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CNNfn market movers
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March 19, 1999: 2:59 p.m. ET
iVillage, Cheap Tickets celebrate birthday, but paper, teen stocks remain mixed
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Two triumphant initial public offerings added a euphoric edge to a stock market already celebrating its efforts in holding Dow 10,000 Friday, while paper makers and youth-oriented companies were sharply mixed.
Among the IPOs, good demographics and a seemingly unquenchable market lust for Internet deals propelled women's Web site iVillage (IVIL) up 56-15/16 points from its initial price of $24, a 237-percent opening surge to 80-15/16.
Discount travel firm Cheap Tickets (CTIX) also leapt in its first afternoon of trading, climbing 21 to 36 from its starting block of $15.
Outside the market's debuts, shares of cable TV operator Cox Communications (COX) surged 2-3/16 to 79-1/4 in the wake of the company's two-for-one split announcement.
Instrument maker Boston Scientific (BSX) continued its recent rally, climbing 2-1/2 to 41 as it kept collecting accolades from analysts. Morgan Stanley rated the company "outperform" and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette gave it a "buy," while ING Baring Furman Selz, most enthusiastic of all, recommended the stock as a "strong buy."
Leading the day's losers, software consultant Cambridge Technology Partners (CATP), plunged 9-3/8 to 11-5/8 after warning overnight that lower software licensing revenue would dig deep into current-quarter profits. Stock analysts often scrutinize licensing revenue as a key indicator of software companies' business outlook.
A likewise gloomy outlook for diversified hardware and industrial firm SunSource (SDP) knocked shares of that company down 2-9/16 to 15-3/8. SunSource said overnight that global economic conditions would keep profits flat in the current quarter.
Synaptic Pharmaceutical (SNAP) tumbled 4-3/4 to 6-15/16 on disappointment over its anti-migraine treatment. The drug had proved effective against headaches, but development partner Eli Lilly terminated the project after animal toxicity tests proved unsatisfactory.
Cubs and calves
Investors found a fountain of youth on Wall Street, sending shares of a number of adolescent-focused companies moving in both directions.
Youth-oriented retailer Hot Topic (HOTT) leapt 5 to 17-11/16 on the strength of the company's unexpectedly high fourth-quarter profits, as well as encouraging words from BancBoston Robertson Stephens analyst Janet Joseph Kloppenburg. Kloppenburg raised her near-term earnings forecasts for the company, calling it "significantly undervalued."
Spelling Entertainment Group (SP), creator of such television programming as "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Seventh Heaven," soared 2-3/8 to 9-1/8 after entertainment giant Viacom (VIA.B) made a $9-per-share bid for all outstanding Spelling shares. Viacom B shares slid 2-3/8 to 85-7/16 and the A class shares were down 1-7/8 to 84-3/4.
Teen-targeted clothing retailer dELiA*s (DLIA) climbed 1-13/16 to 28-1/2 amid intermittent buzz surrounding its iTurf subsidiary's prospective public stock offering.
Children's Comprehensive Services (KIDS) was left out of the youth rally, falling 4-3/4 to 6-7/8 after the for-profit operator of centers for troubled youth said operating losses at its California centers would contribute to flat earnings in the fiscal third quarter.
Shareholders lost patience with entertainment retailer Party City (PCTY), sending the stock down 3 to 4-5/16 on news that the company's year-end audit is taking longer than expected, a delay which "extremely disappointed" Chairman and CEO Steven Mandell.
DLJ spurs paper plays
Shares of major paper companies were broadly mixed in response to comments from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
The investment firm raised its recommendations of Westvaco (W) and Dow component International Paper (IP) and to "buy" from "market perform," lifting Westvaco shares 3/8 to 22-7/8 and IP shares 3/8 to 45-15/16.
However, DLJ was not uniformly bullish on paper, downgrading its ratings of Georgia-Pacific (GP) and Temple-Inland (TIN) to "market perform" from "buy." Temple-Inland fell 3/4 to 65-9/16, while Georgia-Pacific got little encouragement from a compensatory "buy" rating from CS First Boston, sliding 2-1/2 to 77.
Elsewhere in the paper sector, Asia Pulp & Paper (PAP) climbed 11/16 to 8-5/8 and Louisiana Pacific (LPX) crept up 9/16 to 20-5/16, both without benefit of a DLJ nod in either direction. 
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