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CNNfn market movers
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August 5, 1998: 2:37 p.m. ET
Aetna, P&G, AlliedSignal atop hot stocks list as market looks for direction
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Trying to figure out which way the markets overall are moving Wednesday may be a fruitless endeavor after the big plunge Tuesday, but investors knew where they stood about a few stocks.
Lagging of late, Dow stock Procter & Gamble (PG) gained 3-1/4 to 81 after the consumer products giant said it will maintain its yearly earnings growth target of 11 to 14 percent and will speed up a stock buyback program to boost its share price.
Allied Signal (ALD) fell 3-3/8 to 36-5/8, or nearly 8-1/2 percent, a day after the industrial firm made a hostile $9.8 billion takeover offer for AMP (AMP), a maker of electrical connecting devices, which said it would consider the bid.
AMP was off 3-1/2 to 39-1/16.
Aetna (AET) rose 5-3/4 to 70-7/8 after the insurer reported earnings of 95 cents per share in the second quarter, beating analysts' consensus targets, as compiled by First Call, by 4 cents a share.
Computer Associates International (CA) climbed 1-7/16 to 33-1/16 after the software maker, whose stock has lagged recently, said it will acquire Realogic, a consulting firm that specializes in corporate networking, for an undisclosed sum.
Electronic Data Systems (EDS) rose 1-5/16 to 36-5/16 after Standard & Poor's Financial Information Services said that the provider of information technology services would replace Western Atlas (WAI) in the S&P 500 index after the close of trading on Aug. 10. That is likely to add liquidity to EDS shares.
Oil drilling product maker Baker Hughes (BHI) is in the midst of buying Western Atlas, a seismic surveyor. Western Atlas was off 4-5/16 to 56-7/8 and Baker Hughes fell 1-5/8 to 21-1/4.
Drug stock, vitamin sellers move
Warner-Lambert (WLA) got an injection a day after the drug sector got pummeled, rising 2-3/8 to 71-5/16 after Gruntal upgraded the stock to a "strong buy" from "hold" and set a 12-month price target of $98.
Vitamin vendors were active again Wednesday, a day after General Nutrition Centers (GNCI) said it would cut prices on basic vitamins to boost sales -- which may put pressure on the sector. Alex Brown lowered its rating on GNC early Wednesday.
After plunging Tuesday, GNC's shares were up 1/4 to 22 and Rexall Sundown (RXSD) rose 3/16 to 22-9/16. TwinLab (TWLB) fell 3-13/16 to 33, extending Tuesday's loss after saying it will hold to its normal pricing pattern. NBTY (NBTY) drifted 1 to 12-15/16.
Baby Bells, networkers are movers
The Baby Bell phone companies couldn't seem to march in lockstep Wednesday, with Ameritech (AIT) rising 1-1/2 to 45-15/16 but merger partner SBC Communications (SBC) off 5.8 to 39-1/4.
Bell Atlantic (BEL) fell 1-1/2 to 42-1/2 and BellSouth (BLS) dropped 2-5/16 to 65-1/8.
Long distance giant WorldCom (WCOM) rose 2 to 50-7/16; would-be merger partner MCI Communications (MCIC) was up 2-3/8 to 61-3/8.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) rose 2-5/8 to 95-3/4 after the networking giant reported after the bell Tuesday fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 48 cents a share, beating the First Call consensus estimate by a penny.
Cisco also announced a 3-for-2 stock split, effective Aug. 14, and Gruntal raised its fiscal 1999 first quarter estimate by two cents to 50 cents a share.
Rival Lucent Technologies (LU) was up 1-5/8 to 88-5/8.
A bit of static hit CBS (CBS), which fell 2-1/16 to 31-5/8 after the broadcaster posted second-quarter earnings of a penny a diluted share, or $4 million, while analysts expected a profit of 2 cents a share.
Promus Hotel (PRH) dropped 5 to 29-1/8 after the recently formed hotelier said it began a search for a new chief executive, and two of its top executives agreed to step down after a successor is named. Many analysts downgraded the stock.
Zapata (ZAP) slipped 1-3/4 to 15-3/8 after the voracious Internet-property buyer agreed to buy Attitude Network, parent of the web information sites Happy Puppy and Games Domain, for an undisclosed sum.
A dark cloud lurked over Rainforest Café (RAIN), which fell 1-1/16 to 11-1/4 after the retail and restaurant chain reported after the bell Tuesday a fall in same-store sales despite record earnings and revenue in the second quarter.
Industri-Matematik International (IMIC) sank 2-1/4 to 6-3/4, or 25 percent, after the Swedish vendor of supply-chain management software warned it expects a net loss of up to 11 cents per share in the fiscal first quarter following the departure of several top sales executives. Analysts expected a profit of 3 cents a share, according to First Call.
Paula Financial (PFCO) plummeted 5-5/8 to 12-1/2, or more than 31 percent, after the specialty underwriter reported a loss of $1.26 a share in the second quarter due to increasing loan reserves by $14.8 million.
LTX (LTXX) fell 5/8 to 3-1/8 after the semiconductor test equipment maker unveiled a restructuring plan early Wednesday that involves cutting 300 jobs, or about 30 percent of its workforce, and taking a charge in the range of $40 to $50 million for the quarter ended July 31. 
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