CNNfn market movers
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January 7, 1999: 2:38 p.m. ET
Sirrom rolls on buyout deal, GNC Nutrition gobbled up, 'Nets unrelenting
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A small-scale merger in banking, a seemingly irrepressible Internet sector and a pained book seller leapt to the top of Thursday's list of market movers.
Sirrom Capital (SIR), a small-business lender, shot up 1-7/8 to 7-7/8 after fellow financial services firm Finova Group (FNV) said it will buy Sirrom for about $379 million in stock.
A booming market for those new Digital Video Disks rallied Hollywood Entertainment (HLYW), up 3-5/8 to 32-7/8 after the movie rental chain said DVD rentals have become its most successful format introduction.
The cosmetics vendor Sel-Leb Marketing (SELB), shot up 4 to 6-1/2, or 160 percent, after unveiling late Wednesday a new financing deal that will boost its credit line with a unit of Merrill Lynch by 25 percent. Sel-Leb hopes to use that to expand branded products and boost its web marketing presence.
It was a sob story at Borders Group (BGP), plunging 5-11/16 to 19-3/8, or more than 22 percent, after the book and music retailer said it expects to fall 4 to 8 cents short of analysts' earnings estimates, as compiled by First Call, of $1.22 a share in fiscal 1999.
Borders blamed a slump in revenue on severe weather and a rise in gift-certificate sales, which aren't reported until redemption.
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Brown Brothers Harriman and J.P. Morgan lowered their ratings on the stock.
Swallowing a market multi-vitamin, GNC Nutrition Centers (GNCI) soared 3-1/2 to 18-7/8, or roughly 23 percent, with an astounding 21 million shares trading hands.
GNC, a vendor of health products, said it formed an alliance with Rite Aid (RAD) in which the pharmacy will set up GNC stores within its 1,500 locations nationwide over three years.
BankBoston Robertson Stephens and Adams Harkness each upgraded their rating on GNC.
Also on the upswing: Adaptec (ADPT), roaring up 5-1/4 to 24-13/16, or 27 percent, after the maker of data-transmission products said after the bell Wednesday that it expects to beat analysts' earnings estimates thanks to cost cutting and successful product introductions.
Adaptec expects to top 20 cents per diluted share, while the expectations ranged from 14 to 19 cents a share, a reversal of fortune at a firm that lost $24 million in its latest quarter.
Bear Stearns raised Adaptec to "attractive" from "neutral."
Elsewhere in the high-tech world, Hutchinson Technology (HTCH) roared up 5-7/8 to 43-7/8 after the disk-drive equipment maker posted fiscal first-quarter earnings of 52 cents a share, far above analysts' consensus target for 19 cents.
No brakes on those Net stocks
Despite a downtrend on the Nasdaq Composite a day after surging, Internet stocks continued their blustery pace.
A late-blooming Internet stock, Network Solutions (NSOL) soared 30-7/8 to 202-7/8. Prudential Securities raised the stock of the registrar of web-page addresses to a "strong buy" rating from "accumulate."
Powering higher were Internet service providers MindSpring Enterprises (MSPG), fresh off a buyout Wednesday, soaring 10-7/8 to 86 and EarthLink Networks (ELNK), up 6-15/16 to 75-7/8. Leader America Online (AOL) was down 13/16 to 148-3/16.
Among Internet portals, Yahoo! (YHOO) leapt 24-11/16 to 315-11/16, Lycos (LCOS) rose 5-13/16 to 71-13/16 and Excite (XCIT) edged up 1-3/4 to 52-3/4. Infoseek (SEEK) lost 7/8 to 51-5/16.
Elsewhere, Amazon.com (AMZN) climbed 15-9/16 to 153-9/16, Onsale (ONSL) rose 6-5/16 to 51 and CMG Investments (CMGI) shot up 16-3/4 to 167-3/4.
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