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Wall Street's daily picks
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April 19, 1999: 2:39 p.m. ET
Manufacturers back in favor as Caterpillar, Parker Hannifen get nods
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street analysts revised their ratings of the following companies Monday, according to estimate-tracker First Call Corp.
Tower Automotive (TWR) rose in Wall Street's esteem after the car-systems manufacturer reported first-quarter profit of 51 cents per share. Analysts had expected the company to post a per-share profit of only 44 cents, leading one of the two analysts polled by First Call to raise his recommendation of the stock to "strong buy" from "buy."
As a result, Tower shares jumped 3-1/4, nearly 15 percent, to 25-1/16.
Likewise, heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar (CAT) drew encouraging words from Wall Street after it reported better-than-expected earnings Friday. First Call said one of the 12 analysts it surveyed upped his outlook on the Dow member to "buy" from "hold."
Caterpillar shares eased 7/16 to 63-3/8 Monday, consolidating after Friday's climb of 2 points.
Manufacturing back in favor
Paper manufacturer Boise Cascade (BCC) got its share of applause, as Prudential upgraded its stock rating to "strong buy" from "hold." The company reported a first-quarter profit of 26 cents per share Friday, nearly three times as much as investors had expected. Shares accelerated their post-earnings advance, leaping 3-1/16 to 40-3/4 after creeping up 3/4 Friday.
Parker Hannifen (PH) rounded out the day's list of manufacturers earning good marks from analysts, scoring an "attractive" nod from Bear Stearns, which previously rated the company "neutral."
The acquisition-hungry Parker announced lower but still surprisingly robust fiscal third-quarter earnings of 70 cents per share Friday. Analysts had expected profit to come in at only 66 cents, leading shares of the hydraulics-to-telephones firm up 2-9/16 to 49 Monday.
Even a downgrade failed to keep shares of appliance maker Whirlpool (WHR) out of the rebirth of manufacturing stocks. According to First Call, one of the five analysts surveyed lowered his outlook on Whirlpool to "hold" from "buy" after the company's first quarter beat Wall Street expectations by 7 cents per share late Thursday.
Whirlpool shares surged 5-3/8 to 65-3/16 Monday after climbing 5-3/16 on Friday.
Tech firms earn mixed reviews
Radisys (RSYS) got an upgrade to "strong buy" from "buy" from Advest after the communications-computer maker said late Thursday that first-quarter earnings could climb to 21 cents per share, surpassing forecasts of 18 cents. Advest analyst Thomas Moro set a price target of $40 on the stock, helping shares creep up 1/8 to 29-5/8 Monday in an extension of Friday's 4-1/16-point rally.
Shares of software maker Phoenix International (PHXX) saw less favor from Wall Street, slipping 1/4 to 5 Monday after falling 2-1/4, nearly 30 percent, Friday. The company said slowing software purchasing related to the Year 2000 computer bug had hurt first-quarter revenues, leading the company to expect a wider-than-expected operating loss.
In addition, Phoenix blamed an unnamed "senior officer of one of the company's primary competitors" for posting "false and defamatory information" on Internet message boards, hurting the company's reputation with prospective customers.
As a result of the warning of wider losses ahead, First Call said one of the analysts it surveyed cut his rating of Phoenix stock to "hold" from "buy." 
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