Bob,
WSJ is reporting that analysts think Jeffrey Gannon,
"a greatly hireable" CEO, bodes well. Do you know of
other "analysts" waiting in the wings, ready to start
covering ZE?
Here is the full report for those who may have missed it:
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Zenith Electronics Corp. (ZE) rose
29.2% Wednesday, and one analyst said investors are cheering the hiring of
General Electric Co. (GE) executive Jeffrey P. Gannon as Zenith's president
and chief executive.
The announcement was made at the close of the market Tuesday. Gannon
replaces Peter S. Willmott, who is retiring.
Analyst Robert Gutenstein from Kalb Voorhis & Co. said the market likely
read Gannon's hiring as a positive sign for the troubled company. "Investors
feel someone who's highly hireable looked over Zenith carefully and decided
it's worth joining," Gutenstein said.
The electronic products manufacturer hasn't posted a full-year profit from
continuing operations in more than a decade.
The analyst added that investors probably assumed Gannon received some
sort of assurances from LG Electronics Inc., a South Korean company with
a major stake in Zenith, as to the loans it has been guaranteeing for Zenith.
The hiring of turnaround specialist Robert N. Dangremond as interim chief
financial officer last week is also being seen as a positive step, Gutenstein
said.
NYSE-listed Zenith was recently trading at 7 3/16, up 1 5/8, on volume of
1.6 million, compared with average daily volume of 357,300. |
