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CNNfn market movers
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February 10, 1999: 2:26 p.m. ET
Shop-at-Home, Blue Rhino chastised for earnings; Rushmore celebrates Net site
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street's bout of caution caused investors to go back to basics Wednesday, taking a heavy toll on companies reporting weak or even slightly disappointing earnings.
Segue Software (SEGU) tumbled 4-13/16 to 11-1/8 despite 1998's record revenue after the company reported that, counting mergers with two software rivals, it had lost 19 cents per share in the fourth quarter. Not counting the merger costs, the company's loss narrowed to 2 cents per share.
Ad-savvy Columbia Sportswear (COLM) tried to put a positive spin on its own flat fourth-quarter profit, noting that sales had touched a record in the period despite unseasonably warm weather in many parts of North America.
Shareholders, however, ignored the company's vow to improve cost controls, driving the stock down 3-7/16 to 12-5/16.
Widening loss margins also sank shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) 3-1/2 to 13-1/4. The broadcast media firm blamed its per-share fourth-quarter loss of 14 cents on a worsening national advertising environment, but saw an encouraging upside in ongoing industry consolidation.
Separately, the company's CEO-designate Barry Baker quit the company he had run on a consultant basis for three years. Baker said he wanted to build new businesses and pursue personal opportunities.
Punished in advance for bad news to come, System Software (SSAX) fell 7/8 to 3-7/8 after warning shareholders that first-quarter earnings will fall short due to shrinking licensing revenue, a major component in Wall Street's evaluations of software companies.
Retroactive losses hurt propane service firm Blue Rhino (RINO), sending shares spiraling down 2-1/4 to 12-1/4 after the company restated fiscal first-quarter results to show a loss of a cent per share instead of the previously reported per-share gain of 5 cents.
Ratings performance mixed
Vitamin maker Natural Alternatives International (NAII) fell 1-7/16 to 5-9/16 after reporting quarterly profit had declined by 75 percent and receiving a rating downgrade from "accumulate" to "market perform" from Adams Harkness.
Profits at disability insurer UNUM Corp. (UNM) missed Wall Street estimates by 2 cents, spurring Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to strike the stock from its "top pick" list and sending shares down 8-9/16 to 47-1/4.
Replacing UNUM as a DLJ top pick, Las Vegas casino operator Mirage Resorts (MIR) gained 15/16 to 15-1/4.
Tobacco shares were not so lucky, suffering without benefit of fresh analyst affirmations after a San Francisco jury found Philip Morris liable for cancer diagnosed in a long-time smoker.
Philip Morris (MO) shares slid 3-5/8 to 41-3/4, while rival RJR Nabisco (RN) fell 15/16 to 27-3/4 and British-American Tobacco (BTI) lost 11/16 to 19-3/4.
On the positive side, freight firm Ryder System (R) benefited from encouraging words from Morgan Stanley, climbing 1-5/8 to 25-15/16 after the investment firm raised the stock's rating to "strong buy" from "neutral."
Elsewhere on the up side
Computer-maker Gateway (GTW) climbed 2-5/8 to 74-1/4 after reassuring shareholders with upbeat comments that the company is still comfortable with first-quarter profit forecasts of 60 cents per share.
Shoe chain Payless Shoe (PSS) is so confident about the future that it raised its own forecasts of fourth-quarter earnings to 35 to 40 cents per share. Analysts had only predicted per-share profits of 28 cents, spurring buyers to boost the stock 4-1/8 to 53-3/8.
British Sky Broadcasting (BSY) made big gains on Wall Street, climbing 5-11/16 to 47-7/16 after reporting soaring satellite TV subscriptions and growing sales.
Shareholders also applauded auto parts maker Federal-Mogul 's (FMO) decision not to pursue its merger bid for UK manufacturer LucasVarity (LVA), pushing its shares up 1-9/16 to 57-11/16. LVA receipts, however, fell 1-3/8 to 48-3/4 in New York.
Lycos rumbles continue
Wednesday also marked the second day of broad-based Internet weakness, led by sharp disappointment over the merger of Lycos (LCOS) and USA Networks (USAI).
Among companies peripherally affected by the deal, USA spin-off TicketMaster Online-CitySearch (TMCS), which will combine operations with Lycos, continued its dramatic descent, falling 4-7/8 to 37-3/8.
Leading USA competitor Shop-at-Home (SATH) also extended its plunge, sinking 5-5/16 to 14-11/16 on fears that the Lycos deal now puts the TV and Internet retailer back on the defensive.
Analysts said the news only crystallized shareholder disappointments in Shop-at-Home's flat earnings and choice of Internet partners Oracle (ORCL)and iXL instead of a large Web portal like Yahoo! (YHOO).
Elsewhere online, Go2Net (GNET), which competes with Lycos in the portal market, fell 11-5/16 to 87-3/8, while Net brokerage Ameritrade (AMTD) was one of the day's few clear Internet winners, gaining 9-3/16 to 74-1/4.
Ameritrade's newest online rival, Rushmore Financial Group (RFGI), surged 8-3/8 to 10-5/8 after joining the fiercely competitive Internet brokerage group by unveiling an electronic day-trading site. 
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