barney upgrades to BUY from Outperform after company tops estimates and
issues "positive guidance."
07:10 ET Cytogen Corporation (CYTO) 4.91: Reports study results suggesting that the use of imaging agent ProstaScint may significantly
improve a doctor's ability to detect the location and extent of recurrent cancer in patients who have previously had their prostates removed.
07:05 ET Switchboard (SWBD) 3.73: Announces agreement for company's directory technology and Nearbuy locally targeted
e-marketing solutions to be added to the AT&T Wireless (AWE) Digital PocketNet Service.
06:59 ET Xilinx (XLNX) 41.59: Added 6% in extended hours trading after chip maker maintained revenue guidance and announced an
improvement in business turns during May; company also reported significant improvement in cancellations and pushouts.
06:49 ET Excite@Home (ATHM) 4.03: Appoints Matt Jones to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Announces plans to
explore a restructuring of its commercial relationships with Comcast and Cox Comm.
06:41 ET Myriad Genetics (MYGN) 70.55: Announces the discovery of the a human gene responsible for high total cholesterol and low
HDL ("good cholesterol")in individuals with early age myocardial infarction. Myriad believes that inhibition of the gene with a small molecule
drug should lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease across the general population of individuals with high cholesterol.
06:35 ET S&P 500 Changes : S&P 500 component WorldCom (WCOM) is realigning its business into WorldCom Group (WCOM) and
MCI Group (MCIT) after the close of trading on Thursday, June 7. WCOM will remain an S&P 500 component, while MCI Group will not
be added to an S&P Index. Also announced: LTX Corp (LTXX) will replace USG Corp. (USG) in the S&P MidCap 400 Index after the
close of trading on Tuesday, June 5.
06:19 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1268.60, 0.6 points over fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at 1852, 11.0 points over
fair value. The 30-year bond is down 4 ticks at 5.701%. The dollar is firmer against both the euro and the yen.
06:19 ET European Markets : FTSE -0.09%, DAX -0.19% -- European shares mixed. Oil stocks once again outperforming amid
expectations of firmer prices. Euro weakness helping export shares. Technology holding up with STMicroelectronics and other European
chipmakers taking advantage of the Xilinx announcement that order cancellations have slowed considerably. Diageo hit by HSBC
downgrade, while Railtrack plunged as ABN Amro slashed its target price.
06:18 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei -0.98%, Hang Seng +1.85% -- Asian markets mostly lower. Japan off nearly one percent on extremely
light volume. Earnings concerns and bad loans in the banking sector drag shares down. Bank shares supported however, by talk of
government buying. Exporters hit by yen strength. Korea weighed down by semiconductor weakness on the back of excess capacity/slowing
demand concerns. Taiwan boosted by hopes of more banking mergers. |
