|
CNNfn market movers
|
 |
March 10, 1999: 11:25 a.m. ET
Republic and Vail reap earnings gloom but PSINet, Repligen prosper
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street's show of mid-week diffidence drove several stocks into the red Wednesday morning, with investors and analysts alike taking the opportunity to chastise any company displaying weakness.
Paperboard maker Republic Group (RGC) fell 1-13/16 to 13-1/8 after announcing that current-quarter earnings will sink as much as 40 percent from last quarter due to "underestimated difficulties" at one plant and a faster-than-expected hiring ramp-up at another.
American shares of Japanese automotive giant Nissan (NSANY) fell 3/4 to 7 as its rumored tie-in with DaimlerChrysler (DCX) failed to materialize. Daimler shares slid 1/2 to 87-13/16.
The backwash of a nearly completed merger sent shares of Computer Associates (CA) tumbling 6-3/8 to 33-5/8. The company said the Tuesday expiration of its tender offer leaves it in control of 98 percent of the stock in Computer Management Sciences (CMSX) and that the merger will follow "as soon as possible."
However, Morgan Stanley took a dimmer view, downgrading Computer Associates' stock to "neutral" from "outperform."
Ski mountain operator Vail Resorts (MTN) slid 11/16 to 16-3/16 after earnings in the winter quarter, its key period, fell short of Wall Street expectations. Moreover, the company warned that current-quarter earnings may also slip from last year's figures, spurring Merrill Lynch to lower the stock's near-term prospects to "neutral" from "accumulate."
Also in the downgrade doghouse, circuit maker Unitrode (UTR) fell 2-5/16 to 12-1/16 on replacing its Adams Harkness "strong buy" with a mere "accumulate," while Micron Technology (MU) slid 13/16 to 54-5/16 after CE Unterberg downrated it from "strong buy" to "buy."
The winners' circle
Internet service provider PSINet (PSIX) was the morning's main beneficiary of kind words from analysts, climbing 2-7/8 to 38 after ING Baring Furman Selz rewarded the company's fourth-quarter results with a "buy" rating.
Century Telephone Enterprises (CTL) firmed 3-13/16 to 67-1/4 on news that it will be joining the S&P 500 index, sparking massive buying from index funds looking to get a head start on completing their collections. The company, which supplies telephone service to rural areas, will replace Rubbermaid (RBD) on the index after that firm merges with Newell (NWL).
Texas electrical utility Reliant Energy (REI) gained 13/16 to 27-3/4 after it acquired Dutch power company NV Energieproduktiebedrijf in a $2.4 billion, seven-year merger process.
On the medical front, the power of hormone secretin gave biotech firm Repligen (RGEN) a boost of 9/16 to 2-1/4. The company won exclusive global rights to use both natural and synthetic versions of the hormone as a possible treatment of autism. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
