Midday Movers: Phillips, National-Oilwell Striking it Rich at Midday
Eileen Kinsella
03/16/00 - 01:14 PM EST
Phillips Petroleum(P Quote - Cramer on P - Stock Picks) popped 3 1/16, or 7.7%, to 43 1/16 after it agreed to buy Atlantic Richfield's (ARC Quote - Cramer on ARC - Stock Picks) oil and gas assets in Alaska for $7 billion. Arco gained 2 13/16 to 86 1/16. The deal, which is set to close in the second quarter, calls for Phillips to retain all of Arco's workers in Alaska. Phillips said the acquisition would tack on $1.28 a share to its fiscal 2000 earnings. Before the announcement, the 24-analyst estimate expected the company to post earnings of $3.27 a share. Phillips Petroleum was upgraded today to buy from market perform at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
ABN Amro(ABN Quote - Cramer on ABN - Stock Picks) added 9/16 to 22 1/16 after it said it would acquire a majority interest in Taiwan fund manager Kwang Hua from Taiwanese-based Ruentex and Aetna(AET Quote - Cramer on AET - Stock Picks), boosting its position to 88% from 6%. Before the sale, Aetna held a 20% stake in the firm. Aetna gained 1 3/16 to 52 3/16. Cisco (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks) lost 1 5/8 to 127 after it said it is buying a couple of companies. Cisco is buying privately held JetCell, based in Menlo Park, Calif., a developer of standards-based, in-building wireless telephony solutions, for $200 million in stock. Cisco is also buying InfoGear Technology, a privately held company, for $301 million in stock. eGain(EGAN Quote - Cramer on EGAN - Stock Picks) lost 4 1/2, or 8.7%, to 47 and Inference(INFR Quote - Cramer on INFR - Stock Picks) was sliding 2 3/4, or 26.8%, to 7 1/2 after the companies said they have agreed to a $78.6 million merger. According to the terms, Inference shareholders would receive 0.1865 share of eGain for each share of Inference they hold. The deal is set to close within 90 days. The European Commission cleared plans by Emerson Electric (EMR Quote - Cramer on EMR - Stock Picks) to buy Ericsson Energy Systems, a unit of Ericsson (ERICY Quote - Cramer on ERICY - Stock Picks). Emerson rose 1 1/2 to 44 13/16 and Ericsson climbed 1 3/16 to 90 3/8. Tommy Hilfiger's (TOM Quote - Cramer on TOM - Stock Picks) talks with Calvin Klein about a combo of their businesses have apparently stalled over price, The Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper, citing people close to the discussions, said that a pact between Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein was expected to be announced as early as last week; however, the two sides have been unable to agree on a price. A British newspaper, the Sunday Telegraph, reported Sunday that Tommy Hilfiger was believed to be in talks to buy all or part of Calvin Klein. Tommy Hilfiger inched up 5/16 to 13 7/16. Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks) was unchanged at 95 3/8 after it announced the birth of HomeAdvisor Technologies, a new concern it says will slice weeks off the mortgage-closing process and save consumers more than $2,000 over the life of a loan by providing lower rates and reduced closing costs. Microsoft will hold a majority stake in the company. Chase's (CMB Quote - Cramer on CMB - Stock Picks) Chase.com, Chase Capital Partners, GMAC-RFC, Wells Fargo's (WFC Quote - Cramer on WFC - Stock Picks) Norwest Mortgage and Bank of America will also be taking an equity interest in the venture. Freddie Mac (FRE Quote - Cramer on FRE - Stock Picks) has provided technology contributions and has a financial interest in the new company, Microsoft said. Chase jumped 4 5/16, or 5.2%, to 87 7/16; Wells Fargo gained 1 15/16, or 5.4%, to 37 15/16 and Freddie Mac jumped 4 5/16, or 10.1%, to 47. National-Oilwell (NOI Quote - Cramer on NOI - Stock Picks) rose 3 3/4, or 15.8%, to 27 1/2 after it said it is merging with IRI International (IIR Quote - Cramer on IIR - Stock Picks). Under terms of the deal, IRI stockholders will receive 0.3385 share of National-Oilwell stock for each IRI common share they own. IRI popped 2 9/16, or 44.6%, to 8 5/16. Based on National-Oilwell's closing price yesterday, the deal is currently valued at $8.04 per IRI share, or $321 million. National-Oilwell will issue a total of 13.5 million shares of its stock for the transaction, which will be accounted for as a pooling of interests and is expected to be tax-free to both companies and IRI stockholders. VerticalNet (VERT Quote - Cramer on VERT - Stock Picks) shed 10 7/16 to 206 7/8 and Eastman Chemical (EMN Quote - Cramer on EMN - Stock Picks) climbed 15/16 to 40 1/2 after the companies said they have entered a deal to develop an e-commerce paint industry marketplace. Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(Earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.) Corning(GLW Quote - Cramer on GLW - Stock Picks) gained 4 3/4 to 175 after it said it expects to post first-quarter earnings of 53 cents to 55 cents a share, beating the 11-analyst estimate of 48 cents a share. ING Groep (ING Quote - Cramer on ING - Stock Picks), the Amsterdam-based global financial services concern, rose 2 3/8 to 51 1/8 after it said operational net profit rose 53.5% in 1999 from 1998 to $3.243 billion. Operational net profit from insurance operations rose 19.6% to $1.961 billion, while profit from banking operations increased 171.5% to $1.282 billion thanks to better results from trading and decreased risk costs. After losing $988 million in 1998, ING Barings, its investment banking arm, posted a profit of $220 million in 1999. Intuit(INTU Quote - Cramer on INTU - Stock Picks) lost 13/16 to 49 1/4 despite CEO Steve Bennett's statement at a company conference that he sees both its pro forma revenue and operating income increasing by more than 20% in fiscal 2001. The 11-analyst estimate expects the company to post fiscal 2001 earnings of 69 cents a share. Paychex(PAYX Quote - Cramer on PAYX - Stock Picks) lost 3/16 to 49 1/4 posted third-quarter earnings of 20 cents a share, a penny better than the 12-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 15 cents. Offerings and stock actions
Finisar(FNSR Quote - Cramer on FNSR - Stock Picks) lost 1 1/2 to 123 1/4 after it said it filed for a 7 million-share secondary offering and set a 3-for-1 stock split. ImproveNet (IMPV Quote - Cramer on IMPV - Stock Picks) was inching up 1/2 , or 4.3%, to 16 11/16 after being priced last night at $16 a share, the top of the estimated range. Credit Suisse First Boston was the lead underwriter and 2.76 million shares are being offered. Merix(MERX Quote - Cramer on MERX - Stock Picks) lost 1 to 21 7/8 after it filed for a 3 million-share secondary offering, with 1 million shares being sold by Tektronix(TEK Quote - Cramer on TEK - Stock Picks). Neose Technologies (NTEC Quote - Cramer on NTEC - Stock Picks) lost 3 3/4, or 10.5%, to 31 7/8 after it said it priced a 2 million-share offering at $32 each. PSI Technologies (PSIT Quote - Cramer on PSIT - Stock Picks) was jumping 6 1/2, or 39.8%, to 22 3/8 after it was priced at $16 per ADR, above the expected $13-$15 range. Chase Hambrecht & Quist is the lead underwriter. Tele1 Europe Holding (TEUR Quote - Cramer on TEUR - Stock Picks) was rising 4 1/4, or 23%, to 22 3/4 after being priced at $18.50 per ADR, near the top of the estimated $17-$19 range. Lehman Brothers is the lead underwriter. Analyst actions
Altera (ALTR Quote - Cramer on ALTR - Stock Picks) lost 2 1/4 to 82 3/16 after its price target was raised to 95 by Credit Suisse First Boston. American Home Products (AHP Quote - Cramer on AHP - Stock Picks) rose 3 7/8, or 7.5%, to 55 15/16 : NEW buy at Bear Stearns. Aspen Technology (AZPN Quote - Cramer on AZPN - Stock Picks) jumped 11 3/16, or 31.2%, to 47: 12-18 month price target UP to 100 at Banc of America. Aztar(AZR Quote - Cramer on AZR - Stock Picks) losing 1/8 to 9 15/16: first-quarter earnings UP to 17 cents a share at Lehman Brothers. Bristol-Meyers (BMY Quote - Cramer on BMY - Stock Picks) rising 4 1/2, or 8.9%, to 55: NEW buy at Bear Stearns. Electro Scientific (ESIO Quote - Cramer on ESIO - Stock Picks) losing 3 13/16, or 6.3%, to 57 13/16: 2001 earnings estimate UP to $2.29 from $1.80 at Warburg Dillon Read. Eli Lilly (LLY Quote - Cramer on LLY - Stock Picks) rising 2 7/16 to 65 3/16: NEW buy at Bear Stearns. Intersil(ISIL Quote - Cramer on ISIL - Stock Picks) unchanged at 46 1/2: NEW strong buy and a price target of 70 at CSFB. J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT Quote - Cramer on JBHT - Stock Picks): UP to buy at Banc of America inching up 1/4 to 15 1/4: price target: 25. Kohl's(KSS Quote - Cramer on KSS - Stock Picks) rising 4 5/16, or 5.1%, to 89 1/2: UP to intermediate-term buy from accumulate at Merrill Lynch. Lattice Semiconductor(LSCC Quote - Cramer on LSCC - Stock Picks) lifting 1 5/8 to 65 3/4: price target UP to 100 at CSFB. MacDermid (MRD Quote - Cramer on MRD - Stock Picks) falling 6 9/16, or 20.8%, to 24 15/16: DOWN to market perform from buy at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. Manhattan Associates (MANH Quote - Cramer on MANH - Stock Picks) rising 1 3/8, or 7.6%, to 19 1/2: UP to buy from hold at Wit Soundview. Maxtor (MXTR Quote - Cramer on MXTR - Stock Picks) gaining 1 1/8, or 9.5%, to 12 15/16: price target UP to 17 from 10 at Banc of America. Micron Tech (MU Quote - Cramer on MU - Stock Picks) losing 5/8 to 112 3/8: UP to outperform from hold for the intermediate term at Gruntal. Savvis Communications (SVVS Quote - Cramer on SVVS - Stock Picks) losing 2 3/32, or 9.5%, to 20: NEW intermediate and long-term buy at Merrill Lynch. Software.com (SWCM Quote - Cramer on SWCM - Stock Picks) losing 12 7/16, or 8.7%, to 130 1/8: NEW strong buy at SG Cowen. Textron (TXT Quote - Cramer on TXT - Stock Picks) gaining 3 5/8, or 6.6%, to 58 7/16: UP to recommended list from market outperform at Goldman Sachs. Werner Enterprises (WERN Quote - Cramer on WERN - Stock Picks) rising 1 5/16, or 10.2%, to 14 3/16: UP to buy at Banc of America; price target: 20. Xilinx (XLNX Quote - Cramer on XLNX - Stock Picks) losing 1/8 to 69 1/16: Price target UP to 85 from 55 at Credit Suisse First Boston. Miscellany
Less than stellar news out of Peapod (PPOD Quote - Cramer on PPOD - Stock Picks) today. Peapod said Bill Malloy, the company's CEO and president, is leaving due to health reasons and, because of that, parties to a previously announced potential investment of $120 million in the company have terminated the planned investment. The company, which has had substantial operating losses since its birth, has $3 million in cash on hand. The company's board has told its financial advisor Wasserstein Perrella to "explore strategic alternatives," including "possible alternative financing or a possible sale of the company." Peapod was lately shedding 4 5/16, or 55.2% to 3 1/2.
Saftey-Kleen (SK Quote - Cramer on SK - Stock Picks) lost 3/8, or 22.2%, to 1 5/16 after it said it planned to sell its former headquarters in Elgin, Ill. and is negotiating for a $20 million line of credit from banks. The Heard on the Street column in the Journal takes a look at the mix of investors in Federated Department Stores (FD Quote - Cramer on FD - Stock Picks) and the difficulty the company is having pleasing either group. The company picked up a new strain of investors last year thanks to the addition of a mushrooming Internet operation, the column notes. Those new investors want Federated to invest heavily in the Net, which puts them at odds with the company's traditional investors who expect growing profits and not heavy Net expenditures, the column said. Federated was lately rising 2 7/16, or 6.2%, to 41 3/4. NextCard (NXCD Quote - Cramer on NXCD - Stock Picks) rose 2 7/16, or 15.5%, to 18 1/8 after it named John Hashman president. In part because of a government antitrust probe of Sotheby's (BID Quote - Cramer on BID - Stock Picks) and Christie's, the two auction houses are facing their worst shortage of items for sale in nearly a decade, the Journal reported. Sotheby's was lately off 1 3/4, or 8.2%, to 19 1/2.
