Quest Software(QSFT Quote) flew 51 3/4, or 36.1%, to 195 after it priced a 4.2 million-share secondary offering at $140 a share. Quest also set a 2-for-1 stock split.
But Quest wasn't the only stock to get a pop from a spilt.
Rambus' (RMBS Quote) leaped 41 17/32, or 10.9%, to 421. after its board approved a 4-for-1 stock split. The two stocks took top honors as the
Nasdaq's biggest gainers.
A number of initial public offerings turned in mostly solid first-day performances, although
OTG Software (OTGS Quote) left the other new kids in the dust, as it racked up a 195% gain. See table below for more IPO results. (
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.)
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
CoreComm Limited (COMM Quote), a provider of integrated telephone, Internet and data services to business and residential customers in targeted markets in the U.S., is acquiring ATX Telecommunications Services, a privately held company, for $900 million. CoreComm Limited advanced 6 11/16, or 16.2%, to 47 7/8. Dime (DME Quote) said it sued North Fork Bank (NFB Quote) and FleetBoston (FBF Quote) on antitrust grounds , claiming the two interfered with Dime's deal with Hudson United (HU Quote)Dime edged up 1/8 to 15 3/16, as North Fork Bank slid 5/8 to 14 11/16. FleetBoston moved down 1/4 to 25 11/16, while Hudson United slid 3/4 to 19 5/16. Medarex(MEDX Quote) set a pact with Regeneron(REGN Quote) to create and market drugs based on antibodies. Medarex fell 23 21/32, or 14.2% , to 143, while Regeneron slipped 1 1/16 to 40. Phillips Petroleum(P Quote) is expected to talk to the Federal Trade Commission about acquiring some of Arco's crude oil assets in Alaska, according to The Wall Street Journal. Phillips Petroleum dropped 5/16 to 39 15/16. Qwest Communications (Q Quote) said last night that "a major telecommunications company" pulled out of talks to acquire it and U S West (USW Quote), which are already planning to merge. The major telecom firm mentioned by Qwest has been identified in numerous published reports as Deutsche Telekom (DT Quote). Qwest placed some blame on U S West for the potential acquirer pulling out of the takeover talks. Qwest Communications dropped 6 7/8, or 11.5%, to 53 1/8, while U S West fell 6 1/8, or 8%, to 70 3/8. Deutsche Telekom rose 2 3/8 to 95 7/16. Reliant Energy(REI Quote) said it has hired an investment banker to consider options for two of its natural gas distribution companies and its natural gas pipeline operations. Reliant said could sell Reliant Energy Arkla and Reliant Energy Minnegasco, which service 1.4 million customers in 5 states. Reliant Energy was flat at 21 1/8. Waste Management (WMI Quote) said it is selling its waste services operations in the Netherlands to Shanks Group for $328 million. Waste Management edged up 1/8 to 14. Earnings/revenue reports and previews
Dial(DL Quote) said it expects to post fiscal 2000 earnings 10% to 12% below the year-ago report. Dial is also forecasting first- and second-quarter sales to decline 3% to 5% from 1999. J.P. Morgan sliced its rating on Dial to long-term buy from buy. Dial fell 3 1/4, or 22.8%, to 11. Littelfuse(LFUS Quote) said it expects to report first-quarter earnings 20% above the seven-analyst estimate of 35 cents a share. Littelfuse lifted 3 1/8, or 9.5%, to 35 7/8. Sysco (SYY Quote) slipped 7/8 to 28 3/4 despite saying it sees third-quarter earnings per share ahead of estimates, in the range of 26 cents to 28 cents. The 15-analyst estimate calls for earnings of 25 cents a share. Offerings and stock actions
CMGI (CMGI Quote) said it expects the IPO for its AltaVista portal unit in early April due to Securities and Exchange Commission delays. CMGI also said its revenue will increase at a rate of 20% on a quarter-over-quarter basis through 2000. CMGI dropped 8 15/16, or 6.2%, to 136 7/16. Crown Central Petroleum (CNP.A Quote) (CNP.B Quote) has received an acquisition offer of $9.20 a share from Apex Oil for all of Crown Central's Class-A and Class-B common stock. The proposal will expire at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 17, Crown Central said. Crown Central Petroleum Class-A shares climbed 9/16, or 7.1%, to 8 1/2. MCK Communications (MCKC Quote) dropped 4 1/8, or 5.6%, to 70 after it filed for a 3 million-share secondary offering. Metropolitan Life (MET Quote) cut the number of shares in its IPO to 179 million from 255 million and reduced the estimated price range to $13 to $15 a share, from $14 to $19. The new terms were revealed in an amended filing with the SEC. MetLife now will sell 73 million shares of common stock in a concurrent private placement to Banco Santander Central Hispano (STD Quote) and Credit Suisse Group at the IPO price. The company plans to net about $3.4 billion from the IPO and the private stock sales, based on a $14-per-share initial price. Originally, MetLife had intended to raise as much as $6.5 billion in its public offering. Office Depot(ODP Quote) inched up 1/16 to 10 7/16 after it added $100 million to its current stock repurchasing program. Sempra Energy(SRE Quote) added 3/8 to 17 7/16 after it set a share buyback for up to $100 million . | Company | Offering Price | Current Price | % Change |
| GT Group (GTTLB Quote) | $14 | 23 3/8 | +67% |
| New China (NEWC Quote) | $5 | 9 1/4 | +85% |
| HomeGrocer.com (HOMG Quote) | $12 | 14 1/8 | +17.7% |
| OTG Software (OTGS Quote) | $19 | 56 3/16 | +195.7% |
| Selectica (SLTC Quote) | $30 | 141 15/64 | +370.7% |
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Analyst actions
ING Barings upped its rating on American Management (AMSY Quote) to buy from hold and set its price target at 45. American Management bounced 6 3/4, or 19.7%, to 40 15/16. Warburg Dillon Read upped its price target on Antec(ANTC Quote) to 70 from 56. Antec slipped 7 15/16, or 14.5%, to 46 1/2. Lehman Brothers raised its rating on Becton Dickinson(BDX Quote) to buy from neutral. Becton Dickinson lifted 1 1/8 to 32. Salomon Smith Barney lowered its first-quarter loss estimates on Bethlehem Steel(BS Quote) to 8 cents a share from 20 cents, citing higher-than-expected shipments. Bethlehem Steel tacked on 3/8, or 6%, to 6 9/16. Merrill Lynch cut its intermediate-term rating on Cable Design Technologies (CDT Quote) to neutral from accumulate. Cable Design Technologies lost 7, or 17.2%, to 33 1/2. J.P. Morgan sliced its rating on Clorox(CLX Quote) to long-term buy from buy. Clorox declined 3 15/16, or 11.6%, to 29 7/9. PaineWebber upgraded Dell (DELL Quote) to buy from attractive and set a 12-month price target on the stock of 78. Dell gained 13/16 to 51 1/4. ING Barings upped its rating on Electronic Arts(ERTS Quote) to strong buy from buy. Electronic Arts retreated 6 1/4, or 6.3%, to 92 13/16. SG Cowen started coverage of Exodus(EXDS Quote) with a strong buy rating. Exodus mounted 6 to 164 9/16. ING Barings rolled out coverage of Globix(GBIX Quote)with a buy rating and set a price target of 85. Globix added 2 15/16 to 62. Credit Suisse First Boston rolled out coverage of Lante(LNTE Quote) with a buy rating and a price target of 90. Lante gained 1/2 to 69. Credit Suisse initiated coverage of Lightspan(LSPN Quote) with a strong buy and set a price target of 28. Lightspan rose 2 1/2, or 11.4%, to 24 3/8. Warburg Dillon Read upped its price target on National Sermiconductor(NSM Quote) to 100 from 68. National Semiconductor stumbled 9 1/4, or 11.7%, to 69 3/4. Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette raised its rating on Nextlink Communications(NXLK Quote) to top pick from buy. Nextlink Communications shot up 14 15/16, or 13.7%, to 123 5/16. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter raised its fiscal 2000 earnings estimates on Royal Dutch(RD Quote) to $3.00 a share from $2.95 and its fiscal 2001 estimates to $3.10 a share from $3.05. Royal Dutch declined 1/4 to 56 3/8. Warburg Dillon Read initiated coverage of Time Warner(TWX Quote) and Disney(DIS Quote) with buy ratings. Time Warner slipped 1 7/8 to 85 and Disney shed 1 1/8 to 35 1/8. Warburg Dillon Read rolled out coverage of Viacom(VIA Quote) with a strong buy rating and a price target of 75. Viacom lost 11/16 to 54 1/16. Miscellany
Advanced Tissue Sciences (ATIS Quote) was flying after it announced that one of its products stimulates new blood vessel formation in damaged heart tissue. It was up 5 5/8, or 78.2%, to 12 13/16. CNet Networks (CNet Quote) slid 1 1/8 to 67 3/4 after it said vice chairman Shelby Bonnie has been named CEO, while Halsey Minor, CNet's founder and current CEO will continue as chairman. Microsoft (MSFT Quote) hopped 1 to 101 after it introduced a dedicated video game console, code-named X-Box. A class action lawsuit was brought against Procter & Gamble(PG Quote), claiming that the company made misleading statements regarding its financial situation, plaintiffs' lawyers said Friday. The law firm of Wechler Harwood Halebian & Feffer , which filed the proceeding in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, are representing investors who purchased the stock between Jan. 25 and March 6. Earlier this week, P&G warned investors that its third-quarter profits would decline 10% to 12%, down from previous forecasts of 7% to 9%. The warning knocked the stock down 31% in Tuesday's trading session. Procter & Gamble slipped 4 3/8, or 7.5%, to 53 3/9. The Inside Wall Street column in Business Week this week penned as usual by Gene Marcial, shines a positive light on American Home Products (AHP Quote). Robert Lyon, president and chief investment officer of Institutional Capital in Chicago, thinks Novartis, the Swiss drug giant, will try to acquire AHP before long, the column reported. American Home Products was unchanged at 49 1/2. Also garnering positive mention is Concord Camera (LENS Quote). The column, citing an unnamed investor close to the company's management, said that Concord, in conjunction with a big overseas cell-phone maker, has developed a phone capable of taking pictures that can be transmitted to the Net via cellular airwaves. Concord Camera lifted 1 5/16 to 52 7/16. Meanwhile, Israel's ForSoft (FORS Quote) receives positive mention in the column. ForSoft advanced 3 1/8, or 17.4%, to 21.
