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CNNfn market movers
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May 6, 1999: 11:26 a.m. ET
Retailers, software firms benefit as consumers keep spending and surfing
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It was dress-up-the-portfolio day Thursday as investors tried on stocks of retail and specialty stores for size, particularly after reports of stronger-than-expected same-store sales during the month of April. Shares of software makers geared toward the Internet also got a lift as several of them reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
Ann Taylor (ANN) stock jumped 1-3/4 to 51-1/2, Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) rose 7/8 to 25-1/16 and Federated Department stores (FD),which owns such fabled retailers as Bloomingdale's, Burdines and Macy's, rose 1/2 to 49. All three reported double-digit sales gains during April. Tommy Hilfiger (TOM) shares jumped 1-1/2 to 72-1/8, while Children's Place Retail Stores (PLCE) shares surged 3-5/8 to 43-1/8. It also announced record sales of $92.6 million for the first quarter ended May 1, an increase of 65 percent from sales of $56 million for the same period last year. Comparable store sales for the first quarter increased 32 percent, compared with a 7 percent increase for the first quarter of 1998.
Discount chains also reported higher sales, a reflection of shoppers' attraction to quality, which equally attracted investors to their stock. Kmart (KM) shares rose 3/8 to 16-7/16 while Wal-Mart (WMG) stock rose 3/16 to 44-3/16.
Macromedia (MACR) shares rose 2-7/8 to 40 after the technology company said its fourth-quarter earnings report beat consensus estimates. It reported a profit of 16 cents per share, 3 cents ahead of the consensus estimate, according to analysts polled by First Call Corp. Revenue rose to $44 million, compared to $30 million. Macromedia develops software and other technology that enhances the way Web pages are viewed on the Internet.
Actel (ACTL) shares rose 3/16 to 12-5/16 after it said it completed its goal of reducing its global work force by 6 percent -- a move meant to boost the company's focus on developing new products. The job cuts will produce a charge in the neighborhood of $4 million in its current quarter, though the long-term prospects for the company look positive, analysts said. Actel is an integrated circuits maker.
Qwest Communications shares rose 2-7/8 to 86-5/8 after the Internet communications company said its shareholders approved a measure to increase the number of authorized Qwest shares to more than 2.02 billion from 625 million. A portion of the additional shares will be used for the company's upcoming 2-for-1 stock split, which will occur on May 24. Company officials said the remaining shares will be used to support Qwest's continued global expansion and other strategic initiatives.
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products (LHSP) stock jumped 2 to 40-5/16 after it said it signed an agreement with Intel Corp. (INTC) to develop e-commerce and telephone solutions using its speech and language technologies. Intel already had committed to investing $30 million into Lernout & Hauspie.
Dames Moore (DM) shares jumped 3 to 15-5/16 after engineering planning firm URS Corp. (URS) said it will pay $16 per share to acquire the company, a 30 percent premium over Dames' closing price Wednesday of 12-3/8. URS said it also will assume about $300 million of Los Angeles-based Dames' debt, bringing the total value of the transaction to approximately $600 million.
And there was a little bit of fun and games Thursday on Wall Street. Premier Parks (PKS) rose 1-1/8 to 36-3/4 after the amusement park operator said it bought Mexico's biggest theme park for $59 million and agreed to also acquire a large water park in Houston. Premier Parks operates "Six Flags" amusement parks.
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