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CNNfn market movers
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September 18, 1998: 2:41 p.m. ET
Xylan crumbles, Think New Ideas is reconsidered and Cytec gets pounded
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Second thoughts about Think New Ideas and a switch in allegiance among investors in Xylan put the shares of the two companies onto the list of Friday's market movers.
Xylan (XYLN) plunged 2-9/16 to 10-9/16 Friday in much heavier volume than the 2-1/8 point drop Thursday, at the switching systems maker.
Analysts said the drop came following an earnings warning by France's Alcatel (ALA) Thursday, a customer responsible for roughly 20 percent of Xylan's revenues.
In the otherwise quiet Internet sector, Think New Ideas (THNK) soared 2-3/8 to 8-13/16 after the Web software company posted its annual report late Thursday.
Analysts said speculation had abounded that Think would restate its earnings after changing its auditors earlier this year, but there was no sign of that in Thursday's release.
Mel Epstein, chief financial officer, said short sellers had hurt the stock in recent months and the release of the 10-K report "kind of took the air out of the shorters' bubble."
Estee Lauder (EL) gained 3-5/16 to 54-1/8 after the upscale cosmetics maker disclosed plans to buy back up to 4 million of its own shares.
Bowl me over! Brunswick Bowling and Billiards (BC) lost 1/4 to 12-9/16, but one buyer chalked up a block trade purchase of 9 million shares, with Salomon Smith Barney matching the buyers and sellers.
Cytec Industries (CYT) plunged 8-1/8 to 1-15/16 after the chemicals maker warned late Thursday that it expects profits in its third and fourth quarters to fall short of Wall Street expectations by about 15 to 20 percent amid a worsening global economy and a drop in demand for its aerospace products.
According to First Call, the analysts' consensus estimate was for Cytec to post earnings of 72 cents a share in the third quarter and 73 cents in the fourth quarter.
Salomon Smith Barney and Deutsche Bank both downgraded Cytec stock.
OSI Optical (OVON) fell 1/8 to 1/16 after the electronic imaging process products and liquid crystal display company said it halted manufacturing operations following a plan voted by its board of directors.
The company said about 220 employees were laid off immediately as a result of the plant shutdown.
DuPont (DD) climbed 1/8 to 58-1/2, but slipped from earlier highs, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sustiva, a one-dose-a-day drug to treat the virus that causes AIDS.
Resource America (REXI) climbed 2-5/16 to 12-11/16 after announcing late Thursday that its auditor, Grant Thornton, said the real estate finance and equipment leasing company uses proper accounting practices.
In mid-August, the stock got pounded after the consulting firm Off Wall Street alerted its institutional clients that it had doubts about the earnings quality of Resource America.
That report led to a plunge in Resource America stock from about $34 per share.
Spaghetti Warehouse (SWH) was boiling hot, bubbling up 1-11/16 to 7-7/16 after Cracken, Harkey, Street & Hartnett agreed to buy the restaurant chain for $8 per share, or about $60 million, and merge it into the Dallas-based investment firm's Consolidated Restaurant Companies unit.
Willbros Group (WG) sank 4-1/8 to 5-5/8 after the oil and gas contractor said after the bell Thursday that it expects to report a loss in the third quarter of no more than 20 cents a share.
Analysts had expected a profit of 24 cents a share, according to First Call. 
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