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CNNfn market movers
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October 20, 1998: 2:35 p.m. ET
Some healthcare industry players get sick; no pattern in women's clothes
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street's Super Tuesday of earnings results was indeed super for many blue-chip stocks in late trading, but a handful of companies got sacked as well.
DM Management (DMMC) rocketed up 3-7/16 to 12-15/16 after the direct marketer of women's apparel and accessories reported third-quarter profits of 14 cents a share, beating estimates of 11 cents.
But Jones Apparel Group (JNY) sank 5-3/4 to 17 even though the women's apparel maker posted diluted earnings of 57 cents a share, beating the First Call estimate for 55 cents.
Merrill Lynch analyst Thatcher Thompson said the drop in share price was due to investor discontent with the company's 21-percent revenue growth, which was down from previous performance.
Avery-Dennison (AVY) slipped 4-1/16 to 40-3/4 after the maker of letter and stamp adhesives reported third-quarter earnings of 54 cents per diluted share, even though that was in line with the analyst estimates.
Agco (AG) soared 2-5/16 to 10-9/16 after the farm-equipment maker said that it would cut 400 jobs at its Massey Ferguson tractor plant in Coventry, England, due to softer worldwide demand.
Scalpels fly at med-services firms
Shared Medical Systems (SMS) plummeted 14-1/16 to 41-1/18, giving up all of Monday's gain of 4-3/16 that stemmed from buyout talk, after the medical-device maker warned that profits will come in below expectations.
Late Monday Shared Medical said that it expects earnings for the third quarter to come in between 59 and 61 cents a share, which is below the company's stated earnings goal of 68 to 71 cents.
Friedman Billings cut its rating to accumulate from buy Tuesday.
Speculation about more consolidation in the medical-information industry sprouted after McKesson (MCK) said Sunday it would buy HBO (HBOC) for $14.5 billion, helping SMS shares climb Monday.
Meanwhile, MedQuist (MEDQ) slipped 5-5/8 to 29-5/8 after gaining 2-3/16 Monday. The sharp drop came even though the healthcare information systems provider said Tuesday that third-quarter earnings came in at 14 cents a diluted share, versus the analyst target of 13 cents.
JDA Software Group (JDAS) lost 5 to 8 after the maker of inventory- and sales-tracking software reported third-quarter profit of 17 cents a diluted share, in line with the analyst estimate as reported by First Call.
JDA faulted weaker-than-expected sales in Europe and signs that merchandising software purchases by customers may be delayed.
Prudential Securities also downgraded the stock to "hold" from "accumulate."
E-Bay (EBAY) set sail again after analysts christened the Internet auctioneer, which went public last month, with a bottle full of upbeat tidings.
Its shares shot up 4-3/8 to 49-3/4 after Goldman Sachs opened coverage on the company and put it on the brokerage's "recommended" list, as BT Alex. Brown opened coverage with a "buy."
That came after E-Bay shares soared 9-3/8 Monday when BancBoston Robertson Stevens opened its coverage with a "buy" and set a $50 price target for the stock.
Calling for help was SOS Staffing Services(SOSS), down 5-5/16 to 8-1/16 after the temporary-help provider said it would report third-quarter earnings a share of 26 to 27 cents, compared to the consensus analysts' estimate of 30 cents, according to First Call.
The company expects to report earnings Wednesday. SOS also said it expects fourth-quarter earnings growth to be flat compared to a year ago.
Prudential Securities lowered its rating on SOS to "accumulate" from "strong buy."
And niche player Alternative Resources (ALRC) notched up a gain of 2-1/8 to 8-1/8 after the provider of technical support services posted a third-quarter profit of 11 cents a share after a one-time charge, beating analyst estimates by 2 cents.
Tupperware (TUP) was getting spoiled, dropping 1-3/4 to 15-7/16 after the plastic-container maker posted a third-quarter loss of 11 cents a share, a penny more than analyst estimates.
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