Sector Watch: Networkers Drop Again as Juniper Fallout Continues
Stocks within the networking group slid again today, as a profit warning from
Juniper Networks
(JNPR) - Get Report
before the market opened on Friday continued to pressure the sector.
The networkers tumbled 4.3% in the prior trading session, only to be followed by numerous estimate revisions and downgrades from analysts. The
American Stock Exchange Networking Index
fell another 4.1% today.
"
The networkers are still out of favor," said Doug Myers, the vice president of equity trading at
IJL Wachovia
. "That seems to be the group that no one wants to own anymore."
The Amex Networking Index is now up only 16.4% from the Nasdaq's recent low on April 4, after previously gaining as much as 42.8%.
Juniper fell 10.1% to $34.19, after dropping 18% on Friday as a result of
the forecast of
poorer results. While some market watchers and investors anticipated the preannouncement, most didn't price the possibility into the stock, Myers said.
A downgrade by
J.P. Morgan Chase
following the announcement, and downward estimate revisions from
Credit Suisse First Boston
and
Robertson Stephens
this morning, have helped to push the stock down further.
Juniper wasn't the first of its sector to warn, though.
3Com
(COMS)
warned after Thursday's market close about its own disappointing quarter. 3Com fell 3.7% today to $5.27.
A set of estimate revisions from
UBS Warburg
sent another pair of networkers sliding. Analyst Nikos Theodosopoulos revised downward his 2001 earnings estimates on
Nortel
(NT)
, and wrote in a research note that "given our new outlook of Nortel not turning profitable until the fourth quarter of 2001, we would not be surprised if Nortel further reduced headcount beyond the planned 20,000 already announced." Shares of the Brampton, Ontario, telecom equipment maker slipped 5% to $11.91 today. Theodosopoulos also lowered his estimates on
Tellabs
(TLAB)
, which fell 3% to $29.93.
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
, which said this morning that it struck a deal with
RealNetworks
(RNWK) - Get Report
to incorporate the streaming media company's technology into its networking products, fell 3% to $19.90.
Ciena
(CIEN) - Get Report
dropped 6% to $52.78, and
Sycamore Networks
(SCMR)
lost 7.1% to $10.05.