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Technology Stocks : WCOM -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Epics who wrote (4696)	6/30/1999 2:31:00 PM
From: Night Writer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11568

WorldCom sinks with growth fears By Ian Simpson NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) - Shares in MCI WorldCom Inc. <WCOM.O> fell in heavy trading on Wednesday amid worries about revenue growth at the No. 2 U.S. long-distance company. MCI WorldCom was off $6.31 at $88.31 in early afternoon dealings, rising a bit from a loss of almost $7. The shares were the most active on the Nasdaq stock market. Almost 33 million shares had changed hands, almost four times normal daily levels, by early afternoon. Analysts said the shares were hurt by comments from PaineWebber analyst Eric Strumingher, who trimmed his estimate for year-over-year consolidated revenue growth for the second quarter to a range of 16 to 16.5 percent from 17.2 percent. MCI WorldCom posted growth of 17 percent in the first quarter. In a report, Strumingher blamed weaker-than-expected growth in the domestic voice sector for the cut in his forecast. He maintained his estimate for second-quarter earnings at 45 cents per share but said, "We don't see much potential for upside to this estimate." According to First Call Corp., which tracks earnings forecasts, analysts' consensus earnings estimate for the quarter is 44 cents a share. One of the factors hurting MCI WorldCom was a profit warning late Monday from Frontier Corp. <FRO.N>, the No. 5 long-distance company. Frontier cited price erosion and loss of a British wholesale customer. Simon Flannery, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said the Frontier announcement could presage a long-distance price war among telecommunications companies. Polina Ialamova, an analyst at Madison Securities in Chicago, said she had also shaved her estimate for revenue growth in MCI WorldCom's core communications services, to more than 17 from more than 18 percent. However, she also said margins likely would improve. "A large chunk of revenues would be coming from higher-margin areas like Internet data and international revenues," she said. Analysts said MCI WorldCom shares likely were not affected by news that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating possible anti-competitive practices in the undersea cable industry. The probe focuses on a trans-Pacific consortium of more than 30 companies, including MCI WorldCom. ((--New York technology desk, (212) 859-1730)) REUTERS