Midday Movers: Network Solutions Pops, While VeriSign Slides; Procter & Gamble Plummets

Network Solutions (NSOL Quote - Cramer on NSOL - Stock Picks) popped 58 7/16, or 16.2%, to 419 1/16 after VeriSign (VRSN Quote - Cramer on VRSN - Stock Picks) agreed to acquire it in a stock deal valued at roughly $21 billion. VeriSign, lately sliding 37 3/8, or 15%, to 210, said it would issue 2.15 shares for each share of Network Solutions. VeriSign said it expects to complete the deal in the third quarter of fiscal 2000. According to the terms, Jim Rutt would stay on as Network Solutions CEO and report to VeriSign President and CEO Stratton Sclavos.

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Procter & Gamble(PG Quote - Cramer on PG - Stock Picks) shed 27 7/16, or 31.4%, to 60 after it warned investors it would post third-quarter earnings 10% to 11% below the year-ago 72-cents-a-share report. The company blamed its earnings shortfall on the higher cost of pulp and petroleum-based materials. The 13-analyst estimate sees Procter & Gamble reporting third-quarter earnings of 78 cents a share.

Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette sliced its rating on Procter & Gamble to market performance from top pick. Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to neutral from accumulate.

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Initial public offering Net2000 Communications (NTKK Quote - Cramer on NTKK - Stock Picks) was lately jumping 18, or 90%, to 38 after Goldman Sachs priced 10 million shares at $20 each, the top end of the $18-to-$20 range. Net2000 provides broadband telecom services to businesses in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

Dutch supermarket chain Royal Ahold (AHO Quote - Cramer on AHO - Stock Picks) lost 1/8 to 22 3/4 after it agreed to purchase U.S. Foodservice (UFS Quote - Cramer on UFS - Stock Picks) in a deal valued at $3.6 billion. U.S. Foodservice added 3/16 to 5 13/16. Ahold is forecasting a 17% to 20% increase in its fiscal 2000 EPS, including the effect of the acquisition.

eBay(EBAY Quote - Cramer on EBAY - Stock Picks) rose 2 5/16 to 163 7/8 after it said it would make an investment in Autotrader.com to develop an online auto auction.

Entrust(ENTU Quote - Cramer on ENTU - Stock Picks) popped 20 3/16, or 20.4%, to 119 1/9 after it announced an e-business alliance with Ariba (ARBA Quote - Cramer on ARBA - Stock Picks). Ariba jumped 10 to 327.

Separately, E*Trade selected Ariba's software for its supply-chain system. E*Trade slipped 3/4 to 25 13/16.

Hitachi said that it set standards with Lucent (LU Quote - Cramer on LU - Stock Picks) and France-based Alcatel (ALA Quote - Cramer on ALA - Stock Picks) for fiber-optic transceivers to make future products and devices compatible. Lucent dropped 3 7/8, or 5.3%, to 69 5/8, while Alcatel inched up 3/16 to 47 15/16.

Nortel Networks (NT Quote - Cramer on NT - Stock Picks) gained 2 1/16 to 131 after it said it struck a $60 million sale for its urban fiber-optic network technology to FiberNet Telecom (FTGX Quote - Cramer on FTGX - Stock Picks). FiberNet rose 1 1/4, or 6.5%, to 20 5/8.

SAP(SAP Quote - Cramer on SAP - Stock Picks) gained 1 1/2 to 83 1/16 and BackWeb Technologies(BWEB Quote - Cramer on BWEB - Stock Picks) bounced up 2 1/4, or 5.1%, to 46 after the companies said they agreed to a pact that calls for SAP to use BackWeb's Polite push technology on its e-commerce Web site, mySAP.com. According to the companies, the Polite push product allows companies to deliver multimedia packages without interfering with customers' access.

Charles Schwab (SCH Quote - Cramer on SCH - Stock Picks) and Barclays said they have entered a joint venture to set up an automated foreign exchange. The companies said they expect the facility to be up and running by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000. Schwab dropped 1 3/16 to 46 1/2.

Earnings/revenue reports and previews

(Earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.)

CVS(CVS Quote - Cramer on CVS - Stock Picks) inched up 1.3%, to 31 5/16 after it said February same-store sales increased 7.3%.

Healthsouth(HRC Quote - Cramer on HRC - Stock Picks) dropped 11/16, or 12.1%, to 5 despite posting fourth-quarter earnings of 16 cents a share, in line with the 12-analyst estimate but down from the year-ago 27 cents.

priceline.com(PCLN Quote - Cramer on PCLN - Stock Picks) dropped 6 15/16, or 7.7%, to 83 1/8 despite Chairman and CEO Richard Braddock's announcement that first-quarter revenue growth would beat earlier analysts' estimates of 30%.

Offerings and stock actions

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter priced a 4.35 million-ADR IPO for Japanese email provider Crayfish (CRFH Quote - Cramer on CRFH - Stock Picks) at $24.50 an ADR, above the expected range of $22 to $24.

Waddell & Reed(WDR Quote - Cramer on WDR - Stock Picks) inched up 3/16 to 31 5/16 after it set a 3-for-2 stock split.

Vitria Technology(VITR Quote - Cramer on VITR - Stock Picks) soared 15 1/2, or 9.2%, to 183 5/8 after it set a 2-for-1 stock split.

Analyst actions

J.P. Morgan initiated coverage of Ball (BLL Quote - Cramer on BLL - Stock Picks) with a buy rating. Ball edged up 1/4 to 27 5/16.

Warburg Dillon Read upgraded oil and gas exploration company Burlington Resources (BR Quote - Cramer on BR - Stock Picks) to strong buy from hold. Burlington Resources bounced 1 3/8 to 29 9/16.

Bear Stearns analyst Scott Ehrens initiated coverage of Buy.com (BUYX Quote - Cramer on BUYX - Stock Picks) with a buy rating. Buy.com lifted 1 3/4, or 12%, to 16 5/16.

Prudential Securities raised its rating on Check Point Software(CHKP Quote - Cramer on CHKP - Stock Picks) to strong buy from accumulate. Check Point Software gained 14 3/8, or 6%, to 250 1/2.

Merrill Lynch downgraded several companies in the cosmetics/household products sector, including Clorox (CLX Quote - Cramer on CLX - Stock Picks); Avon (AVP Quote - Cramer on AVP - Stock Picks); Rayovac (ROV Quote - Cramer on ROV - Stock Picks); Dial (DL Quote - Cramer on DL - Stock Picks); Alberto-Culver (ACV Quote - Cramer on ACV - Stock Picks) and Colgate (CL Quote - Cramer on CL - Stock Picks).

• Avon, Dial and Rayovac were cut to accumulate from buy. Avon fell 1 3/4, or 6%, to 27 and Dial slipped 1 1/4, or 7.9%, to 14 1/2, while Rayovac stumbled 1 5/8, or 7.7%, to 19 3/8.

• Clorox and Colgate were cut to neutral from accumulate. Clorox lost 4 13/16, or 12%, to 35 5/16 and Colgate shed 6 5/16, or 11.7%, to 46 5/8.

• Alberto-Culver was cut to neutral from accumulate. Alberto-Culver declined 9/16 to 20 1/4.

Warburg Dillon Read upped its price target on Corning(GLW Quote - Cramer on GLW - Stock Picks) to 260 from 175. Corning added 1 3/8 to 211.

Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette analyst W. Todd Scott started coverage of Cypress Communications (CYCO Quote - Cramer on CYCO - Stock Picks) with a buy rating. Cypress Communications tacked on 13/16 to 22 1/4.

Merrill Lynch upgraded its intermediate-term rating on Firstar (FSR Quote - Cramer on FSR - Stock Picks) to accumulate from neutral. It kept its long-term buy rating on the stock. Firstar skidded 1/2 to 17 13/16.

Lehman Brothers initiated coverage of First Bell (FBBC Quote - Cramer on FBBC - Stock Picks) with a neutral rating. First Bell advanced 1/8 to 15 1/2.

Merrill Lynch downgraded its long-term rating on GlobalStar(GSTRF Quote - Cramer on GSTRF - Stock Picks) to neutral from accumulate. The firm also sliced its intermediate rating on Loral(LOR Quote - Cramer on LOR - Stock Picks) to neutral from accumulate and cut its long-term rating to accumulate from buy. GlobalStar skidded 2 3/16, or 8.1%, to 23 1/8 and Loral stumbled 1 13/16, or 12.2%, to 13.

Salomon Smith Barney initiated coverage of Healtheon/WebMD (HLTH Quote - Cramer on HLTH - Stock Picks) with an outperform rating and a price target of 52. Healtheon/WebMD slipped 1 1/8 to 41 5/8.

SG Cowen said it started coverage of InfoSpace.com (INSP Quote - Cramer on INSP - Stock Picks) with a strong buy rating and a price target of 310. InfoSpace.com jumped 8 to 261 1/2.

Prudential Securities initiated coverage of JDS Uniphase (JDSU Quote - Cramer on JDSU - Stock Picks) with a strong buy rating. JDS Uniphase popped 4 to 296 5/8.

Thomas Weisel analyst David Grossman initiated coverage on Lante (LNTE Quote - Cramer on LNTE - Stock Picks) with a buy rating. Lante dropped 5 3/8, or 6.7%, to 73 despite the news.

Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of Magic Software (MGIC Quote - Cramer on MGIC - Stock Picks), an Israel-based business solutions and software company, with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of 40. Magic Software edged up 1 to 27 15/16.

Warburg upgraded Masco (MAS Quote - Cramer on MAS - Stock Picks) to strong buy from buy. Masco lifted 13/16 to 18 1/4.

Goldman Sachs said Microsoft's (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks) third quarter seems to be on track after meeting with its CFO, Jim Connors. Microsoft climbed 4 11/16, or 5.1%, to 95 7/16.

Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded Nextel Communications (NXTL Quote - Cramer on NXTL - Stock Picks) to strong buy from buy. Nextel Communications gained 2 15/16 to 136.

ING Barings analyst Vinton Vickers raised his price target on News Corp. (NWS Quote - Cramer on NWS - Stock Picks). The 12- to 15-month price target on ADRs was lifted to 75 to 80, from 65. News Corp. tacked on 1/8 to 65 1/16.

Warburg Dillon Read upgraded oil and gas exploration company Noble Affiliates (NBL Quote - Cramer on NBL - Stock Picks) to strong buy from hold. Noble Affiliates hopped 2 1/16, or 8%, to 27 5/8.

Merrill upgraded its intermediate-term rating on Pharmacia & Upjohn (PNU Quote - Cramer on PNU - Stock Picks) to buy from accumulate. It maintained its long-term rating of buy on the stock. Pharmacia & Upjohn declined 1/4 to 44 1/4.

Thomas Weisel analyst Kevin Hunt started coverage of Pets.com (IPET Quote - Cramer on IPET - Stock Picks). Pets.com was lately off 5/16 to 6 1/4.

Prudential Securities upped its rating on RSA Security (RSAS Quote - Cramer on RSAS - Stock Picks) to strong buy from hold. RSA Security leaped 13 1/16, or 17.9%, to 85 1/2.

Merrill reinstated coverage of Southdown (SDW Quote - Cramer on SDW - Stock Picks) with an intermediate-term rating of accumulate and a long-term rating of buy. Southdown lost 3/8 to 49.

Warburg initiated coverage of Spieker Properties (SPK Quote - Cramer on SPK - Stock Picks) with a hold rating. Spieker Properties slid 1/8 to 40 7/8.

Banc of America Securities upped its price target on VoiceStream(VSTR Quote - Cramer on VSTR - Stock Picks) to 161 from 117. VoiceStream skidded 11 1/4, or 7.8%, to 132 5/8.

CSFB initiated coverage of Waste Connections (WCNX Quote - Cramer on WCNX - Stock Picks) with a buy rating. Waste Connections was unchanged at 10 7/8.

CSFB upgraded Western Wireless (WWCA Quote - Cramer on WWCA - Stock Picks) to strong buy from buy. Western Wireless climbed 4 1/8, or 7.9%, to 56 1/8.

Miscellany

Mastech (MAST Quote - Cramer on MAST - Stock Picks) converted itself into a holding company. Mastech said the new company, known as iGate (IGTE Quote - Cramer on IGTE - Stock Picks), consists of five existing and four new divisions, which would concentrate on e-services. iGate will began trading today. iGate leaped 12 1/16, or 27%, to 55.