Well, I still have concerns, even in the near term. All the
economic data this week has been bad & below is from today
on Briefing.com.........
17:34 ET Proxim guides below consensus (PROX) 0.69 -0.01: Company warns for Q1 (Mar), sees loss of $0.02-0.03 vs Multex breakeven consensus, on revs of $40 mln vs Multex consensus of $49 mln. Co's revised guidance reflects impact of weak U. S. economy and war-delayed purchasing decisions.
17:29 ET PeopleSoft guides below consensus (PSFT) 16.50 +0.35: Company warns for Q1 (Mar), sees $0.11-0.12 vs Multex consensus of $0.14, on revs of $450-455 mln vs Multex consensus estimate of $486 mln. Company cites weak economy and delays in capital spending.
17:03 ET Cambrex Corp guides lower (CBM) 24.16 +0.01: Company announces it is reducing Y03 EPS guidance to $1.05-1.25. Guidance excludes $0.32 charge related to settlement with Mylan Labs, not clear if comparable to Multex consensus of $1.09. However, company did clearly state revised guidance is lower than previously expected.
16:55 ET Neoware Systems guides below consensus (NWRE) 12.52 -0.36: Company warns for Q3 (Mar), expects revs to exceed $13.3 mln, however Multex consensus is $16 mln. CEO says "Q3 revenues were expected to be stronger."
16:43 ET Advent Software resumes trading (ADVS) 12.45 -0.03: -- Update -- Getting hit on adverse guidance -- ADVS -1.29 or 10.4% vs the 4 pm ET close.
16:40 ET MatrixOne resumes trading (MONE) 3.51 Unch : -- Update -- Shares getting crushed on co's guidance -- MONE -1.00 or 28.5% vs the 4 pm ET close.
16:37 ET Entrust guides Q1 lower (ENTU) 2.51 -0.08: Co. says Q1 revenue is expected to range from approximately $21.5 million to $21.9 million and pro forma loss applicable to common shares is expected to be approximately $0.07 per share -- Multex consensus estimates call for a net loss of $0.05 per share and $25.1 mln respectively.
16:31 ET Virage Logic guides below consensus (VIRL) 5.81 -0.43: Company warns for Q2 (Mar), sees loss of $0.05-0.06 vs. Multex consensus of $0.01, revs of $9.4-9.6 mln vs Multex consensus of $12 mln.
16:22 ET Internet Security updates Q1 guidance<revenue up, earnings down> (ISSX) 10.80 +0.29: Co. says "revenues are expected to be slightly above the revenues for the year-ago quarter of $58.4 million" the Multex consensus estimate is $62.8 mln. Sees pro forma EPS in the range of $0.12 to $0.13 per diluted share vs the Multex consensus estimate of $0.13 per share.
16:15 ET Affymetrix guides Q1 below consensus (AFFX) 27.99 +0.84: Company sees revs of $60-62 million, compared to previous guidance of $71-73 million, Multex concensus $78.4 mln.
16:13 ET STMicroelectronics guides Q1 lower (STM) 19.73 -0.26: Co. sees Q1 revs "of $1,618 million, just slightly below the low end of its guidance range of $1,620 million." Says gross margin "should be around 35%, below the bottom of the previous guidance range of 36%." The Multex consensus estimate is for revs of $1,660 million. Co. says Q1 was penalized by greater-than-expected pricing pressure and the stronger Euro.
16:13 ET Advent Software guides below consensus (ADVS) 12.45 -0.03: Company warns for Q1 (Mar), sees revenues of $33 mln versus Multex consensus of $36 mln. ADVS cites difficult mkt conditions and continued weakness in European biz.
16:11 ET Affymetrix halted for trading (AFFX) 27.99 +0.84:
16:05 ET NetIQ cuts 7% of workforce; updates guidance (NTIQ) 11.29 -0.18: Co. expects to report Q3 revs "in line with its previous guidance range of $75 million to $80 million" -- Multex consensus estimate is for revs of $77.2 mln.
16:04 ET Sybase guides below consensus (SY) 12.81 -0.25: Company warns for Q1 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.16-0.20 vs Multex consensus of $0.23, cites weak final week of the quarter. SY sees Y03 EPS of $0.95-1.05 vs Multex consensus of $1.11.
15:57 ET MO intraday plunge blamed on reports that Illinois Senate committee rejects amendment to cap bond :
15:45 ET Talk of adverse ruling for MO; but this is rumor and we have no color at this time :
11:21 ET Check Point Sftwr: checks suggest Q1 rev shortfall - Southwest (CHKP) 15.61 +0.47: Southwest Securities says channel checks suggest the co will report softer-than-expected Q1 revs on April 15, and firm anticipates software rev to sequentially decline about 10% vs guidance of a 5% decline; cuts FY03 est to $0.92 from $1.01 and FY04 to $0.99 from $1.08, both below consensus.
10:01 ET ISM Services reported at 47.9 vs consensus of 52.5 : Today's reading represents a 6 point drop, the first sub-50 read since Jan 2002 and the lowest since the record low of Oct '01 (9/11). The market initially slipped on the surprising weakness but has more than recouped the slide.
09:41 ET AFC Enterprises: Goldman Sachs reiterates Underperform rating (AFCE) 13.10 +0.10: Firm reiterates Underperform rating due to continued uncertainty regarding earnings restatement, which is compounded by weak operating trends. Goldman's comments follow co's release last night of what firm terms as 'weak' same store sales.
09:33 ET Affiliated Computer cut to Hold at Legg Mason due to increased state/local uncertainty (ACS) 44.27 -0.92: Legg Mason downgrades to Hold from Buy to reflect what firm views as increasing uncertainity in the state and local market, which makes up about 41% of co's business. Notes that last night MMS, a state and local IT and BPO services firm, preannounced disappointing results for MarQ and lowered guidance for rest of the yr. MMS indicated that decision cycles (e.g., contract signings) at the state and local level were slowing unexpectedly, even when the work had already been awarded. One of the main concerns firm has with MMS' warning is that just a couple months ago co was quite confident on its business and visibility. Legg Mason now sees somewhat higher chance of that contracts in ACS' state and local pipeline might be delayed over the next several qtrs, which could impact internal growth.
09:32 ET Conclusions from Solly's CIO survey : Salomon Smith Barney believes the overall negative undertones of their CIO survey clearly has negative implications for CSCO, as the apparent regression of conditions during March has caused the majority of co's to pushout recovery expectations; survey confirms a strong bias toward spending on applications such as security and VPNs (benefits ETS), implies that Layer 3 switching appears to have greater exposure to deferrals than other areas of the network (particularly negative for EXTR and FDRY), and indicates that pricing in the traffic mgmt mkt has held up reasonably well (positive for RDWR and FFIV).
09:31 ET Manhattan Assoc may slide in sympathy with JDAS (MANH) 19.34 -0.18: CIBC World Mkts believes JDAS -19% warning may weigh on MANH due to large exposure to retailers, but firm believes MANH has avoided JDAS problems this quarter.
09:25 ET CNF Inc cut to Hold from Buy at BB&T following warning (CNF) 30.94: Firm lowering its Q1 operating estimate to $0.19 from $0.27.
09:07 ET Sinclair Broadcast cuts broadcast revenue estimates (SBGI) 7.97: Company cuts net broadcast revenue estimates to $152-152.3 mln from previous guidance of $154.1-154.8 mln, cites war in Iraq's impact on ad spending.
08:56 ET Moody's cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch on valuation (MCO) 47.29:
08:38 ET Goodyear Tire reports (GT) 5.41: Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $6.30, including multiple ex items. Backing out charge of $6.17 and extraordinary gain of $0.06, we came up with a loss of $0.19 per share, not clear if this is comparable to the Multex consensus of ($0.03); revenues rose 1.7% year/year to $3.53 bln vs the $3.48 bln consensus.
08:31 ET Initial Claims reported at 445K vs consensus of 410K : Mar 29 initial claims jumped a stronger than expected 38K to 445K, the strongest in a year. Continued claims for the week of Mar 22 jumped a healthy 107K despite the steady run off tied to duration eligibility. The news is negative but inconsistent with the Challenger layoff count.
08:20 ET Retek downgraded at Piper Jaffray; target $4 (RETK) 6.00: Piper Jaffray downgrades to Underperform from Mkt Perform, citing geopolitical and economic uncertainty as well as the clear signs from JDAS that large deals are becoming elusive; also, firm believes the recent run-up (+100% YTD) and multiple expansion for RETK has outpaced fundamentals. Target is $4.
08:18 ET Nassda cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS after warning (NSDA) 7.19: On its conference call, mgmt made a number of discouraging comments regarding the state of current business, including that pricing was falling, design seat sales were falling, the competition was making evaluation inroads, and that customers were requested and receiving extended payment turns. Price target cut to $6.25 from $12.50
08:12 ET AC Moore issues guidance (ACMR) 14.53: Company issues preannouncement for Q1 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.02 vs Multex consensus of $0.02, announces sales for the quarter of $92 mln, consensus is $93.7 mln.
08:08 ET Cerner slashes Q1 guidance (CERN) 32.09: Co guides Q1 to a range of $0.13-$0.15 (Multex consensus $0.38). As a result of lower bookings, co sees revs at $189-$192 mln vs previous estimates of $205-$210 mln. "A change in the competitive environment and more challenging economics for health care provider organizations resulted in us losing some deals we expected to win and some deals being pushed out of the quarter." (Secondary names to watch on this warning include IDXC and MCK)
08:07 ET Electronic Arts cut to Sector Perform at RBC on valuation; target $60 (ERTS) 60.45:
07:56 ET SPX Corp downgraded at Prudential (SPW) 34.07: Prudential downgrades to Hold from Buy due to growing weakness in demand and pricing throughout most capital good mkts served by SPX; in addition, while the recent debt refinancing and S&P debt upgrade last week appear positive, without the prospect of a dividend and the uncertainty regarding the pending clarification of the tax reform proposal, firm sees no positive catalyst in the near-term; cuts 2003 est to $3.40 from $3.50 and 2004 to $3.55 from $3.75, and lowers price target to $34 from $40.
07:49 ET AstraZeneca downgraded at Merrill Lynch (AZN) 35.75: Merrill Lynch out of Europe downgrades AZN to Neutral from Buy; while they are reassured by yesterday's Exanta data, they believe more risk averse investors should wait for the Iressa decision (by May 5) before buying the stock.
07:43 ET ITT Educational cut to Neutral at CSFB on valuation; target $29 (ESI) 31.10:
07:39 ET Given Imaging cut to Underperform at Bear Stearns after warning (GIVN) 8.95: Following any weakness today, Bear Stearns expects stock to trade in a range -- $5 to $8 -- over the near-term as investors gain more clarity on co's outlook for the remainder of the year.
07:38 ET Borders Group guides below consensus (BGP) 14.70: Company warns for Q1 (Apr), sees EPS falling below breakeven, Multex consensus is $0.01. BGP cites war in Iraq for shortfall.
07:32 ET Morgan Stanley cuts Verizon, upgrades BellSouth : Morgan Stanley lowers their industry view of wireless telecom services to Cautious from In-Line, reflecting recent strong share performance and reduced earnings expectations relative to the mkt; also, firm downgrades VZ to Equal-Weight from Overweight and upgrades BLS to Overweight from Equal-weight based on relative valuation.
07:24 ET H & R Block downgraded at Goldman Sachs (HRB) 44.35: Goldman Sachs downgrades to Underperform from In-Line, saying persistently weak Tax unit trends through mid-March make it unlikely HRB will hit their Tax projections, and borderline impossible for HRB to reach its US Tax targets of 2.5-4% client growth and 9%+ rev growth.
07:24 ET webMethods issues guidance (WEBM) 10.00: Company guides for Q4 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.01-0.02 vs. Multex consensus of $0.02, on revenues of $48.5-49 mln vs Multex consensus of $53 mln.
06:46 ET Monaco Coach guides Q1 below consensus (MNC) 10.76: Manufacturer of recreational vehicles guides Q1 to a range of $0.15-$0.20 (Multex consensus $0.33); projects revs of $271-273 mln (consensus $320.27 mln. MNC also to shut down production for a week and reduce production levels by 20%. "Difficult economic conditions and military conflict have pressured consumer confidence, and our retail dealer partners have become very cautious." (WGO and FLE are in the same space) |
