MARKET TALK: Dillard's Doesn't Need Buyout Rumors
05 Mar 10:26
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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10:26 (Dow Jones) Almost a month after the death of its founder and chairman
sent its stock racing 20% higher amid rumors the company would be sold,
Dillard's (DDS) on Tuesday posted record 4Q earnings of $1.21 a share, and the
stock continues its rally, recently up 5.5% at $21.60. The Little Rock, Ark.,
department-store chain touted a 100-BP gross-margin improvement, and a 5%
year-end inventory reduction on top of a 13% reduction a year earlier. The
company said it's continuing to develop its private brands, and said it's
benefiting from an improved markdown strategy and is buying its merchandise
better. (JMC)
10:18 (Dow Jones) Stocks enjoy the latest ISM service reading, and why not?
The evidence just keeps mounting that the turn in the economy is coming quicker
than many had expected. Whether that justifies the surge equities have seen in
past two days is probably open for debate. Also up for debate is whether or not
the sparkling numbers on business activity of late is going to force a change
in Greenspan's comments on Thursday, when he revisits the pols. Semis look
great, led by Intel, and Internets, brokers, and even wireless also act well.
DJIA eases 11 to 10576 (well off lows), Nasdaq Comp adds 23 to 1882, and S&P
500 edges up 2 to 1155. (TG)
10:10 (Dow Jones) EUR/USD falls to daily low of $0.8655 from $0.8667 on the
strength of the service-sector ISM report. USD/JPY picks up to Y132.12 from
Y132.00. But don't expect this to create a sustained rally, some analysts
caution, as the market has a lot of good U.S. news priced in and doesn't
necessarily want to take the USD up any further. (JEN)
10:06 (Dow Jones) ISM non-manufacturing report hit its stongest level since
November 2000, rising to 58.7 from 49.6 in January, led bya stunning rebound
in new orders to 57.3 from 49.4 in January. Prices also turned positive to 50.0
from 49.0. Stocks jump on the news. (SV)
9:55 (Dow Jones) Robertson Stephens expects Sun Micro (SUNW) to reaffirm
prior 3Q guidance at mid-quarter update Thursday. Believes company has seen
good demand so far in quarter for its new server and storage products, though
checks also show the quarter remains back-end loaded. Keeps buy rating,
12-month target of $14. SUNW up 1% at $8.76. (TG)
9:46 (Dow Jones) Initiating airline coverage, Lehman Brothers analyst Gary
Chase expects a strong recovery in 2H industry revenue due to rebounding
demand, reduced capacity, and better economic climate. The firm started Delta
Air Lines (DAL) and US Airways Group (U) at strong buy. Chase likes Delta's
relatively strong balance sheet, large and growing fleet of regional jets,
mostly union-free workforce, and reduced East Coast capacity at rival US
Airways. As for US Air, the post-terrorism network reconfiguration will
dramatically improve its revenue mix, he predicts. (SON)
9:38 (Dow Jones) The Big Board looks to be the preferred destination for IPOs
this year. Including today's deal for Tsakos Energy (TNP), six of the 11 IPOs
this year have traded on the New York Stock Exchange. All three IPOs next week
are also NYSE deals, as is the only one tentatively scheduled for the week of
March 18. The NYSE has tougher listing criteria, so the prevalence of those
deals suggests that underwriters continue to bring older, more mature companies
to market. (RJH)
9:27 (Dow Jones) Genentech (DNA), along with development partner Xoma (XOMA),
is facing a class-action suit that alleges the companies misled investors about
when psoriasis drug candidate Xanelim would be submitted for FDA review. The
complaint was filed on behalf of anyone who bought Xoma stock between May 24,
2001, and Oct. 4, 2001, and seeks to recover losses suffered by the
shareholders due to allegedly misleading statementsmade by Xoma and Genentech
about Xanelim. Genentech and Xoma said in November 2001 they would delay their
filing of a biologic license application with the FDA. The companies originally
said they planned to make the BLA filing by late 2001 or early 2002, but moved
the application date to the summer and added data from an additional study.
(CS)
9:17 (Dow Jones) Alltel (AT) Chairman and Chief Executive Joe Ford will
receive monthly retirement payments totaling $2.5 million a year for the rest
of his life when he retires as CEO later this year. In lieu of benefits under
the company's defined benefit pension plan, Ford will receive a monthly payment
of $208,333 for the rest of his life. If survived by his wife, she would
receive 50% of the monthly payments for the rest of her life. Alltel's board
may, with Ford's consent, accelerate the timing of the benefit and make an
"actuarially equivalent single-sum payment." In January, the wireless and
local-telephone company announced that Ford would step down as chief executive
on July 1 but retain the position of chairman. (RG)
9:12 (Dow Jones) Feeling pretty psyched about the run in stocks? How's this
to lower your spirits: From its peak on March 6, 2000, (5132) to its low on
Sept. 21, 2001, (1387), the Nasdaq Comp dropped 3745 points. At Monday's close,
it had only gotten back 472 points. "In other words, the Nasdaq will only have
to increase by 176%, or rally almost threefold, to break even," points out
Anderson & Strudwick's Kent Engelke. (TG)
9:01 (Dow Jones) Salomon Smith Barney's Tobias Levkovich, like so many others
these days, is feeling better about the stock market. He ups his target on DJIA
to 11400 from 10800, citing likelihood "Old Economy" industrial names will
continue to outperform. If you're waiting for a better time to get in, you may
want to reconsider, too. Over the next few weeks, he sees more companies
letting on that things are improving, so pullbacks in stocks may not be that
significant. "Another powerful rally could occur in April as upward earnings
revisions mix with potential breakouts on the charts, thereby bringing in the
momentum money," he says. (TG)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-05-02
10:26 AM |
