Stocks to Watch Wednesday: priceline, ATMI, Chico's FAS, Circuit City

By TSC Staff ,

(Updated from 6:47 p.m. ET Tuesday)

Chico's FAS

(CHS) - Get Report

said same-store sales at company-operated shops rose 16.3% in May, compared with a year earlier. Total sales for the four weeks ended June 2 totaled $31 million, up 51% from $20.4 million for the same period a year ago.

Teen-fashion clothing retailer

Delia's

(DLIA)

posted a first-quarter loss of 23 cents a share, compared with a loss of 35 cents in the same period a year ago. Net sales for the quarter fell 26.2% to $36.2 million from $49.1 million last year.

The company expects a second-quarter loss of 16 cents to 18 cents a share. The

Thomson Financial/First Call

consensus estimate currently calls for a loss of 12 cents a share. Last year's second quarter loss was 42 cents a share.

Earnings/revenue reports and previews

Cosmetics maker

Avon Products

(AVP) - Get Report

said this morning that it "remains comfortable" with the current estimates for second-quarter earnings, as well as the full-year estimates of $2.09 a share. The consensus estimate is for a profit of 57 cents a share in the second quarter.

Circuit City Stores

said total sales for the fiscal first quarter fell 13% to $2.67 billion. The company expects to report a second-quarter loss of 5 cents for the

Circuit City Group

(CC) - Get Report

stores, but forecast a profit of 4 cents a share for the whole company when taking into account the stake it owns in

CarMax Group

(KMX) - Get Report

, a used car seller. Total sales for the Circuit City Group fell 23% to $1.88 billion in the first quarter, from $2.45 billion in the year-ago period.

CarMax said first-quarter sales rose 27% to $796.4 million. CarMax projected income of 25 cents a share for the second quarter.

Vail Resorts

(MTN) - Get Report

, the operator of ski resorts, said Wednesday morning that its fiscal third quarter earnings rose slightly from the year-ago period because of strong revenue from its resorts. The company posted earnings of $1.16 a diluted share for the third quarter, compared with $1.13 a share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate called for earnings of $1.11 a share.

Total revenue for the quarter fell to $226.1 million in the latest quarter from $242.4 million in the year-ago period. Vail said that because of the current economic slowdown, it took steps to consolidate operations and cut full-time staff members. The company said it was comfortable with its guidance for full-year earnings of 56 cents a share.

After Tuesday's Close

Albertson's

(ABS)

, an operator of combination food and drug stores, supermarkets and warehouses, reported first-quarter earnings Tuesday of 46 cents a share, slightly better than the consensus estimate of 45 cents a share. The retailer earned 42 cents a diluted share in the year-ago period.

Revenue in the first quarter totaled $9.33 billion, up from $9.01 billion in the same period last year.

Albertson's forecast second-quarter earnings of at least 43 cents a share, excluding merger-related items or unusual costs. The consensus estimate is for 52 cents a share in the quarter. The company also said that it would review every major expense category for ways to cut costs.

ATMI

(ATMI)

warned that its earnings for the second quarter and full year would come in below current expectations. The semiconductor equipment maker blamed the slowdown in manufacturing activity among chip companies for the reduction in earnings expectations.

The company projected that second-quarter revenue will fall about 20% from $71.1 million in the year-ago period. ATMI also said revenue for the full year will be 10% to 15% below last year's top line. The company expects to release its results July 25.

Oil refining company

Frontier Oil

( FTO) expects to post second-quarter earnings well above the current estimates, citing strong demand for its products.

The company expects to earn between $2.75 and $3.25 a share for the second quarter, well above Wall Street's estimate of $1.15. Frontier earned $1.13 a share in the same period last year. The company also raised its estimates for the full year, to between $3.50 and $4 a share. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.96 a share.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

British online directory service

Scoot.com

( SCOP) said this morning that it was no longer in talks with

Vivendi Universal

(V) - Get Report

to be acquired after the French company withdrew from talks. In April, Vivendi said it was in talks to acquire Scoot for around 15 pence a share (about 10 cents a share), which would value Scoot at around 100 million pounds ($70 million).

After Tuesday's Close

Royal Bank of Canada

(RY) - Get Report

closed the acquisition of

Centura Banks

( CBC) today. Centura Banks is based in North Carolina. The bank operates in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

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Miscellany

After Tuesday's Close

Drugmaker

Bristol-Myers Squibb

(BMY) - Get Report

said Tuesday night that its governing board approved an increase of $2 billion in its stock buyback program. This move will increase the number of shares to be bought back by 40 million, to a total of 400 million shares. The company has bought back about 175 million common shares and has 1.9 billion shares still outstanding.

Cheung Kong

and

Hutchison Whampoa

disclosed plans to purchase 25 million additional

priceline.com

(PCLN)

common shares from priceline founder Jay Walker and his trust. The companies also will get two additional seats on priceline's board. Cheung Kong and Hutchison will now own, together, about 30% of priceline, which is based in Norwalk, Conn.

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