|
CNNfn market movers
|
 |
July 9, 1998: 3:15 p.m. ET
Chip sector dips, PC makers load up, 'Net firms pull back on hot stocks list
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Internet-related stocks pulled back from early gains Thursday as direct computer vendors, chip makers and apparel retailers cracked their way onto the list of top movers on Wall Street.
Yahoo! (YHOO) rose 7-1/2 to 193-11/16, but down from a high of 204 after the search engine provider beat analysts' second-quarter profit forecasts by 66 percent and announced a two-for-one stock split.
Rivals started the day on the upside but then began to drift. Lycos (LCOS) was off 1-3/8 to 76-1/8, Excite (XCIT) lost 4-1/16 to 87-5/16, and Infoseek (SEEK) fell 1-1/4 to 33-1/4.
Would-be Internet player Zapata (ZAP) rose 1-3/16 to 17-9/16.
NetGravity (NETG), which provides software for web content providers to manage their advertising, gained 2-3/4 to 24-3/4 as an analyst with First Albany's equity research unit started coverage with a "buy" rating.
Navarre (NAVR) climbed 4-5/16, or 50 percent, to 8-1/2 after the software maker announced a deal to supply the budding online book-selling service of Barnes & Noble (BKS) with consumer software.
Direct PC sellers also perked up, but analyst Wendy Abramowitz of Argus Research said there wasn't much industry news to explain the gains. Dell Computer (DELL) rose 4-1/2 to 100-7/8 in heavy trading, and rival Gateway (GTW) rose 1-5/8 to 61-3/8.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) drifted down 2-1/4 to 15-7/8 after the chip maker reported late Wednesday a larger-than-expected loss in the second quarter, its fourth straight quarterly loss, due to Asian market weakness. Volpe Brown also downgraded AMD stock from "buy" to "neutral."
BancTec (BTC) plunged 4-1/16 to 18-1/2 after the banking software company said soft demand will lower earnings by about 36 cents a share, about 12 cents a share lower than last year.
Phototronics (PLAB) fell 4-1/4 to 17-5/8 after the maker of chip-manufacturing equipment said it would not meet fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts due to semiconductor softness.
Dow Jones (DJ) was off 2-1/16 at 56-7/16 even though the publisher of the Wall Street Journal beat analysts' estimates in the second quarter by a penny per share.
Hadco (HDCO) fell 2 to 20-1/8 after the electronic interconnect equipment maker said it expects a third-quarter loss due mainly to a slowdown in electronics sales and a recession in Asia.
Powerwave Technologies (PWAV) shares slumped 2 to 16-1/2 after the maker of radio-frequency power amplifiers reported sales fell to $21.1 million in the second quarter, versus $27.4 million a year ago.
Tasty Baking (TBC) rose 1-3/16 to 16-3/16 even though the bakery products maker said it won't hit earnings targets in the second quarter and Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock. The company said it expects to meet earnings goals for the rest of 1998.
West Marine (WMAR) fell 4-9/16 to 12 after the boating supplies vendor said it will fall short of analyst earnings estimates of 74 cents a share by as much as 27 cents in the second quarter.
DuPont (DD), which is a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, weighed on that index as its stock fell 6-7/8 to 70-1/4 after the chemical giant said second-quarter earnings will fall by up to 15 percent from a year earlier.
J. C. Penney (JCP) fell 5-9/16 to 65-7/8 after the department store chain said earnings would be below last year's 48 cents a share as a result of "disappointing" sales, which forced the company to make more promotions and mark-downs than it first expected.
But Ann Taylor Holdings (ANN) gained 1-5/8 to 22-15/16 after the women's apparel vendor said same-store sales -- stores open at least a year -- rose 9 percent in June.
Many other retailers also announced June sales results Thursday. Dow stock Sears (S) fell 2-1/8 to 59-5/8 after reporting a meager 0.3 percent gain in same-store sales.
WellPoint Health Networks (WLP) climbed 1-15/16 to 71-9/16 after announcing plans to merge with Cerulean, the parent of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia.
VISX (VISX) rose 4-3/16 to 65-7/8 after the maker of laser eye surgery equipment said it agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over an alliance with rival Summit Technology (BEAM). Summit shares climbed 17/32 to 6-15/32.
Omtool (OMTL) sank 3-1/4 to 4-1/4, or nearly 44 percent, after the software firm said it will break even or post a minimal profit in the second quarter due to the delayed completion of contracts. BA Robertson Stephens also downgraded the stock.
Cardima (CDRM) shares plunged 2-11/32 to 6-5/8 after soaring more than 200 percent Wednesday when it announced patent approval from the U.S. Food Drug Administration for a key product.
-- by staff writer Jamey Keaten
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
