Friday during earnings season is sort of akin to a bye week in the NFL. Sometimes it just seems that it'll never come.
With the majority of this week's earnings in the can and another fun week to come (take our word for it, it'll be fun!), the action has somewhat slowed going into the weekend.
Procter & Gamble (PG Quote) dropped 6 9/16, or 5.8%, to 106 after The Wall Street Journal reported that its board intends to meet by phone to discuss the possibility of acquiring Warner-Lambert (WLA Quote) and American Home Products (AHP Quote), citing people familiar with the situation. Warner-Lambert slipped 15/16 to 92 13/16 and American Home Products added 3/4 to 46 7/8.
Sun Microsystems(SUNW Quote) lost 1 3/8 to 85 1/4 after last night posting second-quarter earnings of 21 cents a share, beating the 21-analyst estimate of 20 cents a share and the year-ago report of 16 cents a share. The company attributed its 30% increase in net income to the robust demand for its workgroup and high-end servers. Credit Suisse First Boston upped its 2000 earnings view on Sun to 90 cents from 89 cents. PaineWebber upped its rating on Sun Micro to attractive from neutral and boosted its price target and Lehman Brothers raised its price target to 105 and reiterated its buy rating.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
Corel (CORL Quote) climbed 4 3/16, or 22%, to 23 5/16 after it announced a multimillion-dollar deal with the Department of Justice. Corel will supply software for more than 55,000 staff in a three-year agreement, but did not disclose the value of the deal. Dassault Systems (DASTY Quote) added 1 to 65 1/2 after it said it signed a deal allowing Boeing (BA Quote) to use some of its software products as the core of a set of engineering computing standards. Boeing fell 1 3/8 to 45 1/8. FrontLine Capital Group (RSII Quote) tacked on 1 to 59 1/2 after it said it plans to buy CarrAmerica Realty's (CRE Quote) executive office suites affiliate for $380 million in cash. CarrAmerica climbed 11/16 to 22 1/8. Microsoft (MSFT Quote) lost 1 7/8 to 104 17/32 after it said it will invest $100 million in VerticalNet (VERT Quote) as part of a marketing and distribution deal. VerticalNet soared 45 9/16, or 23.5%, to 239 3/4. Philip Morris (MO Quote) slipped 2.5%, to 22 after its Kraft Foods unit said it would buy nutrition-bar maker Balance Bar (BBAR Quote) for $268 million. Shares of Balance Bar jumped 5 5/16, or 38.5%, to 19 1/8. Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(Earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.) Air Products and Chemicals (APD Quote) inched up 9/16 to 30 7/16 after it posted first-quarter earnings of 56 cents a share, beating the nine-analyst estimate of 51 cents and the year-ago 55 cents. Caterpillar (CAT Quote) edged up 1/8 to 47 1/4 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 67 cents a share, beating the 21-analyst estimate of 64 cents. FPL Group (FPL Quote) added 3/4 to 43 5/8 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 57 cents a share, in line with the 19-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 54 cents. Lucent(LU Quote) inched up 1/8 to 52 11/16 after it reported first-quarter earnings of 36 cents a share last night, missing the 27-analyst estimate by a penny and down from the year-ago 48-cent profit. Earlier this month, the company cautioned investors that its first-quarter profits could fall as much as 25% as a result of purchasing delays and manufacturing problems, which the company expects to have resolved by the end of the second quarter. In reaction to the profit warning, analysts scaled back their consensus estimate to 37 cents a share from 54 cents. Today, First Boston cut its 2000 earnings estimates on the stock to $1.25 from $1.35 a share. Pulte (PHM Quote) gained 5/16 to 18 7/16 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.60 a share, flying past the 10-analyst estimate of $1.22 and the year-ago 87 cents. Tribune (TRB Quote) was unchanged at 48 9/16 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 43 cents a share, in line with the 15-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 36 cents. Offerings and stock actions
Broadbase Software (BBSW Quote) added 2 9/16 to 86 3/16 after it said it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer up to three million shares of the company's common stock. Pet.com's (IPET Quote) IPO was set at 7.5 million common shares, which may be priced between $9 and $11 a share. Merrill Lynch is slated to serve as the deal's lead underwriter. Vitria Technology (VITR Quote) lost 4 to 124 after it said it intends to file to sell about four million common shares. Analyst actions
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter raised its rating on Acme Communications (ACME Quote) to outperform from neutral. Shares of Acme tacked on 1 to 28 3/4. CSFB started coverage of Allergan (AGN Quote) as a strong buy and set a price target of 67. Shares of Allergan were gaining 7/8 to 51 1/2. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray cut its 2000 estimates on shares of AmeriTrade Holding (AMTD Quote) to a loss of 24 cents from a loss of 9 cents, due to the success of its interactive financial services division, OnMoney. Shares of AmeriTrade Holding were sliding 1, or 5.3%, to 17 7/8. PaineWebber upped its rating on Andrew (ANDW Quote) to buy from neutral. Shares of Andrew were falling 1/4 to 24 7/16. Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown cut its rating on Artesyn Technologies (ATSN Quote) to market perform from buy. Shares of Artesyn Technologies were lifting 3/16 to 16 5/16. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter raised BellSouth (BLS Quote) to outperform from neutral and SBC Communications (SBC Quote) to strong buy from outperform. Shares of BellSouth were mounting 13/16 to 46 5/16, while SBC Communications was moving up 1 9/16 to 42 9/16. First Boston upped its price target on Carrier Access (CACS Quote) to 85 from 65. Shares of Carrier were rising 1/4 to 64 13/16. CSFB boosted Chartered Semiconductor's (CHRT Quote) 2000 earnings estimate to 84 cents from 71 cents. Shares of Chartered were bouncing 6 1/8, or 7.3%, to 89. Warburg Dillon Read started coverage of Detroit Diesel (DDC Quote) with a hold rating and a price target of 23. Shares of Detroit Diesel were losing 3/16 to 17 13/16. Merrill Lynch upgraded EDS (EDS Quote) to near-term buy from near-term accumulate. Shares of EDS were popping 4 15/16, or 6.3%, to 72 11/16. First Boston upped its 2001 earnings estimate on Flextronics (FLEX Quote) to $1.47 from $1.30. Shares of Flextronics were advancing 7 1/8, or 15.3%, to 53 3/4. Goldman Sachs cut its rating on Fortune Brands (FO Quote) to market perform from market outperform. Shares of Fortune Brands were slipping 1 1/2 to 30 11/16. Lehman Brothers raised its price target on Infonet Services (IN Quote) to 37 from 32. Shares of Infonet Services were adding 3/16 to 30 1/16. Bear Stearns said it raised Inktomi's (INKT Quote) 2000 earnings view to break even from a loss of 6 cents. Shares of Inktomi were mounting 10 1/8, or 10.1%, to 110 3/16. First Boston raised its price target on Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC Quote) to 75 from 65. Shares of Lattice Semiconductor were losing 1 1/8 to 59. First Boston started coverage of Mid Atlantic Medical Services (MME Quote) with a hold rating. Shares of Mid Atlantic Medical were sliding 1/16 to 10.CIBC raised its rating on Mirage Resorts (MIR Quote) to buy from hold. Shares of Mirage were declining 1/4 to 15 11/16. First Boston raised its price target on NetIQ (NTIQ Quote) to 93 from 41. Shares of NetIQ were shedding 1 3/8 to 70 1/4. First Albany cut Pervasive Software (PVSW Quote) to neutral from buy. Shares of Pervasive Software were skidding 3, or 19.9%, to 12 1/8. First Boston raised its 2000 earnings estimates on PMC-Sierra (PMCS Quote) to $1.50 from $1.30. Shares of PMC-Sierra were moving 20 3/8, or 11.6%, to 194 7/8. Warburg Dillon Read started coverage of Vital Signs (VITL Quote) with a buy rating and set a price target of 32. Shares of were climbing 7/8 to 25 1/16. J.P. Morgan reinstated coverage of Wal-Mart (WMT Quote) with a long-term buy rating and a price target of 70. Shares of Wal-Mart were falling 7/16 to 62 15/16. Miscellany
The Heard on the Street column in The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how so-called dinosaur banks have successfully muscled into the online world, easily taking market share away from a number of Internet-only banks that popped up in the mid-1990s. Shares of Net Bank (NTBK Quote), one of the largest pure Internet bank plays, have felt the pain, falling 77% from an April peak, the story says. Shares of Net Bank were losing 15/16 to 18 3/8.
