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CNNfn market movers
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September 17, 1998: 2:40 p.m. ET
Gold shines, soap makers slide, and Apollo burns up in the Wall Street sun
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Consumer-products makers were slipping, an education provider got a schooling in market pain, and a host of transport-related stocks moved atop Thursday's list of market movers.
Houston, we have a problem. Apollo Group(APOL) plunged 6-1/2 to 30-1/8, after falling as much as 12-3/8, in heavy trading after the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column Thursday raised questions about the valuation of the company, which is facing a Department of Education audit of its financial- aid programs.
"The implications of the allegations are totally false," said a company spokesperson. Apollo held a conference call for analysts Thursday afternoon.
Despite a down market overall Thursday, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was up 1-1/8 to 17-7/8 after Merrill Lynch raised its 1999 earnings per share estimate for the chip maker to 70 cents, from break-even.
A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts (ACMR) fell 3-13/16 to 6-7/16 after BT Alex Brown cut its rating on the arts and crafts vendor to buy from strong buy.
Structural Dynamics Research (SDRC), was up 1-1/2 to 11-1/2 after the software supplier said it had approved a buyback of up to 3-million shares.
Gulfstream Aerospace (GAC) took off, climbing 3-5/16 to 35-1/4 after the jet aircraft maker said it will beat analysts' expectations in the third quarter of 1998, and fiscal years 1998 and 1999. Gulfstream said it expects third-quarter earnings of at least 80 cents a share. Analysts had expected 77 cents, according to First Call.
But airline stocks on the descent
Higher crude-oil prices, which means higher costs for airlines, brought the Dow Transports index sharply lower Thursday.
Among the big airlines, AMR (AMR), the parent of American Airlines, lost 2 to 62 Delta Air Lines (DAL) slumped 3-9/16 to 103, UAL (UAL), parent of United Airlines, fell 1-9/16 to 70-3/16 and US Airways Group (U) was down 1-1/2 to 56-5/8.
Where the rubber hits the road, J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT) fell 6-1/4 to 16-1/8 after the trucking company was downgraded by BT Alex Brown from buy to market perform.
General Electric (GE) lost 1-13/16 to 78-1/16 after the conglomerate's NBC unit, the leading TV network, said it will cut 250 jobs as a way to lower costs. GE's stock was up Wednesday following a brokerage upgrade.
Delia*s (DLIA) climbed 3/4 to 8 after the teen-focused haberdasher said it had bought a set of trademarks, inventories and mailing lists from the estate of private, bankruptcy-ridden Fulcrum Direct, for $4.75 million.
Immunex (IMNX) rose 9/16 to 58-11/16 after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel Wednesday recommended the approval of Enbrel, its experimental drug for rheumatoid arthritis.
Consumer products makers get trashed
A host of analyst downgrades pummeled stocks of companies that make your soaps, razors, beauty creams and bleaches, on signs international growth may be drying up.
Gillette (G) took it on the chin for a second day, falling 3-13/16 to 36-3/8, or nearly 10 percent, after Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, PaineWebber and Merrill Lynch shaved their earnings-per-share estimates on the razor maker. Gillette fell 4-13/16 Wednesday following a downgrade.
Procter & Gamble (PG), a Dow stock, dropped 3-1/16 to 66-15/16 after Merrill lowered its earnings targets. Rival Colgate-Palmolive (CL) tumbled 3-13/16 to 68-11/16 after both Merrill and Bear Stearns cut their 1998 and 1998 targets.
Also on the down-tick due to earnings estimate cuts were makeup maker Revlon (REV), falling 2-3/8 to 31-5/8, bleach giant Clorox (CLX), off 5-11/16 to 81-9/16, and soap maker Dial (CL), slipping 1-3/4 to 21-1/4.
Gold miners shine
A weaker dollar, which could lift slumping gold prices, helped rally the stocks of some of the world's gold mining companies.
Newmont Mining (NEM) rose 1-1/4 to 20-1/8, Battle Mountain Gold (BMG) was up 1/4 to 4-15/16, Ashanti Goldfields (ASL) was up 9/16 to 7-5/8, TVX Gold (TVX) climbed 1/4 to 2-1/8, and the American shares of Anglogold (AU) rose 1-3/8 to 22-7/16.
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