Company Report: Agilent, NeoRx Buck Day's Negative Trend
Tara Murphy
03/06/00 - 07:11 PM EST
Agilent (A - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) leapt 48 1/2, or 44.9%, to 156 1/2 after it said it created a telecom switching technology that can carry and direct optical signals with voice, data and video without converting them from photons to electrons. The company said the product, known as the Agilent Photonic Switching Platform, would be available by the end of the year and would be displayed next week at the Optical Fiber Conference in Baltimore. Agilent's parent, Hewlett-Packard (HWP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), was also up on the news. H-P spun off Agilent last November through an IPO. Hewlett-Packard shot up 6 15/16, or 5%, to 145 9/16. TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com joint newsroom covered the news in a separate story.
NeoRx (NERX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) soared 32 15/16, or 151%, to 54 3/4 after it said the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in a peer-reviewed manuscript, reported that a single dose of NeoRx's proprietary Pretarget technology cured human lung, colon and breast cancers implanted in mice. The company said the manuscript appears in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal. NeoRx said the results were accomplished with a single dose of radioactivity developed with NeoRx's Pretarget technology. Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
In conjunction with its pending merger with AMFM (AFM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Clear Channel Communications (CCU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said it has entered into pacts regarding the proposed divestiture of 72 stations in 27 markets. One of the companies buying some of those radio stations is Infinity Broadcasting (INF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), which is acquiring 18 radio stations from Clear Channel for $1.4 billion. Clear Channel Communications skidded 4 3/8, or 6%, to 68, and AMFM dropped 4 3/4, or 7.3%, to 60 1/2. Eclipsys (ECLP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said it would try to oust the majority of Shared Medical Systems' (SMS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) board after Shared Medical rejected a $2 billion takeover bid from Eclipsys on Friday. Eclipsys said that it has filed a formal proposal to elect four independent directors to Shared Medical's board. Eclipsys declined 2, or 7.4%, to 24 7/8 and Shared Medical stumbled 1 3/4 to 61 3/4. Elan (ELN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), an Irish pharmaceutical firm, is buying Liposome (LIPO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Under terms of the deal, Liposome shareholders will receive 0.3850 of an Elan ADR for each share of Liposome stock they own, or $15.28 a share, based on Elan's closing price last Friday, for an aggregate amount of $575 million. Liposome, a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets therapeutic products to treat cancer and related diseases, closed Friday at 14 3/8. Also, Elan may make a cash payment to Liposome shareholders of up to $98 million, contingent in part on the approval of Evacet by the European Union, and in part on Evacet reaching certain sales milestones outside the U.S. Elan popped 1 1/4 to 40 15/16 and Liposome added 5/8 to 15. Genzyme (GENZ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) fell 5/8 to 59 3/4 after it said it has entered a cash and stock deal to buy BioMatrix (BXM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). According to the terms, the deal would merge Genzyme Tissue Repair (GZTR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Genzyme Surgical Products (GZSP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) with BioMatrix to form a new division called Genzyme Biosurgery. The new unit, which would have a combined market cap of $1.3 billion, will manufacture biosurgury products including films and gels. BioMatrix bounced 1 3/16 to 35 1/2; Genzyme Tissue Repair lifted 1 5/8, or 17.8%, to 10 3/4; and Genzyme Surgical Products gained 2 7/16, or 14.7%, to 18 15/16. Hain Food (HAIN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said it has entered a $390 million stock deal to buy Celestial Seasonings (CTEA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Hain Food slipped 4 3/4, or 14.6%, to 27 5/8 and Celestial Seasonings skidded 2, or 5.6%, to 33 1/2. Lockheed Martin (LMT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said it was awarded a $6.4 billion contract to supply the United Arab Emirates with 80 F-16 fighter jets, reported The Wall Street Journal. Goldman Sachs upped its rating on Lockheed and Northrop Grumman (NOC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to market outperformer from market performer ratings. Lockheed Martin added 1, or 5.8%, to 18 and Northrop Grumman gained 3 5/8, or 8.1%, to 48. MGM Grand (MGG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) has agreed to buy Mirage Resorts (MIR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) for $21 a share in cash, or $4.4 billion. MGM Grand previously offered to buy Mirage for $17 a share. MGM Grand will also assume Mirage's outstanding debt of about $2 billion. The companies expect the deal to be completed during the fourth quarter. MGM Grand expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share immediately and increasingly so in subsequent years. MGM Grand edged up 1/2 to 19 1/2 and Mirage Resorts advanced 2 11/16, or 16.9%, to 18 9/16. Nortel Networks (NT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Koor said they agreed to a deal to set up Nortel Networks Israel. Nortel Networks soared 7 1/2, or 6.2%, to 128. Qwest (Q - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) confirmed that it was negotiating with a large telecom carrier, The Wall Street Journal reported. Qwest said any agreement would be made in conjunction with its planned merger partner, U S West (USW - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Last week, media outlets reported that Qwest was in talks with Deutsche Telekom (DT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Qwest slipped 6 3/4, or 10.5%, to 57 1/4 and U S West slid 1/4 to 74 7/8, while Deutsche Telekom declined 1 1/4 to 97 3/8. Telewest (TWSTY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) bounced 1 3/4 to 74 3/4 after it said it has entered a joint venture with Andersen Consulting to create interactive broadband communication services. The company would focus on interactive TV on the Web, music pay per view and e-banking. VS&A Communications Partners III, a private equity affiliate of New York media merchant bank Veronis Suhler & Associates, is buying Data Transmission Network (DTLN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) for $29 a share in cash. Data Transmission Network tacked on 3 15/16, or 15.7%, to 28 15/16. Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(Earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified. New highs and lows on a closing basis unless otherwise specified. Earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.) Circuit City (CC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) lost 1 13/16 to 39 1/2 after it said expects to post fiscal 2000 earnings of $1.60 a share, beating the 19-analyst estimate of $1.57. C&D Technologies (CHP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) edged up 1 9/16 to 50 1/16 after it posted fourth-quarter earnings of 70 cents a share, which included a 10-cent charge. The four-analyst estimate expected the company to post earnings of 62 cents. The report is up from the year-ago 43 cents. LCA-Vision (LCAV - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) gained 5/8, or 11.6%, to 6 after it expects first-quarter laser vision correction procedures to be at least 20% higher than the 8,541 it did in the fourth quarter and 40% higher than the year-ago period. United Natural Foods (UNFI - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) shed 5/16 to 10 9/16 after it posted a second-quarter loss of 7 cents a share, wider than the six-analyst estimate of a 5-cent loss. Offerings and stock actions
Chemed (CHE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) bounced 3/8 to 29 15/16 after it said it would add an additional $10 million to its current share-repurchasing program. Chinadotcom (CHINA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) lost 1 1/4 to 145 5/8 after it set a 2-for-1 stock split. Crayfish (CRFH - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) said it raised the expected price range for its IPO to $22 to $24 per ADR, from $13 to $15 per ADR. CVS (CVS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) moved up 7/16 to 30 7/8 after it said it will buy back up to $1 billion of its stock. Dow Chemical (DOW - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) plans a future 3-for-1 stock split, pending shareholder approval to authorize additional shares in proportion to the planned stock split. Dow said the proposal isn't related to Dow's pending merger with Union Carbide (UK - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Dow Chemical slipped 5 9/16, or 5%, to 104 3/16 and Union Carbide was off 3 1/8, or 5.9%, to 49 3/4. Predictive Systems (PRDS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) lost 1/2 to 57 after it said it filed for a 3.8 million secondary offering. Lehman Brothers priced a 13-million share IPO for Ifco Systems (IFCO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) at $14.90 a share. Ifco Systems bounced 1 1/2, or 12.9%, to 13 1/16. Williams-Sonoma (WSM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) estimated fourth-quarter earnings will come in at 81 cents or 82 cents a share, well below the 16-analyst estimate of 94 cents. Williams-Sonoma plummeted 12 1/16, or 39%, to 18 13/16. Analyst actions
Goldman Sachs upped its price target on Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to 325 from 100. Conexant's (CNXT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) price target was raised to 135 from 85. Applied Micro soared 18 5/8, or 6.9%, to 288 and Conexant shot up 8, or 8.5%, to 101 11/16. Merrill Lynch sliced his rating on Edison International (EIX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to a neutral from an accumulate, while Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown cut its fiscal 2000 EPS forecast to $2.00 a share from $2.25 and its price target to 30 from 32. It also cut its fiscal 2001 earnings estimate to $2.25 from $2.52 a share. Edison International stumbled 7 11/16, or 30%, to 17 15/16 Bear Stearns sliced its rating on Anchor Gaming (SLOT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to neutral from attractive. Anchor Gaming hopped 1 to 39 15/16. Merrill Lynch cut its rating on American Tower (AMT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to an intermediate-term accumulate, long-term buy rating from an intermediate- and long-term buy rating. Banc of America Securities upped the stock's price target to 61 from 37. American Tower tacked on 1/8 to 51. J.P. Morgan upgraded AK Steel (AKS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to buy from market perform. AK Steel shed 1/8 to 8 3/8. Salomon Smith Barney cut its rating on Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to outperform from buy. Bristol-Myers skidded 4 9/16, or 8.8%, to 46 15/16. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray initiated coverage of Buy.com (BUYX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) as a strong buy with a price target of 30. Merrill Lynch started coverage of the stock with a intermediate, long-term buy rating. Buy.com gained 1 5/16, or 9.9%, to 14 1/2. J.P. Morgan upgraded Caterpillar (CAT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to buy from market perform. Caterpillar lifted 5/16 to 36 11/16. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray raised Dell's (DELL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) price target to 65 from 55. Dell edged up 1/2 to 46 3/4. First Albany rolled out coverage of Fastnet (FSST - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) with a price target of 30, while ING Barings initiated coverage with a price target of 28. FastNet advanced 3 1/2, or 24.1%, to 18. Lehman Brothers upgraded financial services company Franklin Resources (BEN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to buy from outperform. Franklin Resources lost 1/16 to 27 3/4. Merrill Lynch upgraded its intermediate-term rating on homestore.com (HOMS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to buy from accumulate. homestore.com gained 2 1/2 to 64 1/2. J.P. Morgan upgraded Ingersoll-Rand (IR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to buy from market perform. Ingersoll-Rand tacked on 7/16 to 37 5/16. Lehman downgraded railroad company Kansas City Southern (KSU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to outperform from buy. Kansas City Southern stumbled 1 7/16 to 88 9/16. Lehman upped KLA-Tencor's (KLAC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) price target to 110 from 70. KLA-Tencor rose 11/16 to 83 15/16. Wit SoundView upped its price target on Motorola (MOT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to 215 from 175. Motorola jumped 5 5/16 to 180 5/8. Lehman initiated coverage on Network Peripherals (NPIX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), a manufacturer of ethernet and gigabit ethernet switching products, as a buy with a 90 price target. Network Peripherals sank 4 3/8, or 6.4%, to 63 1/4.. Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Organic (OGNC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) as a market outperformer. Organic fell 3 13/16, or 10.4%, to 32 3/4. J.P. Morgan upped Parker Hannifin (PH - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to buy from market perform. Parker Hannifin declined 1/2 to 35 7/16. Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Charlie Glavin upped chipmaker PMC-Sierra's (PMCS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) price target to 250. Goldman Sachs raised the company's price target to 275 from 125. PMC-Sierra shot up 29 3/8, or 14.6%, to 230 3/8. Merrill Lynch rolled out coverage of Sanmina (SANM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr)with an intermediate, long-term buy rating. Sanmina tacked on 1 1/4 to 118 13/16. Merrill Lynch upped its price target on SAP (SAP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to 110 from 87 citing the increased acceptance of mysap.com. SAP popped 6 5/8, or 8.8%, to 81 9/16. CSFB analyst James Parmalee raised Scientific-Atlanta's (SFA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) fiscal third-quarter earnings estimate to 41 cents per share from 40 cents and fourth-quarter estimates to 46 cents a share from 44 cents. The firm also raised estimates for fiscal 2001 to $1.80 from $1.75. Scientific-Atlanta gained 3 3/4 to 137 3/4. Wit SoundView initiated coverage of Witness Systems (WITS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) with a buy rating and a price target of 60. Witness Systems lifted 3 3/8, or 9.6%, to 38 1/4. Bear Stearns analyst Robert Fagin initiated coverage of Vicinity (VCNT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), an Internet-based marketing firm, with a buy rating and a 12-to-18-month price target of 80. Vicinity jumped 12 3/8, or 25.3%, to 61 1/8. Merrill Lynch rolled out coverage of WebMethods (WEBM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) with an intermediate-term accumulate, long-term buy rating and set a price target of 322. WebMethods plummeted 40, or 14.2%, to 240 for reasons that weren't immediately clear. Miscellany
Ingram Micro (IM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) skidded 3/8 to 11 3/16 after it said it tapped Kent Foster as its president and CEO. Red Hat (RHAT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) has named former Adobe (ADBE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) exec Harold Covert as its CFO. Red Hat declined 4 15/16, or 6.9%, to 65 11/16 and Red Hat lost 4 13/16, or 5.3%, to 85 13/16.
