Stocks in Motion: Netflix

The DVD rental outfit surges after hitting a user target.
By Mark Martinez ,

Updated from 12:04 p.m. EST

Shares of

Movie Gallery

(MOVI)

were among the

Nasdaq's

winners Monday, rising 22.4% after

Blockbuster

(BBI) - Get Report

ended its bid to acquire

Hollywood Entertainment

(HLYW)

.

Blockbuster said it dropped its $14.50-a-share bid, which consisted of $11 in stock and $3.50 in cash, because it was unlikely to win regulatory approval to acquire Hollywood within an acceptable time frame. Blockbuster's decision paves the way for Movie Gallery, which will pay $13.25 a share in cash and has already won regulatory approval, to acquire Hollywood. The combination of Movie Gallery and Hollywood will make the combined company the No. 2 player in the movie-rental business behind Blockbuster.

Shares of Movie Gallery traded up $5.39 to $29.45, Blockbuster traded down 54 cents to $8.92, and Hollywood traded down 93 cents to $13.20.

Parker Hannifin

(PH) - Get Report

fell 11.7% after the company cut its third-quarter earnings outlook. The maker of industrial products now expects third-quarter earnings of $1.05 to $1.15 a share, down from previous guidance of $1.10 to $1.30 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had been expecting earnings of $1.24 a share. "We are revising our previously forecast earnings range," the company said, "because of greater-than-anticipated softening in the automotive market; slowdowns in the mobile markets in our international industrial segment; and ongoing inventory reductions." Shares traded down $7.89 to $59.66.

Shares of

Netflix

(NFLX) - Get Report

rose 8.3% after the company said the number of subscribers to its DVD rental service has surpassed 3 million. Netflix began the year with 2.6 million members. Since introducing its DVD rental business in 1999, the company has grown its subscriber base by more than 50% annually. The company had 1 million subscribers in February 2003 and 2 million subscribers by May 2004. Shares traded up 75 cents to $9.78.

Brookstone

(BKST)

rose 14.9% after the specialty retailer posted fourth-quarter earnings and sales that beat expectations. The company earned $33.2 million, or $1.57 a share, on sales of $237.8 million. Excluding lease accounting charges, the company would have earned $1.63 a share. Analysts expected earnings of $1.61 a share on sales of $237.6 million. Looking ahead, Brookstone forecast a first-quarter loss of 27 cents to 30 cents a share, in line with expectations. For all of 2005, it forecast earnings of $1.20 to $1.25 a share, in line with the $1.21 a share that analysts are expecting. Shares traded up $2.11 to $16.30.

Shares of

Century Aluminum

(CENX) - Get Report

fell 9.2% after the company lowered its first-quarter earnings outlook. The aluminum company said that production issues and higher costs would reduce first-quarter earnings by about 10 cents a share. The company said that shipments at its plant in Mt. Holly, S.C., will be reduced by 5 million pounds because of production problems and higher-than-expected power surcharges at the plant are expected to remain throughout 2005. Analysts are looking for first-quarter earnings of 86 cents a share. Shares traded down $3.03 to $30.

NYSE

volume leaders included

Lucent Technologies

(LU)

, down 6 cents to $2.70;

SunGard Data Systems

(SDS) - Get Report

, up $2.81 to $34.36;

Solectron

(SLR)

, down 59 cents to $3.67;

American International Group

(AIG) - Get Report

, up $1.41 to $57.02;

ExxonMobil

(XOM) - Get Report

, down 11 cents to $58.89; and

Pfizer

(PFE) - Get Report

, up 6 cents to $26.23.

Nasdaq volume leaders included

Microsoft

(MSFT) - Get Report

, down 8 cents to $24.20;

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

, up 12 cents to $23.30;

Cisco Systems

(CSCO) - Get Report

, up 1 cent to $17.89;

Oracle

(ORCL) - Get Report

, up 3 cents to $12.43;

Lexar Media

(LEXR)

, down $1.10 to $5.22;

Sirius Satellite Radio

(SIRI) - Get Report

, down 5 cents to $5.28; and

Ligand Pharmaceuticals

(LGND) - Get Report

, down $2.35 to $5.88.

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