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CNNfn market movers
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June 9, 1999: 3:05 p.m. ET
Semiconductor makers, drug companies among Wednesday's leaders
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Chip makers were popular buys among investors Wednesday, while profit warnings by an information technology company and a TV station operator sent traders in those stocks running for cover.
A report by the Semiconductor Industry Association projecting that global computer chip sales are expected to rise 12.1 percent this year was one factor pushing up shares in several semiconductor companies.
STMicroelectronics N.V. (STM), one of the biggest gainers, rose 9-1/8 to 132-5/8, and reached as high as 133-5/8, a 52-week record.
Also, Conexant Systems Inc. (CNXT) was up 4-9/16 at 49-7/8. The chip maker announced after Tuesday's market close that it expects earnings for the fiscal third quarter to surpass projections significantly.
Meanwhile, Micron Technology (MU) gained 2-5/8 to 41-13/16, LSI Logic Group (LSI) was up 1-5/16 to 40-7/8, and Texas Instruments (TXN) rose 4-1/4 to 121-15/16.
Texas Instruments stock price over the past year.
Cypress Semiconductor (CY) jumped 2-1/4 to 14-1/8. Prudential notched up its rating on the chip maker from "accumulate to "strong buy."
A technology company moving in the opposite direction was Condor Technology Solutions Inc. (CNDR), which slumped 4-25/32 to 5-3/32 after announcing that it expects second-quarter earnings to fall well below forecasts. The firm, which provides information technology services to companies and the government, cited market softness because of the Y2K computer problem.
Also on the losing side was a media company, Young Broadcasting Inc. (YBTVA), which was down 4 to 37-7/8 in afternoon trading. Investors started selling after the company, which owns 12 television stations, said it expects to record lower ad sales and cash flow in the second quarter, citing weakness throughout the industry.
In the health sector, VWR Scientific Products Corp. (VWRX) soared 8-9/16 to 36-1/2 after the drug company announced late Tuesday that Germany's Merck KGaA -- a pharmaceuticals, chemicals and laboratory equipment distributor unrelated to the U.S.-based drug maker -- is buying the 51.1 percent of the company it doesn't already own for about $625 million.
Also, Alza Corp. (AZA) was up 1-7/16 at 39-3/4 after winning approval from a Food and Drug Administration panel of its drug Doxil for treating ovarian cancer. ALZA and U.S. Bioscience (UBS) also said late Tuesday that an FDA committee has recommended approval of a drug that counteracts the effects of radiation treatments. U.S. Bioscience was trading up 7/16 at 9-11/16 Wednesday afternoon.
Contact lens maker Ocular Sciences (OCLR) lost 2-3/8 to 17-1/4, adding to losses a day earlier, after confirming that it expects second-quarter revenue to fall below expectations. The stock was downgraded from "buy" to "accumulate" by Merrill Lynch.
Philip Morris Cos. (MO), meanwhile, rose 1-7/16 to 40-1/2 after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter boosted its rating on the company from "neutral" to "outperform.
American depositary shares of Brazilian steel producer Companhia Siderugica (SID) gained 1-3/4 to 23-1/8 after Goldman Sachs boosted it from "market perform" to "market outperform."
On the initial public offerings front, shares in Ditech Communications Corp. (DITC) were up modestly to 13, from an offering price of 11. Shares in the telecommunications equipment company had traded as high as 14-5/8 at one point earlier in the day. And adding to gains made Tuesday, online health information network DrKoop.com (KOOP) rose 2-1/8 to 18-9/16 in its second day of Wall Street trading. 
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