A couple familiar ones! GADZ, TIVO, IWOV, and GOTO.... ART(not a symbol)
updated: 10-Jul-01
Last Update: 09:51 ET
Trading Points
Comprehensive coverage on Short Stories, analysis on Story Stocks
09:51 ET VeriSign (VRSN) 55.40 +4.10 (+7,9%): -- Update -- Technical -- Gaps higher off the open on news
of relationship with Microsoft (see 06:47 comment) and in the process pushes above the trendline off the April/June
lows. Thus far stymied at 20 day simple ma/chart congestion between 55.2-55.5. Ability to hold above trendline
(54.4) allows for short term follow through with next resistance at 50 day simple ma (56.3). Daily indicators are
positive.
09:47 ET Raindance Communications (RNDC) 1.27 +0.07 (+5.8%): Company wins contract to provide Oracle
with at least two million conferencing minutes per month, expanding the company's use of Raindance Web and Phone
Conferencing tools.
09:41 ET Sector Watch : Modest but broader based gains in early trade with rising sectors being led by networking,
semiconductor, oil/oil service, Internet, software, retail, gold and broker/dealer. Currently on the downside are
banking, insurance, healthcare, drug and biotech.
09:36 ET Global Crossing (GX) 9.08 +0.40 (+4.6%): Stock gaps up on news that GX has been awarded a contract
valued at up $400 mln to provide advanced wide area network services to the U.S. Department of Defense.
09:31 ET Neurocrine Biosci (NBIX) 37.75 +0.60 (+1.6%): CIBC World Markets initiates coverage with a
STRONG BUY rating and a price target of $57.
09:28 ET Proxim (PROX) 13.05: CIBC World Markets downgrades to NEUTRAL from Buy.
09:26 ET Genentech (DNA) 52.11: -- Update -- Merrill Lynch expects FDA request for additional information to
delay launch of Xolair and to impact EPS by $0.03 next year and $0.05 in 2003. Firm expects stock to be weak
today but continues to view it as attractive particularly on weakness.
09:14 ET McLeodUSA (MCLD) 2.73: Company announces draw down of an additional $175 mln of its $1.3 bln
Secured Credit Facility, leaving an undrawn balance of $550 mln; says continues to operate a funded plan through free
cash flow in 2003.
09:11 ET Gapping Up/Down : TIVO +36% (reaffirms Q2 and full yr guidance)... VLGC +24.5% (positive assay
study)... CLST +20% (reports improved Q2 results)... SVVS +16% (upgrade to Neutral)... ARTG +11%
(extends technology to BEAS, HWP, and SUNW applications)... MRBA +10% (issues upside preannouncement;
names new CEO)... NEWP +8.4% (reiterates guidance for the qtr)... FTUS -32% (warning)... NESY -26%
(warning)... GADZ -11% (warning).
08:59 ET ViroLogic (VLGC) 3.01: Announces data showing that company's new drug resistance assay is nearly 10
times more sensitive than other commercially available drug resistance assays according to research presented at the
International AIDS Society (IAS)Conference.
08:57 ET CIENA Corp (CIEN) 32.24 +1.25: -- Update -- Merrill Lynch met with Ciena at the NFOEC trade show
yesterday; commented that visibility looks good for remainder of the fiscal year but 2002 remains uncertain; Merrill did
not get convincing answers as to how CIEN can buck the trend of weak long haul spending in 2002; noted that points
of vulnerability included FON, Q, and LVLT with potential wins at T, VZ; says negative news remains more likely than
positive.
08:51 ET Education Mgmnt (EDMC) 38.20: JP Morgan upgrades to BUY from LT BUY; raises price target to
$60 from $42.
08:46 ET Applied Bio (ABI) 24.40: -- Correction -- Designer of biochemical instrument systems anticipates Q4
revenues of approx. $405 mln. Current consensus for the period is $430 mln (not $540 mln).
08:35 ET Genentech (DNA) 52.11: FDA requests additional preclinical and clinical data analyses on company's
Xolair drug. With the requirement of additional data, company does not expect there will be an FDA approval of
Xolair in 2001.
08:32 ET Interwoven (IWOV) 15.08: Yahoo! taps company as the first Content Infrastructure partner to augment
the Corporate Yahoo! enterprise information portal solution. IWOV technology will allow YHOO customers'
non-technical users to easily add content and update their Corporate Yahoo! enabled portals.
08:25 ET Questar Corp (STR) 24.13: Prudential downgrades to HOLD from Buy and trims estimates to reflect
lower natural gas prices; FY01 estimate reduced to $1.95 from $2.05 and FY02 to $2.05 from $2.35.
08:18 ET SAVVIS Comm (SVVS) 0.85: Morgan Stanley upgrades to NEUTRAL from Underperform after company
previews Q2 results and announces cost-cutting measures; firm believes that SVVS will not lose much of the old
Bridge revenue stream and the risk of bankruptcy has diminished.
08:16 ET Gadzooks (GADZ) 12.55: Tucker Anthony downgrades to MKT PERFORM from Buy following earnings
warning. Firm cuts Q2 outlook to ($0.09) from $0.10 and full yr estimate to $1.00 from $1.39.
08:10 ET Applied Bio (ABI) 24.40: Designer of biochemical instrument systems anticipates Q4 revenues of approx.
$405 mln. Current consensus for the period is $430 mln.
08:07 ET Blockbuster (BBI) 17.58: Salomon Smith Barney is assuming coverage of stock and lowers rating to
OUTPERFORM from Buy
08:07 ET Lehman on Ads : Lehman Brothers reduces 2001 US ad forecast to -0.3% from +2.0% and 2002 to
+4.5% from +5.6%, and cuts estimates on Disney (DIS 27.69) and Viacom (VIAB 49.75) as a result.
08:05 ET Opening Indications : S&P futures trading at 1207.20, 2.5 points above fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures
trading at 1727, 17 points over fair value. Positive sign that market not selling off on Corning (GLW 15.10) warning.
08:04 ET Texas Instruments (TXN) 29.40: Thomas Weisel Partners lower estimates to reflect a slow handset
market and pricing pressure; reduces CY01 to $0.27 from $0.37 and CY02 to $0.60 from $0.85.
08:03 ET Goldman on Opticals : Goldman Sachs previews the quarter for optical companies; though Goldman sees
another round of capex reductions with quarterly reports from service providers, it believes that some next-gen
equipment makers such as CIEN, ONIS, and SONS can report strong qtrs. Also notes that surprises are unlikely from
other opticals given the recent spate of preannouncements.
08:03 ET Vail Resorts (MTN) 19.70: Merrill Lynch raises near-term rating to BUY from Neutral and sets a
12-month target of $26. At 7x firm's FY02 resort EBITDA estimate, believes that the shares are attractively valued.
07:59 ET Linens'n Things (LIN) 26.20: Bear Stearns reducing estimates following earnings warning last night. Cuts
full yr view by 27 cents to $1.46 (-15.6%) and 2002 estimate by 34 cents to $1.71 (-16.6%). Firm maintains
Attractive rating based primarily on valuation.
07:54 ET Ford Motor (F) 24.37: Company schedules July 12 board meeting which Salomon Smith Barney thinks
could prompt some management changes. Firm reiterates Buy rating.
07:53 ET CSFB on Semi Equip : After a trip to Asia, CSFB analysts write that significant oversupply and
rationalizing end markets will keep the pricing environment painful for longer than expected, and believe that the market
is wrongly focussed on the bottom in units, when falling prices could drive down revenues beyond the unit inflection
point in Q3/Q4.
07:48 ET Triton Energy (OIL) 29.90: Dow Jones reports that company agrees to be acquired by Amerada Hess
(AHC) for $45 per share in cash.
07:36 ET Gemstar-TV Guide (GMST) 42.25: DB Alex. Brown initiates coverage with a STRONG BUY rating and
a $60 year-end price target based on DCF analysis of the company's various businesses.
07:25 ET Home Depot (HD) 45.99: Lehman upgrades to STRONG BUY from Buy "after being somewhat cautious
for the past 1 1/2 yrs." Believes that comps are poised to accelerate in the 2nd-half, with an aggressive Fed providing
the backdrop. Expects expense control near-term to produce stabilization, then improvement in vital signs.
07:19 ET LM Ericsson (ERICY) 4.58: Salomon Smith Barney (Europe) downgrades to UNDERPERFORM from
Neutral; reduces price target to $4 from $5.
07:13 ET Epimmune Inc. (EPMN) 3.91: Genencor (GCOR) exclusively licenses Epimmune's epitope and PADRE
technologies and takes a 10% equity stake in Epimmune.
07:08 ET Xerox Corp (XRX) 9.08: Company makes decision to eliminate the payment of its common stock
dividend; says the move is not the result of any unanticipated Q2 developments.
07:03 ET GoTo.com (GOTO) 17.79: Announces a one-year search distribution agreement that will provide access
to company's Pay-For-Performance search listings to users of MSN Search from the Microsoft Internet Explorer
search pane.
06:58 ET Charming Shoppes (CHRS) 5.86: Enters agreement to acquire the Lane Bryant women's apparel unit of
The Limited (LTD) for $355 mln in cash and stock.
06:52 ET Globix (GBIX) 1.95: Company issues press release announcing approx. $25 mln in aggregate new
contracts for Q3. However, the web hosting company does not expect the new contracts to have a significant impact
on the quarter's results. Driving the contracts was the opening of two new facilities in New York City and London.
06:47 ET VeriSign (VRSN) 51.30: In an effort to address concerns about security of its new Internet-based software
and servers, Microsoft enters relationship with VeriSign to use the company's digital authentication technology.
06:37 ET Conductus, Inc. (CDTS) 5.02: Company awarded contract from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile
Command to develop miniaturized superconducting filter systems for use in satellite communications and airborne
receivers. The size of the program is $744,000 over a two-year period.
06:28 ET U.S. Markets : S&P futures trading at 1203.50, 1.2 points below fair value, Nasdaq 100 futures trading at
1714, 4.3 points over fair value. The 30-year bond is down 7 ticks at 5.709%. The dollar is a tad firmer against the
yen, but weaker against the euro.
06:27 ET European Markets : FTSE +0.19%, DAX +0.24% -- European stocks mixed to a tad firmer. Market has
been able to overcome renewed weakness in the energy sector following a recent stabilization in oil prices, as well as
some bad news from Corning, the world’s largest fiber-optic cable maker. Pharmaceuticals have done better with
news that Aventis and Schering have entered talks with Bayer surrounding the sale of their CropScience agrochemicals
unit. However, growth concerns continue to weigh, as Germany’s DIW Institute lowered its growth forecast for 2001
to 1.0% from 2.1%.
06:26 ET Asian Markets : Nikkei +0.50%, Hang Seng +0.18% -- Asian stocks mostly higher. Nikkei up for the first
time in five sessions. Technology finally finding some buying interest as Advantest, Tokyo Electron, Oracle Japan and
Sony all fared well. Market also boosted by comments from FinMin Shiokawa, who says he does not want to wait
until next year to revise Japan’s securities tax code. Hong Kong also pushed higher despite pressure on telecoms, while
Singapore rose for the first time in seven days with computer shares outperforming. Taiwan stocks fell to their lowest
level of the year with a sharp drop in June exports, though government buying did provide some cushion. |
