Stocks to Watch: Exar, Yahoo!, Alexion
The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, which typically doesn't include one-time charges or gains, is for a profit of $1.19 a share for fiscal 2011.
"Two months ago we disclosed our belief that the U.S. economy will face headwinds for longer than we previously expected," said David Haffner, the company's president and CEO, in a statement. "We also mentioned that we were turning our focus to actions that would yield improved ongoing profitability; that focus, and our view of continuing demand weakness in certain markets, led to the current restructuring activity and recognition of impairments. We have decided to close some production facilities, trim our cost structure, and reduce overhead. Importantly, full year underlying operational results appear to be in line with the expectations we shared in our October earnings release."
Shares of Leggett & Platt closed Wednesday at $23.45, up more than 4% in 2011.
Mosaic Corp. (MOS) said after Wednesday's closing bell that it plans to reduce its production of finished phosphate by up to 250,000 tons through the end of March. ""Isolated phosphate market spot prices have become disconnected with the underlying agricultural fundamentals," said Jim Prokopanko, the company's president and CEO, in a press release. "As dealers and distributors focus on the macroeconomic uncertainty and delay purchases for the North American Spring Season, near term supply of phosphate barges on the Mississippi River has exceeded near-term demand. The current spot prices in this market do not reflect our outlook for the business, nor do we think they are sustainable." The company also said it plans to release its fiscal second-quarter results on Jan. 4, adding that: "Volumes and pricing for the second fiscal quarter were within prior guidance ranges, for both phosphate and potash." The stock closed Wednesday at $50.29, down more than 30% in 2011. --Written by Michael Baron in New York.
>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Michael Baron.
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