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CNNfn market movers
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April 22, 1999: 11:23 a.m. ET
Computer firms inspire tech-savvy investors who leave money losers behind
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Techie investors showed confidence in everything from chip makers to computer wholesalers as the market opened Thursday, but showed little patience for those that couldn't meet earnings expectations.
Investors flocked to CDW Computer Centers (CDWC) after the microcomputer-hardware maker announced it had beat Wall Street's projections by 5 cents a share, pushing the company's stock up 44-1/2 to 87.
Few ventured beyond Beyond.com (BYND) either, raising its stock 7-3/4 to 34-7/8 after it too swept by analysts' first-quarter predictions by a healthy 8 cents a share.
The combination of a two-for-one stock split and earnings 6 cents above predictions had investors tuned in to Internet provider CNET Inc. (CNET), up 22-5/16 to 142-1/16
And computer-chip maker Conexant Systems Inc. (CNXT) found its stock's systems running smoothly after posting an unexpected profit. It shares rose 5-7/8 to 39-7/8 in early trading.
Those not meeting earnings expectations, however, were quickly punished. That group included Flir Systems (FLIR), down 4-1/8 to 12 after projecting a first-quarter loss, and Sara Lee (SLE), down 3-1/4 to 22-5/8 after estimating it will close the quarter 3 cents to 5 cents below projections.
Investors took little time dissecting the announcement by Adac Laboratories (ADAC) that its earnings would be lower than expected, dropping the company's stock 6-7/16 to 6-1/8.
The urge to merge
Outside the earnings front, investors were busy looking for deals . . . and they found plenty to choose from.
Hach Co. (HACH), which manufactures and sells test kits for water systems, posted one of the mornings biggest gains, climbing 6-1/2 to 17 after announcing it would merge with Danaher Corp. (DHR).
Not far behind was Winstar Communications (WCII), which had no problems getting its message across to investors after CBS Corp. (CBS) agreed to acquire a one-third stake in its online venture -- Office.com.
Winstar's stock rose 2-1/2 to 46-5/8, while CBS inched up 1 to 44-9/16.
But Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) could find few takers to boost its stock after announcing it would acquire AMD's Vantis unit for $500 million in cash. Perhaps concerned about the deal's dilutive effect on earnings, investors sent Lattice's stock down 11-7/8 to 46-5/8. 
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