Jorj, The futures just reversed. It looks like the DELL news at least so far may be tempered by any or all of the following snippets. The TV advertising comment is a surprise. That could make VIA.B, AOL and related a bit happier. And now they are going after the big guns..
08:02 ET Cisco Systems estimates cut at UBS (CSCO) 10.94: UBS Warburg cuts FY03-04 ests due to recent IT weakness, EXTR's preannouncement, and checks indicating weakness in Europe and Japan; lowers Oct rev forecast to -2% sequentially from previous est of flat, cuts FY03 est to $0.52 from $0.56 and rev growth to 1% from 6%, and cuts FY04 est to $0.60 from $0.67; cuts price target to $14 from $15.50, and believes the downside risk to the stock is in the $8.30-$9.30 range.
07:54 ET CIBC upgrades Boston Scientific, downgrades Guidant : CIBC upgrades BSX to SECTOR OUTPERFORM from Sector Perform following yesterday's court ruling in favor of BSX in drug-coated stent patent litigation with GDT/Cook (7:29); injunction against GDT's Deliver trial data appears permanent, and makes an increase in 2004 BSX coronary stent revenue ests likely. In addition, firm downgrades GDT to SECTOR UNDERPERFORM from Sector Perform, saying an appeal does not look promising, and other options likely to be materially dilutive; stock likely to trade down to $23-$25 range.
07:48 ET Merrill Lynch cuts semi equipment forecasts : Merrill Lynch cuts their semi equipment growth est for FY02 to -30% YoY from prior est of -25%, lowers FY03 outlook to +10% from +20%, and cuts FY03 semi sales outlook to +11% from +16%; cuts ests for AMAT, KLAC, LRCX, NVLS, TER, AEIS, ASYT, CYMU, KLIC, MKSI, and TWAV.
07:45 ET Shoe Carnival revises guidance to reflect sales slump (SCVL) 13.68: Discount shoe retailer warns that due to a drop in customer traffic in Sept, sales for the month are substantially below its previous expectations. For Q3, co now sees EPS of $0.32-$0.34 (Multex consensus $0.40). Puts Q4 earnings at $0.12-$0.14 (consensus $0.15).
07:44 ET Schlumberger cut at Goldman Sachs (SLB) 40.42: Goldman Sachs downgrades to MKT PERFORM from Recommended List based on relative valuation following the co's announcement of Q3 losses in its seismic joint venture that will impact Q3 EPS by $0.03 as well as $0.02 of higher expenses from layoffs at SLBSema; firm cuts Q3 est to $0.29 from $0.35 and says their 2003 est feels aggressive.
07:39 ET Dow Chemical guides below consensus (DOW) 29.80: Co warns that Q3 earnings will be about the same as underlying earnings of $0.16 per share posted in the yr-ago qtr (Multex consensus $0.29). The revised outlook stems primarily from higher feedstock costs, particularly in Europe.
07:36 ET Advent Software guides Q3 revenues below consensus (ADVS) 11.60: Anticipates Q3 revenues to total about $35-$36 mln (Multex consensus $42.12 mln). For Q4, co sees revs of approx. $38-$40 mln (consensus $47.89 mln). ADVS says purchasing decisions and implementations are being delayed across the board.
07:32 ET Charter Comm cuts Q3 forecast on subscriber losses (CHTR) 2.00: Announces it expects to fall below projected Q3 operating cash flow growth guidance of 13.7%, primarily due to basic analog customer losses, and expects revenue growth to be about 13%.
07:29 ET Judge rules against Guidant in stent trial, major win for Boston Scientific : Dow Jones reports that a federal judge ruled late Tuesday in favor of BSX and against the interests of GDT and partner Cook in a critical case affecting drug-coated stent development; ruling means the GDT and Cook won't be able to use key data they have collected in their Deliver trial; while the judge's ruling is a blow to GDT, it could be a major victory for BSX, since the ruling gives BSX an advantage to getting a Paclitaxel stent on the mkt first.
07:23 ET EDS receives informal SEC inquiry (EDS) 15.09: Co announced that it received a request yesterday for its voluntary cooperation in an informal inquiry by the SEC, which has requested information regarding the co's purchase and settlement of forward contracts related to its common stock and information regarding events leading up to its recent earnings guidance announcement.
07:18 ET S&P futures vs fair value: +2.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.5. :
07:14 ET Network TV ads are booming - WSJ : The Wall Street Journal reports that so many marketers want to advertise on TV that the networks are selling commercial airtime for 25-40% more than they could in May; network execs say ad space on prime-time shows is nearly sold out for Q4, and car manufacturers, phone co's, and movie studios are leading the TV advertising increase. |
