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CNNfn market movers
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November 12, 1998: 2:52 p.m. ET
AvTel dials up gains, EntreMed doubts appear, and EarthWeb spins higher
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lurking in the shadows of a lackluster day on Wall Street Thursday was a flurry of extreme swings, led by a once-hot biotech firm and a phone service provider hoping to jump on the hi-tech bandwagon.
Recent gainer EntreMed (ENMD) dropped 6-3/8 to 26-1/4 after the Wall Street Journal reported independent scientists haven't been able to verify findings by Dr. Judah Folkman about two agents the company licensed that could lead to a treatment against cancer.
EntreMed, a biotech firm that licensed the agents -- endostatin and angiostatin - rocketed earlier this year after a report in the New York Times that highlighted Dr. Folkman's research on cancer and the efficacy of the agents.
AvTel Communications (AVCO) soared 6-5/8 to 8-7/8, or nearly 300 percent, after the company unveiled Internet service via high-speed digital lines, called Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines, in southern California.
"The DSL roll-out may have triggered a little more interest in the company," Anthony Papa, AvTel chairman and CEO, said. "But why the stock is up -- your guess is as good as mine."
Papa declined comment about whether the company was in talks with a potential buyer. He said no analysts track the stock, which has been depressed in recent months.
But Danaher (DHR) rose 3-1/8 to 43-1/2 after Standard & Poor's said it would add the tool maker to the S&P 500 index replacing Stone Container (STO), which is being bought by Jefferson Smurfit (JJSC).
Up in flames went Dimon (DMN), losing 3-5/16 to 8-13/16 after the leaf-tobacco vendor late Wednesday reported a first-quarter operating loss of 19 cents per share, when analysts had expected a profit of 5 cents.
Citing legal woes in the United States and economic turmoil in Russia and Asia, Dimon said it doesn't see much improvement in store for the second quarter; management called for the company to cut its quarterly dividend to 9 cents from 17 cents.
Among the top movers in the retail sector, which rolled out a host of earnings reports Thursday, discount retailer Fred's (FRED) lost 2-11/16 to 13-1/16 after reporting earnings of 21 cents a share, 2 cents below analysts' consensus.
Recouping some lost ground on Wall Street was Whole Foods Market (WFMI), up 5-7/8 to 39-1/8 after the natural foods supermarket chain late Wednesday posted third-quarter earnings of 40 cents a share, in line with analyst estimate.
Superior Services (SUPR) sank 2-13/16 to 17-3/8 but was up from early lows after the solid-waste-hauler posted third-quarter profit of 33 cents per share, in line with the analysts' consensus estimate, as reported by First Call.
The company also projected a cautious outlook for fiscal 1999, due to a leveling of growth patterns and need for extra time to pull in recent acquisitions. BT Alex. Brown also cut its rating on Superior to a "market perform" from a "strong buy."
Pentacon (JIT) lost 2 to 4-1/2 after the fasteners, nuts and bolts distributor reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents per share, 3 cents lower than analysts had expected.
The company said competitive pressures and excess inventory among aerospace customers also would cut into its results for fiscal 1999.
Also in a tailspin was JetForm (FORMF), down 2-13/32 to 11-1/4 after the Canadian maker of software used to fill, design and print forms said a shortfall of sales in Europe will cause its fiscal second-quarter earnings to fall short of analysts' expectations.
Gartner Group (IT) fell 2-3/16 to 19-9/16 after the information-technology consultant posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 17 cents per diluted shares, the same as a year ago.
Separately, the company said IMS Health (RX) will spin off most of its 47 percent stake in Gartner. After the spin-off, Gartner will pay a $300 million dividend, or $2.75 per share, to shareholders.
The Gartner board also authorized a $300 million share buyback. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "outperform."
Wednesday's blockbuster new issue EarthWeb (EWBX) picked up where it left off, roaring up 21-5/8 to 70-5/16 a day after the Internet data services provider went public, priced at $14 a share.
The Internet sector overall appeared to hit something of a plateau, after soaring early this week then sinking back down Wednesday.
Online music vendor K-Tel International (KTEL) slumped for a second day, dropping 1-15/16 to 30-11/16. The stock soared early this week after the company inked a deal with the MSN Network of Microsoft (MSFT). 
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