The Motley Fool's Market Movers (Heroes)
The Motley Fool - September 10, 1998 18:45
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September 10, 1998/FOOLWIRE/ -- Networking products maker 3Com
Corp. (Nasdaq: COMS) gained $1 15/16 to $27 5/16 as The Wall Street Journal
reported that the company will spend $100 million over the next two years to
form joint ventures in China, which 3Com expects will eventually be "very
significant" to its revenues. However, the real factor moving the stock
today was speculation that chip giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) will make a bid
for all or part of 3Com's business. While some speculators live and die by
the old "buy on the rumor, sell on the news" adage, there is little reliable
proof that any deal is forthcoming from the companies. But for fun, a
possible agreement could be in the works for 3Com's network interface card
(NIC) unit, which has had its nose bloodied lately by Intel's aggressive
pricing strategies. Unfortunately for Intel, a NIC link-up would almost
surely raise the antitrust hounds' ears, as the combined operation would
control an estimated 70% of the market for the devices.
Biopharmaceutical company Biogen (Nasdaq: BGEN) took a ride $5 7/8 higher to
$57 1/2 after CIBC Oppenheimer raised the firm's rating to "buy" from "hold"
with a 12-month price target of $58 per share. The upgrade is the second
this week for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, which earlier got
a lift when Goldman Sachs placed the stock on its "recommend list" alongside
rival Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN). While the circumstances are different, Biogen
seems to be benefiting from the recent positive vibe from investors about
Amgen and the biotech sector in general. The buzz overshadowed Immunex's
(Nasdaq: IMNX) announcement today that Phase III trials of its Novantrone
drug had a "statistically significant impact" on the relapse rate of
patients with progressive multiple sclerosis. If approved by the FDA,
Novatrone will compete head-to-head with Biogen's MS drug, Avonex. Immunex
closed up $3 5/8 to $59 1/2.
The American Petroleum Institute said in a report that U.S. oil inventories
dropped by a larger-than-expected 6.7 million barrels last week, sending the
price of oil up in trading today. The roughly 2% inventory drop was due to a
hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, which reduced imports into the U.S. and
gave stateside oil folks a sliver of hope that the ongoing worldwide oil
glut may actually end some day. Contract oil driller Rowan Companies (NYSE:
RDC) gained $7/8 to $12 1/4, Cliffs Drilling (NYSE: CDG) rose $1 7/8 to $20
1/4, Noble Drilling (NYSE: NE) advanced $1 3/16 to $14 13/16, and Transocean
Offshore (NYSE: RIG) climbed $1 1/4 to $28 3/4. On the oil services side,
EVI Weatherford (NYSE: EVI) moved up $2 1/2 to $20 7/8, Cooper Cameron
(NYSE: RON) gained $3 7/16 to $30, and Varco International (NYSE: VRC) rose
$1 3/16 to $10 1/8.
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