General Commentary bfore/after market
Industry Briefs
Computer Systems & Peripherals | Networking | Internet | Semiconductor | Semi Equipment | Software | Telecom Equip | Telecom Services
Computer Systems & Peripherals
Industry Members
IBM (IBM) 105.85 +1.15: Announces an alliance with privately held Relavis to deliver comprehensive e-business solutions for collaborative customer relationship management (CRM) for sales, customer services and support, marketing and channel management; the alliance will deliver solutions to all businesses with specific focus on the small and medium business segment; under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will jointly market the Relavis eBusinessStreams suite of products along with IBM's middleware and hardware; Relavis will be positioning IBM and Lotus technologies, including WebSphere and DB2 Universal Database, as their preferred choices to customers.
Mercury Computer (MRCY) 48.75 -2.35: After the close, reports Q4 earnings of $0.37 a share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.36, vs year-ago earnings of $0.20; "We expect that annual corporate revenue growth in FY2002 will be in the range of 5% to 15%. We expect to see our gross margin improve slightly but to remain within management's target range of 67-69%."
Networking
Industry Members
Brocade Comms (BRCD) 31.98 +0.30: Robertson Stephens is trimming estimates in anticipation of lowered guidance when company reports in mid-Aug. Firm continues to rate BRCD a Buy with a $56 price target... Goldman Sachs defending BRCD saying they believe company had no trouble making the July qtr and they expect positive comments to come out of the BRCD presentation at Wit Soundview conference Tuesday (at 13:30 ET)... Separately, company announces expansion of partnership with Veritas (VRTS) to deliver increased education services for SAN technology for IT professionals.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) 18.89 -0.17: Dresdner Klnwrt Wass downgrades to REDUCE from HOLD and lowers target price to $14 from $16; firm has seen further signs of weakness in Cisco's business, both in the US and internationally; however, notes that Cisco's valuation premium relative to its peers has widened at the same time as its fundamentals have deteriorated; believes that the current stock price reflects a recovery scenario that is not within sight.
MRV Comms (MRVC) 6.00 +0.25: After the close, reports Q2 earnings of $0.02 a share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.01, vs year-ago earnings of $0.02; "Based on current trends, management believes that the third quarter will be the bottom of the current downturn. Accordingly, MRV has increased revenue estimates for third quarter from $43 - $47 million to a new $46 - $50 million range. Fourth quarter revenue estimates are raised from the prior range of $48 - $52 million to a new $52 - $57 million range."
Riverstone Ntwrks (RSTN) 13.13 -1.02: CompleTel Europe N.V. selects Riverstone to supply advanced routing technology for major metropolitan area network deployments throughout France and Germany.
Internet
Industry Members
Expedia (EXPE) 48.14 -1.85: After the close, reports Q4 earnings of $0.25 a share, $0.02 better than the Zacks consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 112.4% to $78.47 mln from a year-ago of $36.95 mln; issues upside pre-announcement for FY02; company says that earnings are expected to be in excess of $50 mln, or roughly $0.75 per share, vs current consensus of $0.70 EPS.
FreeMarkets (FMKT) 18.95 +1.22: After the close, reports Q2 loss of $0.17, five cents better than the First Call consensus of ($0.22); revenues rose 14% sequentially to $37.6 mln vs the consensus of $37 mln... Company reaffirms revenue guidance of 5% sequential growth in Q3 and Q4, and guides combined Q3/Q4 EPS higher by $0.13 per share due to restructuring cost savings... Stock trading near 20 in after hours.
Yahoo! (YHOO) 17.80 -0.22: Enters strategic agreement with HSBC Holdings (HBC) allowing consumers to send and receive money via email by linking their credit cards, debit cards or bank accounts to their secure Yahoo! PayDirect account at HSBC.
Semiconductor
Industry Members
GlobeSpan (GSPN) 14.00 -0.99 : After the close, reports Q1 net of $0.01 a share, in line with consensus, vs yr-ago EPS of $0.11; revenues fell to $60.3 mln, down 20.6% yr/yr and 44.3% qtr/qtr (First Call consensus $64 mln).
Intel (INTC) 29.04 -0.18: Intel Corporation announces five new processors based on the 0.13-micron process technology that significantly increase the capabilities of mobile PCs; also announces the new highly scalable, cost effective mobile 830 Chipset family; the new chipset and mobile processor products enable PC makers to design the industry's most innovative, high-performance notebooks that are thinner, lighter and have longer battery life.
TriQuint Semi (TQNT) 23.82 +0.75: Worth keeping an eye on if Nasdaq should strengthen. Has maintained a posture in positive ground all session in spite of relative Nasdaq weakness. Next resistance is at 24.40 which represents the top of its May 24 gap with follow up overhead in the area of 25.50. To the downside, look for support around 23.50 which represents the upper end of its 10-day Bollinger Bands. Its position outside the bands suggests room for additional upside and also fits with its near-term overbought condition.
Wit Ups Semis : Wit SoundView is upgrading the following semi companies to STRONG BUY: Applied Micro (AMCC), LSI Logic (LSI), Pericom (PSEM), Triquint (TQNT), and Vitesse (VTSS); says that June earnings season has brought down expectations to reasonable levels, and that even communications cos should begin to see improving results. Also reiterates STRONG BUY ratings on TXN and PMCS.
Semi Equipment
Industry Members
Rudolph Tech (RTEC) 42.33 +1.15: After the close, company reports Q2 earnings of $0.25 per share, one penny better than the consensus estimate; reports Q2 revs of $23.1 mln vs the consensus estimate of $23 mln; warns for Q3; sees revs in range of $15.0-$16.2 mln vs consensus est of $21 mln; see earnings of $0.03-$0.04 per share vs consensus est of $0.24 EPS; "It is anticipated that the third quarter may be the industry's bottom."
Software
Industry Members
Adobe Systems (ADBE) 40.54 -2.52: Cautions that its revenue outlook of flat year-over-year growth could be affected due to weaker than expected economic conditions impacting all of its product segments. While Q3 revenues could be negatively impacted, company on track to meet its bottom line target for the quarter... CSFB maintains revenue and earnings estimates after company warns; brokerage looks for company to continue to trade in a high $30's to high $40's range; believes the best risk-reward tradeoff is below $40, where upside to $50 price target exceeds 20% and downside is likely no more than 10%.
BEA Systems (BEAS) 21.90 +0.37: Announces that United Airlines (UAL) is using the BEA platform to integrate operations and improve customer service.
Bisys Group (BSYS) 54.21 -0.09: After the close, reports Q4 earnings of $0.47 a share, in line with the First Call consensus of $0.47, vs year-ago earnings of $0.40; reports Q4 revenues of $94.7 mln vs the consensus estimate of $94 mln; "The company will be adopting the new FASB standard for its 2002 fiscal year. The company expects its reported earnings per share will rise $0.16 per share on an annual basis, or $0.04 per quarter, beginning with the September, 2001 quarter." The improved guidance is a consequence of an accounting change by the company.
DST Systems (DST) 46.45 -1.50: AG Edwards upgrades to BUY rating and raises price target to $58; lowers FY01 per share estimate slightly to $1.62 to reflect some near-term softness in account growth; believes investors should take advantage of the recent weakness in the shares to add to positions.
OPNET (OPNT) 10.50 -0.45: After the close, reports Q1 earnings of $0.06 a share, in line with consensus, vs yr-ago EPS of $0.02; revenues increased 73% to $11.1 mln (First Call consensus $11 mln).
Sanchez Computer (SCAI) 10.97 -2.48: JP Morgan downgrades to long-term BUY from BUY because firm believes it will take longer than previously expected for the company to ramp up its new growth opportunities; company subtly changed its 2001 revenue guidance from 40-50% growth to 40% +, a signal perhaps of less conviction on second half expectations; believes there will be opportunities to buy the shares at current or below current levels as more substantial evidence that new growth opportunities are materializing, signaling improving visibility.
Speechworks (SPWX) 11.16 -0.57: Enters joint licensing and development alliance with Visteon (VC) to create voice-enabled products and applications for both the automotive and consumer markets.
Sykes Enterprises (SYKE) 12.00 -0.36: After the close, reports Q2 earnings of $0.07 a share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.06, vs year-ago earnings of $0.17; reports revenues for the quarter of $123.3 million, which compared to second quarter 2000 revenues of $128.0 million, on a pro forma basis; company warns for Q3; sees net income in the range of $0.03 to $0.05 per diluted share vs consensus estimate of $0.10 EPS; sees revenues in the range of $105 million to $115 million.
Telecom Equip
Industry Members
Cable Design (CDT) 15.65 +0.25: After the close, company warns for Q4; sees earnings in the range of $0.07-0.12 per share vs. current EPS estimate of $0.16; company will cut its global workforce by 15%; "While our local area network facilities are running at higher capacity from their April lows, two of our facilities that target the central office marketplace have slowed enough to impact our top and bottom lines significantly."
ONI Systems (ONIS) 23.59 -1.16: Not much response to trading floor talk of a contract win. WorldCom (WCOM) being mentioned as the customer.
Optical Comm (OCPI) 8.73 +0.68: After the close, posts Q3 earnings of $0.09 a share (excluding items), $0.02 better than consensus, vs yr-ago EPS of $0.07; including a charge for the write-down of excess inventory, OCPI earned $0.06 for the qtr; revenues rose 35.8% to $39.4 mln. Company warns for 2001; revises full yr revenue growth outlook to 40% from 60%; OCPI also to eliminate 110 positions.
Tellabs (TLAB) 17.18 -0.04: Robertson Stephens notes that Sep qtr could be worse than expected as the new 6500 product will not be rolling out as quickly as thought and has already been rejected by SBC and WCOM; says stock could fall to low teens.
Wireless Facilities (WFII) 7.60 +1.10: Wachovia Securities initiates coverage with a NEUTRAL; firm is bullish on WFII and the rest of the wireless network services sector in the mid- and long-term, but the industry faces a challenging operating environment in the near-term and visibility is poor; believes signs that a more favorable operating environment in the second half of 2001 and/or 2002 would warrant a more bullish stance.
Telecom Services
Industry Members
Commonwlth Teleph (CTCO) 44.40 +0.09: ABN AMRO initiates coverage with a ADD rating and price target of $50; says Commonwealth is a growing independent local exchange provider, and believes it could be an attractive acquisition candidate; having appreciated roughly 30% since the beginning of 2001, firm believes CTCO shares could be approaching full value; would recommend CTCO for purchase, if sees a pull-back in these shares. |
