Stocks in Motion: Triton PCS
Shares of
Neiman Marcus Group
( NMGA) were among the
NYSE's
winners Wednesday, rising 15.1% after the company said it is exploring strategic alternatives including a possible sale.
The move, the company said, is aimed at enhancing shareholder value, though it warned that there is no assurance that the process would result in any specific transaction. Neiman Marcus said that it does not expect to reveal developments with respect to the exploration of strategic alternatives unless and until there is a definitive transaction. The company has retained Goldman Sachs to assist it. Shares traded up $11.29 to $86.04.
Triton PCS
(TPC) - Get Report
fell 18.3% after the wireless phone service company posted fourth-quarter results that fell short of expectations and warned that 2005 results would miss. Excluding items, the company posted a loss of 68 cents a share on sales of $195.5 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected a narrower loss of 50 cents a share on sales of $198.3 million. "Our fourth-quarter results reflected continued confusion in the marketplace, which resulted in fewer subscribers at the end of the year than we expected," the company said. Looking ahead, the company said that the transition of AT&T Wireless customers into its network is taking longer than expected. "The longer time frame for transitioning subscribers and integrating our new networks means we won't realize projected synergies this year. The combination of these factors will result in 2005 Adjusted EBITDA being significantly lower than previously thought," it said. Shares traded down 52 cents to $2.32.
Shares of
Performance Food Group
(PFGC) - Get Report
fell 1.7% after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings and sales that fell below expectations. Excluding a one-time item related to the redemption of convertible notes, the company earned $14.9 million, or 31 cents a share, on sales of $1.58 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 32 cents a share on sales of $1.6 billion. A year ago the company earned $12.2 million, or 26 cents a share, on sales of $1.5 billion. Shares traded down 49 cents to $27.89.
Despite posting third-quarter earnings and sales that were better than expected,
Worthington Industries
(WOR) - Get Report
fell 3.3% Wednesday. Excluding a one-time tax adjustment, the metal processing company posted earnings of $37.4 million, or 42 cents a share, on sales of $747.4 million. Analysts expected earnings of 36 cents a share on sales of $737.1 million. A year ago the company earned $24.5 million, or 28 cents a share, on sales of $558.1 million. Looking ahead, Worthington said it expects momentum to continue during the fourth quarter, a quarter, the company noted, that is usually its strongest from a seasonal demand standpoint. Analysts are looking for the company to earn 38 cents a share on sales of $801.8 million. Shares traded down 66 cents to $19.63.
NYSE volume leaders included
General Motors
(GM) - Get Report
, down $4.71 to $29.01;
Lucent
( LU), down 10 cents to $2.81;
Elan
(ELN)
, up 14 cents to $7.35;
Ford
(F) - Get Report
, down 32 cents to $11.91; and
Time Warner
(TWX)
, up 7 cents to $18.10.
Nasdaq
volume leaders included
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
, down 23 cents to $24.68;
Research In Motion
( RIMM), up $11.22 to $78.31;
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
, down 13 cents to $23.75;
Cisco
(CSCO) - Get Report
, down 16 cents to $18.09;
Sun Microsystems
(SUNW) - Get Report
, down 10 cents to $4.25;
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
, down 16 cents to $12.99;
Sirius Satellite Radio
(SIRI) - Get Report
, down 9 cents to $5.24;
Biogen Idec
(BIIB) - Get Report
, down 88 cents to $37.19; and
TiVo
(TIVO) - Get Report
, down 90 cents to $5.80.