MARKET TALK: Digital Lightwave Shares Worth A Look
26 Jul 13:18
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern)
MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT
1:18 (Dow Jones) Pacific Growth says Digital Lightwave (DIGL) may be too
optimistic about its latest projections. That said, the brokerage firm, bearish
on DIGL for some time, says the valuation is becoming attractive. Management is
taking the necessary steps to preserve profitability by cutting costs and
finding new markets. Says company can hit Pacific Growth's estimates with only
minimal contribution from systems customers, and if these customers come back
into the fold, upside to numbers could easily be seen. Shares off 2.7% at
$18.74. (TG)
1:04 (Dow Jones) Nymex crude breaks above $27/bbl as buying interest picks up
after a slow, morning push at the upside encountered technical resistance.
Lingering optimism sparked by OPEC output cut and rally in products futures
provided the impetus, analysts say. Sept. crude up 17c at 27.01/bbl.
"Follow-through beyond that level...sets up a retest of the $27.75/bbl high
from July 6 as the next intermediate-term decision point," analyst says. (MXF)
12:58 (Dow Jones) Railroad names are the best acting as a group Thursday,
higher by 2.8%. CSX leading the way, up 4.4% after topping 2Q views. The
company also said the derailment and big fire in Baltimore last week shouldn't
have any long-term impact on CSX. (TG)
12:46 (Dow Jones) Looking for some silver lining in the troubled junk-bond
market, Moody's notes that while spreads and downgrades have jumped this month,
the number of lower-rated junk issues continues to decline. That despite a
pickup of issuance overall this year. In the past three months, $4.4B in
credits rated B3 or below hit the market, down from $6.7B in 1Q and $10.1B by
July of last year. (RTB)
12:32 (Dow Jones) Bullish U.S. economic forecasts from Merrill Lynch's senior
international economist Matthew Higgins: Sees possible U.S. turnaround as soon
as 4Q and GDP growth of 4% for 2002. U.S. will be the first to recover from the
global economic slowing, Higgins says. (JNP)
12:21 (Dow Jones) UBS Warburg axed a handful of companies from its
highlighted stocks list Thursday, including telecommunications firms Qwest
Communications (Q), Verizon (VZ) and WorldCom (WCOM). Warburg also cut two
contract electronics manufacturers from the list, Celestica (CLS) and
Flextronics (FLEX). A Warburg spokesperson wasn't immediately available for
comment. (RKS)
12:12 (Dow Jones) Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson Thursday took
the oath of office for a new term on the Board of Governors to last through
Jan. 31, 2014. Ferguson originally took office in Nov. 1997 to finish a term
left vacant. Ferguson's four-year term as Vice Chairman expires Oct. 5, 2003.
(JEP)
12:02 (Dow Jones) Falling bond yields over last 18 months have fired rising
demand for new homes, notes Bridgewater Associates, a global bond and currency
management firm. Households are reacting favorably to interest rate declines
with respect to their housing investment decisions, while builders have seized
opportunity to trim inventories - the number of new homes for sale down 7.4%
from level in March 2000, which coincided with Nasdaq peak. Monthly supply of
new homes at lowest level in 20 years. The housing industry is less vulnerable
to a downturn in demand, Bridgewater says. (JNP)
11:45 (Dow Jones) Speculation that Guilford Pharmaceuticals (GLFD) will issue
negative news about the phase II trial of its drug to treat Parkinson's disease
pressured the company's stock Thursday, driving it down 12%. The talk came
ahead of a scheduled 2Q conference call from Amgen (AMGN), Guilford's partner
in the drug trials. Market players apparently fear that Amgen will address the
issue in the call. (EGS)
11:38 (Dow Jones) Senate Finance Committee sets Aug. 1 hearing on taxation of
sales over the Internet, with specific focus on whether current tax moratorium
should be extended, and, if so, whether extension should be permanent or
temporary. (JCC)
11:35 (Dow Jones) Economists at the bearish Levy Institute stand their ground
and growl recession. They forecast real U.S. GDP to contract in 2001, expect
Fed funds rate at 3% by year end, 30-year Tsy yield to plunge to 4.50% by then
(from 5.58% Wednesday), and unemployment rate to continue rising through early
2002. Also cites deflationary global situation, U.S. mortgage refinancing
activity now falling rapidly, and sees savings rate rise "seriously hindering"
U.S. businesses' efforts to get inventories back in line. (JNP)
11:21 (Dow Jones) Precious little in the way of new details on
Hewlett-Packard (HWP) call. Merrill keeps cautious stance, says estimates
likely to be lowered for rest of this year and, to some extent, for 2002 also.
In current environment, printer business can be a problem. While IBM and Sun
Micro (SUNW) may have strong product cycles starting toward the end of this
quarter, H-P printer business weakness can continue. Shares off 8% at $23.65,
worst performer on DJIA. (TG)
11:11 (Dow Jones) The stock market ain't seen nothing yet. Look out for "the
most severe recession in the post-war era," says Barton Biggs, global
investment strategist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Biggs says the consumer is
the linchpin. If he or she "succumbs to the reality" of sweeping job layoffs,
severe drops in net worth, and patterns of undersaving, watch out below, Biggs
says. (KJT)
10:59 (Dow Jones) Calpine (CPN) expects to earn more than $2 a share in 2001,
company CEO Cartright says on earnings conference call Thursday. Expectations
have been for $1.92. Calpine says it isolated itself from California utility
credit risks and signed extensive long-term contracts before western power
prices crashed. Company reported 2Q adjusted earnings per share of 39 cents, an
increase of 95% from year ago. Stock trading down about 20 cents at $35.62.
(MBG)
10:53 (Dow Jones) Over the past few weeks, investors have bid up shares of
Tucker Anthony Sutro (TA), expecting the firm to sell out. But amid heightened
talk of consolidation, Friedman Billings Ramsey Group (FBR) - which has not
been mentioned as a takeover play - said it has no desire to sell out. "It's
difficult to see how you can see an attractive transaction at this juncture,"
said Bob Smith, the company's chief operating officer. (CWM)
10:46 (Dow Jones) As many are backing off from euro-bearishness, and even
embracing euro/dollar buying in the short term, FleetBoston analysts are
sticking to their 82-cent target. M3 adds to ECB's pickle as the bank needs to
cut rates but the target won't allow it, Fleet says, and a weaker euro would at
least be a salve. (JEN)
10:32 (Dow Jones) Parents and teenagers plan to spend an average of $527 this
year on clothing and other back-to-school needs like school supplies, according
to a survey by American Express. That's down 4% from last year. Teens expect
46% of their purchases to be jeans, followed by shirts and tops (40%),
accessories (24%) and sneakers (24%). Girls' favorite brands for jeans, in
order, are Gap's (GPS) Old Navy, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger (TOM), Abercrombie &
Fitch (ANF), and Limited's (LTD) Express, the survey found. Boys like Tommy
Hilfiger, Nike (NKE), Adidas, Polo/Ralph Lauren (RL), and FUBU. More parents
and teens will wait until August to do their shopping this year, the survey
found. And 39% of teens call themselves bargain hunters this year, up from 32%.
(JMC)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 07-26-01
01:18 PM |
