Motorola (MOT Quote) plunged 24 3/4, or 16.5%, to 125 9/16 this. The company posted first-quarter earnings yesterday evening of 59 cents a share, a penny better than the 29-analyst estimate and up sharply from last year's 28 cents. The company also announced that semiconductor unit sales had risen 24% and orders were up 21%.
Additionally, Motorola forecasted record second-quarter earnings of 67 cents, 3 cents below analysts' estimates. The company expects second-quarter revenue to reach $9.5 billion. Motorola predicts full-year 2000 revenue of $39.8 billion and earnings per share of $3.14. The shares were downgraded to long-term buy from buy at
J.P. Morgan.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
Chase (CMB Quote) lost 1 11/16 to 86 7/16 after it announced, as expected, that it has offered to buy British investment bank and money management firm Robert Fleming Holdings for $7.7 billion in cash and stock. The new company will be called Chase Flemings. Also, Fleming has entered into an agreement with mutual fund company T. Rowe Price Associates (TROW Quote), under which Fleming will sell to T. Rowe Price its 50% interest in an existing joint venture for $780 million. T. Rowe Price advanced 3/4 to 41.
Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote) fell 1 1/8 to 71 7/16 after it reported that it will acquire privately held Pentacom, a provider of fiber management technology, based in Israel. Under terms of the agreement, approximately $118 million of Cisco common stock will be exchanged for all outstanding shares and options of Pentacom. Electricity provider FPL (FPL Quote) entered a $3.7 billion multiyear supply agreement with General Electric (GE Quote). FPL fell 5/16 to 46 7/8, while General Electric gained 3 3/4 to 163 3/16. Web-based health care company Healtheon/WebMD (HLTH Quote) has partnered with Health Systems Designs (HSDC Quote), an information systems vendor, to integrate their products. As part of the agreement, Health Systems Designs' Diamond software, a database and transaction engine, will be integrated with Healtheon's physician portal. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Healtheon/WebMD lifted 15/16 to 26 11/16, while Health Systems Designs stayed flat at 4 3/4. S3 (SIII Quote), as part of its shift to focus on its Internet-related businesses, is transferring its graphics chip business to a newly established joint venture with VIA Technologies in exchange for $323 million in cash and securities. S3 shares fell 13/16 to 17 3/16. Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(Earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.) Abbott Laboratories (ABT Quote) edged up 3/4 to 37 13/16 after it posted first-quarter earnings of 44 cents, even with the 15-analyst estimate and above the year-ago 43 cents. The company reported that net earnings increased 3.6% to $693 million from $669 million in the first-quarter 1999. Biogen (BGEN Quote) dropped 10 13/16, or 16.5%, to 54 1/4, after it posted first-quarter operating earnings of 41 cents a share, excluding a 36-cent gain. That's way up from last year's first-quarter results of 29 cents but missing the 23-analyst estimate of 43 cents. CVS (CVS Quote) gained 1 to 39 11/16, having reported a 9.2% increase in same-store sales in March. The company saw total sales for the five-week period ended April 1 rise 12.2%. E.W. Scripps (SSP Quote), a newspaper publisher, climbed 7/16 to 46 15/16 after posting operating earnings of 45 cents a share, ahead of the eight-analyst estimate of 39 cents and up from the year-ago 40 cents. GenRad (GEN Quote), a manufacturer of integrated hardware and software solutions, lost 3 3/16, or 24.4%, to 9 7/8 following its announcement that it anticipates a 20% growth in revenue compared with the first quarter of 1999, but is expected to report first-quarter earnings in the range of 6 cents to 8 cents a share, lower than the analyst estimate of 15 cents. The company attributed the earnings shortfall to higher component prices, logistics costs and account delays. International Paper (IP Quote) lifted 1 11/16 to 44 5/16 after it posted first-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share, ahead of the 12-analyst estimate of 58 cents and well-above the year-ago eight cents. The company listed first-quarter revenues of $6.4 billion, compared to the year-ago $6 billion. Additionally, International Paper said it expects second-quarter results to be "significantly better" due to strength in current markets. Satellite provider PanAmSat (SPOT Quote) reported first-quarter earnings of 38 cents a share, beating the 14-analyst estimate of 19 cents a share and the year-ago 20 cents. PanAmSat boosted 4 5/16, or 9.5%, to 49 3/4. Restaurant franchise owner Rare Hospitality (RARE Quote) foresees first-quarter operating earnings will rise 61.8%, to 55 cents, before a charge from the settlement of a legal dispute. The current analyst estimate calls for Rare Hospitality to come in at 44 cents. The company earned 34 cents a year ago before an accounting charge. Rare Hospitality traded up 3 31/32, or 21.6%, to 28. Raytheon (RTN.A Quote) warned that it expects first-quarter 2000 earnings to be hurt by contract problems at Raytheon Engineers & Constructors, and that it's in talks about a sale, joint venture or spinoff of the unit. RE&C's results will not be reported in continuing operations, and the company predicts the loss attributable to RE&C operations will fall between 15 and 20 cents. Raytheon expects earnings for its continuing operations to meet analysts' estimates of 23 cents to 27 cents per share. In addition, the company foresees first-quarter net debt to increase $500 million, less than planned and better than analysts' expectations. Raytheon fell 3/16 to 20 11/16. Suntrust Banks (STI Quote) listed first-quarter earnings of $1.07, beating the 22-analyst estimate by a penny and up from the year-ago 91 cents. Suntrust Banks climbed 7/16 to 57 13/16. Offerings and stock actions
Software company AremisSoft (AREM Quote) has postponed its planned 3 million-share offering indefinitely due to market conditions. The shares were off 3 1/4 or 11.7%, to 24 1/2, however. Associates First Capital's (AFS Quote) board approved a 50 million-share buyback program. The company's share was up 1/2, to 23 3/16. Associates is a financial services company. Goldman Sachs priced a 9.1 million-share IPO for biotech company Exelixis (EXEL Quote) at $13 a share, above the expected range of $10-$12 a share. The new shares have not begun trading yet. Global Crossing (GBLX Quote) had a secondary offering priced at $33 a share. Originally, the offering was slated to total 58 million shares, but that amount was reduced to 43 million shares. Global Crossing shares were up 1/2 to 33 9/16. Chase H&Q priced a 3 million-share IPO for Nova Measuring Instruments (NVMI Quote) at $18 a share, at the low end of the expected $18-$20 range. The new shares were not yet trading. Electronics maker Solectron (SLR Quote) filed a shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell, from time, up to $5 billion in common and preferred stock and debt securities. Solectron's shares were down 1/2 a point to 44 7/8. Analyst actions
Activcard (ACTI Quote): NEW strong buy at SG Cowen. Shares were up 1 3/4 points to 44 7/8. Apache(APA Quote)NEW buy at PaineWebber. Shares were up 13/16 to 47 1/4 in midday trading. Biogen (BGEN Quote): DOWN to outperform from buy at ABN Amro. DOWN to accumulate from strong buy at Prudential. DOWN to attractive from buy at PaineWebber. Biogen was taking quite a hit, and was down 17.3% to 53 3/4 in midday trade. Compaq(CPQ Quote): first-quarter revenue estimate DOWN to $9.605 billion from $9.93 billion at Merrill Lynch. The stock was lately off 1 1/4 to 21 1/8. Devon(DVN Quote) NEW buy at PaineWebber. Devon was up 3/8 to 46. Gannett(GCI Quote) DOWN to buy from strong buy at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. Earning estimates for 2000 UP to $3.75 from $3.72 at Goldman Sachs. Gannet was inching up 9/16 to 69 5/8 in midday trade. Infineon Technologies (IFX Quote): NEW buy at DB Alex. Brown. The shares were up 1 7/8 to 61 1/16. Wiley John & Sons (JW.A Quote): NEW attractive; price target: 22 at Bear Stearns. The stock was up 1/16 to 16 13/16. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter made ratings changes on two biotechnology companies. Celgene (CELG Quote): NEW strong buy; price target: $212. This stock was up 4 1/4 to 103 1/2. Viropharma (VPHM Quote): DOWN to neutral from outperform. Viropharma's shares were plunging, and had fallen 65.2% to 25 near midday. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO Quote): NEW outperform; price target: 25 at Lazard Freres. The company's stock was moderately down 1/4 to 16 1/16. Netcentives (NCNT Quote): REINITIATED strong buy; price target: 60 at Credit Suisse First Boston. No other news had been released, but the company's shares were down a hefty 16.5% to 22 3/4 at midday. Selectica (SLTC Quote): NEW strong buy at CSFB. Shares had risen 2 7/8 to 72. Superior Energy (SESI Quote): NEW buy; price target: 15 at Bear Stearns. The shares were up 5.7% to 9 5/16. Universal Access (UAXS Quote): NEW market outperformer at Goldman Sachs. Its shares had slumped 8.5% to 30 7/8. Miscellany
Aetna (AET Quote) expects to announce the settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Texas attorney general. The lawsuit could set a precedent for the rules governing relationships between managed care companies and the doctors and consumers who do business with them, The Wall Street Journal reported. Details of the settlement are expected to be unveiled today at a news conference by Aetna and the Texas attorney general, the newspaper reported. Shares had inched up just under a point to 59 recently. At a technology showcase in Europe today, IBM (IBM Quote) reinforced its $1 billion commitment to data management leadership. Along those lines, the company introduced DB2 Universal Database, its award-winning database featuring new e-business capabilities. IBM fell 2 7/8 to 119 1/4. Mobile phone manufacturers Motorola, Nokia (NOK Quote), and Ericsson (ERICY Quote) will hold a news conference in London this afternoon to discuss technology developments. Nokia was up 1/2 to 53 7/8 in recent trading. The Heard on the Street column in the Journal takes a look at the irresistibility of a hot Internet IPO. Despite facing a potential Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action, shares of Opus360 (OPUS Quote) rose 25% on their first day of trading, the article notes. The fact that a possible investigation did not stop tech stock buyers, the article concludes, shows that buyers are willing to overlook potential problems to get in on a hot IPO. Near midday, shares were trading down a hefty 24.4% at 9 5/16, close to wiping out its Monday gains.
