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CNNfn market movers
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November 9, 1998: 2:23 p.m. ET
Net sector hold its gains, airline stocks lose altitude and two insurers look ill
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Internet stocks took flight again and airlines got grounded, as investors punished two insurance providers on Monday's list of market movers.
Vesta Insurance Group (VTA) was ailing, dropping 2-3/4 to 6-3/4 after one-time owner Torchmark (TMK) said Monday it would sell about a third of its Vesta shares and will take a $24 million charge as it lowers their value.
Torchmark was off 5-1/16 to 38-13/16.
Vesta also said it expects to report a third-quarter loss of about $30 million, due to "significant" catastrophe losses, and will not be in compliance with loan covenants.
And Mercury General (MCY) shed 1-15/16 to 43-11/16 after the automobile insurer said its advertising campaign has not met targets.
Software supplier SEEC (SEEC) roared up 3-3/32 to 8-31/32 after the company said that it has been approved as a supplier of software tools and services for government agencies in New York.
The sunshine of Wall Street was beaming on Big Flower Holdings (BGF), which flourished up 2-5/16 to 23-1/8 after the direct mailing publisher was upgraded by Bear Stearns.
Riddled with holes was Hologic (HOLX), which slumped 3-3/16 to 12-5/8 after the maker of osteoporosis diagnostic and monitoring products reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of 10 cents a share, far short of the analysts' expectation for 30 cents a share.
Meanwhile, fellow Nasdaq issue PharMerica (DOSE) dropped 25/32 to 4-5/16 after the provider of long-term care services said it had hired the brokerage Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to explore its strategic alternatives.
The company also reported a whopping loss, including one-time charges, of $1.42 per share compared to analysts' expectations of a profit in its third quarter.
In the "hot-yesterday, cool-today" category was Geron (GERN), the biotech company up sharply last week on press reports that it was behind research that discovered a way to make human embryonic stem cells, a form of human building-blocks.
Geron, which had said it will be many years before the technology is rolled out widely, was off 3 to 14-3/16.
Net stocks catch on again
Investors were fired up about Excite (XCIT) which rose 4-7/8 to 44-7/8 after the Internet portal and search-engine provider announced a new service that gives web surfers a "virtual credit card" for online shopping.
Rivals soared as well on the news, with Infoseek (SEEK) gaining 3-1/2 to 37-1/2, Lycos (LCOS) rising 2-3/16 to 51-5/16 and Yahoo! (YHOO) up 6-5/16 to 159-7/8.
Netscape Communications (NSCP), the web-browser maker turned Internet portal, climbed 2-9/32 to 27-21/32 after unveiling new billing system applications for companies hoping to build Internet-related businesses.
Elsewhere, among the Internet service providers: MindSpring Enterprises (MSPG) rose 4-7/8 to 50-1/2, and EarthLink Network(ELNK) rose 2-7/8 to 52-3/4.
Also moving up were Internet auctioneer E-Bay (EBAY), climbing 8-18/32 to 92-1/8, the search-engine makers Inktomi (INKT) up 2-3/8 to 107-5/8, and Spyglass (SPYG) up 2-1/2 to 17-5/16; home-page provider GeoCities (GCTY) was up 2-5/16 to 36-1/16.
And Broadcom (BRCM) soared 6-5/16 to 92-13/16 as the communications circuit maker said it created a new chip that lets television viewers simultaneously view web pages.
Airlines come in for landing
After enjoying a mild run-up last week, the nation's top airlines headed lower on Monday, dragging the Dow Transports index lower.
Among the losers were AMR (AMR), the parent of American Airlines, off 3-3/4 to 63, and US Airways (U) dropping 2-1/8 to 50-7/8 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stocks.
Also losing altitude: Delta Air Lines (DAL) slipping 2-3/16 to 104-13/16, UAL (UAL), parent of United Airlines, losing 1-5/16 to 63, Southwest Airlines (LUV) down 11/16 to 21-7/16 and America West (AWA) dropping 1-15/16 to 14-3/8.
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