Company Report: Medical Manager Surges After Merger News and Diversa's IPO a Hit
Healtheon/WebMD (HLTH) rose 1 5/8 to 56 5/8 after it said it is buying Medical Manager (MMGR) , a provider of physician practice management (PPM) systems, and its publicly traded subsidiary CarInsite (CARI) .
Medical Manager jumped 21 3/4, or 33.5%, to 86 3/4 while CareInsite gained 4 1/8, or 6.1%, to 72. Under terms of the deal, Healtheon/WebMD will pay 1.65 shares, or $90.75 a share, for a total of $3.2 billion in stock, for Medical Manager, and 1.3 shares, or $71.50 a share for CareInsite shares not owned by Medical Manager. Medical Manager owns 69% of CareInsite.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
Diversa
(DVSA)
soared 51, or 212.5%, to 75 in its trading debut.
Bear Stearns
priced 7.25 million shares above range at $24 each. Diversa collects genetic material from organisms and stores genes in DNA libraries.
For more on Diversa's
debut see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
Amerada Hess
(AHC) - Get Report
rose 5/8 to 48 7/8 after it said it will pay $168 million for the 51% of
Meadville
stock it does not already own. The purchase includes 178 gas stations.
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
lost 3/16 to 48 7/16 after it agreed to purchase all the outstanding shares of
GRCI International
(GRH)
for roughly $221 million. GRCI gained 1 7/16, or 10.8%, to 14 13/16.
Separately, H. Eugene Lockhart, head of AT&T's shrinking $22 billion consumer business, will leave the long-distance company after one year to join a small start-up company.
Computer Associates
(CA) - Get Report
fell 7/16 to 69 5/16 after it said it is buying
Sterling Software
(SSW) - Get Report
. Sterling Software rose 1 7/8, or 5.4%, to 36 5/16. Under the terms of the deal, a unit of Computer Associates will begin an offer to swap 0.5634 shares of Computer Associates stock for each outstanding share of Sterling. The exchange ratio is subject to a collar.
If the average price of Computer Associates for the period designated prior to the closing of the offer is greater than $77.12, the exchange ratio will be reduced so that each Sterling share tendered in the offer would be exchanged for $43.45 worth of Computer Associates stock. If the average price of Computer Associates shares for the period is less than $63.10, the exchange ratio will be bumped up so each Sterling share tendered in the offer will be exchanged for $35.55 worth of Computer Associates stock. In that case, Computer Associates may elect to cut the exchange ratio and make up the difference in cash and or stock.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
CMGI
(CMGI)
gained 3 7/16 to 115 1/2 after saying it will buy
Tallan
for $920 million in stock and cash. Tallan provides Internet and e-commerce professional services. CMGI said the purchase will grow its billable resources by 350% and expects the deal to close by May.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
Corning
(GLW) - Get Report
had a busy day. The shares jumped 12 1/4, or 7.4%, to 178 after the company said it will buy
NetOptix
(OPTX)
for about $2 billion in stock. Corning will swap 0.9 of its shares for each NetOptix share and said the deal will be mildly dilutive in 2000 and accretive in 2001. NetOptix popped 20, or 14.7%, to 156.
Corning also said it formed an equity venture named Samsung Corning Micro-Optics. And
British Telecommunications
(BTY)
said it agreed to a $62 million deal to license its photonics technology to Corning. British Telecommunications fell 2 to 161.
See the separate
story from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom for more details.
Dealtime.com
, an independent online comparison shopping service, said it has secured $50 million in financing, including some from merger partners
Time Warner
(TWX)
and
America Online
(AOL)
. Time Warner fell 7/8 to 82 3/4 while AOL lost 1 1/2 to 55 3/4.
Entergy
(ETR) - Get Report
added 3/8 to 23 1/2 after it agreed to buy two New York power authority nuclear plants. The company agreed to pay $638 million over seven years, plus $168 million for fuel.
Ford
(F) - Get Report
added 15/16 to 47 1/16 and
General Motors
(GM) - Get Report
gained 1 5/16 to 75 1/4 after
The Wall Street Journal
reported the two are set to enter a bidding war over
Daewoo Motor
, an insolvent South Korean car maker.
DaimlerChrysler
(DCX)
is also considering making a move, the story said. DaimlerChrysler rose 1 13/16 to 65 3/4. The successful bidder will have the potential to be the world's biggest automaker.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
NiSource
(NI) - Get Report
was unchanged at 17 7/16 after it said its tender for
Columbia Energy
(CG) - Get Report
is not being extended. Columbia gained 5/8 to 64 9/16. NiSource said 58.6% of Columbia's shares had been tendered at the expiration.
Nortel
(NT)
. rose 1 7/8 to 120 1/2 after it said it will invest $260 million in its optical networking business and create 3,400 new jobs globally. Nortel also announced a broad patent cross-licensing agreement with
Tellabs
(TLAB)
, under which the companies will have rights to each other's patent portfolios. Tellabs was unchanged at 60 9/16.
Occidental Petroleum
(OXY) - Get Report
lost 1 1/4, or 6.8%, to 17 1/4 after it won an auction for
Altura Energy
, a U.S. oil exploration joint venture of
BP Amoco
(BPA)
and
Shell Oil
, with a bid of more than $3.5 billion. BP Amoco rose 13/16 to 47 7/16.
Apollo Management
,
The Yucaipa Companies
,
Pequot Capital Management
and
GRP II
are investing a total of $120 million in
Peapod
(PPOD)
, an Internet grocer. Peapod slipped 1 1/16, or 9.7%, to 9 15/16 despite the news.
Phone.com
(PHCM)
lost 2 5/8 to 118 1/2 after it said it will buy
OneBox.com
for $850 million in stock. OneBox.com shareholders will get 6.5 million Phone.com shares.
Russ Berrie
(RUS)
shed 5 7/8, or 24.4%, to 18 1/4 after it said that it has ended negotiations for a possible sale of the company to
Evercore Partners
for $27 a share. Evercore had offered to buy all of Russ Berrie's outstanding stock, except the shares held by the company's chairman and CEO.
Starbucks
(SBUX) - Get Report
climbed 1 1/8 to 34 after it set a five-year pact with
Kozmo.com
, an "Internet-to-door delivery service," under which Starbucks will receive $150 million from Kozmo.com for in-store exposure and co-marketing. Kozmo.com said the deal with Starbucks will help its planned expansion into new markets around the country. Kozmo.com currently has operations in New York City; Boston; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco and Seattle.
Teligent
(TGNT)
tacked on 2 to 82 1/2 after it set a deal with
Mannesmann Arcor
, the telecommunications unit of industrial powerhouse
Mannesmann
(MNNSY)
, to offer fixed wireless communications services in Germany.
Texaco
(TX) - Get Report
rose 13/16 to 49 1/8 after it and
TradeCapture.com
set a strategic pact for the global trading of energy commodities. Texaco will take a minority equity stake in TradeCapture.com and use its Internet-based trading platform for its crude oil and refined products trading activities.
United Technologies
(UTX) - Get Report
rose 1 15/16 to 50 5/16 ,
Honeywell
(HON) - Get Report
rose 1 1/4 to 43 1/2 and
i2 Technologies
(ITWO)
hopped 19 1/8, or 7.9%, to 259 7/8 after the companies announced plans to launch
MyAircraft.com
, a joint venture devoted to developing and operating an open electronic marketplace for aerospace products and services available to all industry players.
World Access
(WAXS)
lost 1 1/8 to 21 3/4 and
Star Telecommunications
(STRX)
gained 3/4, or 12.5%, to 6 3/4 after the companies agreed to merge in a deal that could be worth about $523 million. World Access also agreed to acquire privately held
Communication Telesystems International
for about 31 million shares, or about $709 million.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(
Earnings estimates from First Call; new highs and lows on a closing basis unless otherwise specified. Earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.
)
Formula Systems
(FORTY) - Get Report
gained 7 3/16, or 10.7%, to 74 3/16 after it said it expects to post fourth-quarter earnings above the two-analyst estimate of 50 cents a share.
International Home Foods
(IHF) - Get Report
rose 3/16 to 16 7/16 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 43 cents a share, a penny ahead of the six-analyst estimate and the year-ago 33 cents.
JDN Realty
(JDN)
dropped 6 3/4, or 40.8%, to 9 13/16 after it said it discovered millions of dollars in undisclosed compensation arrangements in real estate transactions between 1994 to 1998. The compensation arrangements were inaccurately recorded and the company will be required to restate its financial results for those years.
The inaccuracies may cause a credit default as the company breached nonfinancial and nonoperating covenants in its credit facility, though it is discussing a waiver with banks. JDN said CEO J. Donald Nichols and directors Jeb L. Hughes and C. Sheldon Whittelsey IV resigned effective immediately.
Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette
cut JDN to underperform from buy.
Lear
(LEA) - Get Report
lifted 1 1/4, or 5.5%, to 24 after it reported fourth-quarter operating net income of $1.36 a share, 3 cents ahead of the
First Call/Thomson Financial
19-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago $1.09.
Lear CEO Kenneth Way said the company was comfortable with 2000 earnings estimates of $4.48 a share compared with 1999 profit of $3.76.
Maytag
(MYG)
tumbled 3 7/8, or 10.7%, to 32 1/2 after it said first-quarter earnings could be off 10% from the year-ago 95 cents per share. Maytag said it sees full-year results within the lower end of the $3.80 to $4.00 range.
The current nine-analyst estimate calls for $3.91 a share.
Salomon Smith Barney
cut Maytag to neutral from outperform and dropped its price target to 40 from 50, and lowered its earnings per share estimate on the stock.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
Tickets.com
(TIXX)
slipped 1/2 to 15 5/8 after it reported a fourth-quarter pro forma loss of 45 cents a share, narrower than the three-analyst expected loss of 59 cents a share.
Offerings and stock actions
Anheuser-Busch
(BUD) - Get Report
lost 2 15/16 to 62 1/8 after it said it would buy back some of its shares after the stock hit a 14-month low during today's trading session.
Dana
(DCN)
gained 2 1/16, or 9.8%, to 23 1/16 after it said it added $250 million in stock to its current share repurchasing program.
The
Nasdaq Stock Market
said the board of
Nasdaq Investment Product Services
, the sponsor of the
Nasdaq 100 Trust
(QQQ) - Get Report
approved a 2-for-1 stock split. The payment date for the split will be March 17, payable to stockholders of record on Feb. 28.
See the separate
story from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom for more details. Nasdaq 100 Trust lost 1 19/32 to 198 5/32.
Strattec
(STRT) - Get Report
set an additional 500,000 share repurchase, or 10% of its stock. Strattec added 1 5/8 to 35 1/2.
Symbol Technologies
(SBL)
said it set a 3-for-2 stock split. Symbol Technologies gained 2 5/16 to 79 3/4.
Xoma
(XOMA) - Get Report
said it sold 6.1 million common shares in a private placement offering. Xoma tacked on 5/8, or 8.9%, to 7 5/8.
Analyst actions
Warburg Dillon Read
upgraded
Accredo
(ACDO)
to strong buy from buy. Accredo edged up 9/16 to 32 7/8.
Goldman Sachs
upped
Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) - Get Report
to market outperform. Advanced Micro Devices skidded 2 1/4 to 43 1/4.
Lehman Brothers
raised its rating on
Alcatel
(ALA)
to outperform from neutral. Alcatel declined 1/16 to 54.
ING Barings
raised
American Airlines
parent
AMR
(AMR)
to strong buy from buy. AMR lifted 9/16 to 54.
Deutsche Banc Alex Brown
cut
Banco Rio de la Plata
(BRS) - Get Report
to market perform from buy. Banco Rio de la Plata was unchanged at 14 1/8.
Wit Soundview
upped its price target on
Brocade Communications
(BRCD)
to 300 from 195. Brocade Communications jumped 17, or 8.2%, to 222.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
analyst Mary Meeker resumed coverage of
Chemdex
(CMDX)
with an outperform rating.
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray
initiated coverage with a buy rating.
Bank of America Securities
said it upped Chemdex to strong buy from buy and raised its price target to 175 from 130. Chemdex edged up 1/2 to 125 1/2.
PaineWebber
upped its price target on
Digex
(DIGX)
to 130 from 100. Digex hopped 9 15/16, or 10.4%, to 104 15/16.
Warburg downgraded
Enzon
(ENZN)
to hold from buy. Enzon slid 6 3/16, or 11.9%, to 45 3/4.
PaineWebber
raised
FleetBoston
(FBF)
to buy from neutral. FleetBoston mounted 1/4 to 27 7/8.
Merrill Lynch
initiated coverage of
A.J. Gallagher
(AJG) - Get Report
with an intermediate-term accumulate rating.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom. A.J. Gallagher declined 13/16 to 53 7/16.
Banc of America
rolled out coverage of
ImageX.com
(IMGX)
with a buy rating and a price target of 35.
SG Cowen
also started coverage of the stock with a strong buy rating and a price target of 56. ImageX.com advanced 1/4 to 24 3/4.
Goldman Sachs
cut its 2000 earnings estimate on
Micron Tech
(MU) - Get Report
to $3.75 from $4.00 a share. Micron Tech stumbled 3 3/8 to 67 3/4.
ING Barings started coverage of
Molecular Devices
(MDCC)
with a strong buy rating and a 12-month price target of $100 a share. Molecular Devices soared 30, or 58.5%, to 81 1/4.
Goldman raised its 2000 earnings estimates on
Monsanto
by 15 cents to $1.30
(MTC) - Get Report
. But analyst Avi Nash also lowered the firm's 2001 EPS estimate to $1.60 from $1.75. Monsanto skidded 3/4 to 39 11/16.
Warburg Dillon Read
initiated coverage of
Mpower Communications
(MPWR) - Get Report
with a buy rating and a price target of 90. Mpower Communications gained 1 to 69 13/16.
Joe Battipaglia,
Gruntal's
chief investment strategist said he raised his year-end 2000 target on the
Nasdaq Composite Index
to 5000, citing impressive growth among companies in the tech-heavy index.
Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette
analyst Thomas Galvin added
Nokia
(NOK) - Get Report
and
IXnet
(EXNT)
to its focus list. Nokia lost 3 1/4 to 193 3/4 and Ixnet bounced 5 11/16, or 13.7%, to 47 1/16.
Warburg initiated coverage of
Priority Healthcare
(PHCC)
with a strong buy rating. Priority Healthcare climbed 2 7/16, or 8.1%, to 32 7/16.
Merrill Lynch cut its rating on
Terra Networks
(TRRA)
to accumulate from buy but kept a long-term buy rating on the stock. Terra popped 3 1/2 to 135 1/2.
Warburg initiated coverage of
Trizetto Group
(TZIX)
with a buy rating. Trizetto Group mounted 5, or 7.8%, to 69.
Banc of America Securities
upgraded
Trammell Crow
(TCC)
to strong buy from buy on valuation. Trammell Crow lifted 1 7/8, or 17.4%, to 12 5/8.
U.S. Bancorp
started coverage of
VerticalNet
(VERT)
with a strong buy rating and a price target of 290. VerticalNet tumbled 10 1/2 to 202 1/2.
PaineWebber raised
Xerox
(XRX) - Get Report
to attractive from neutral. Xerox tacked on 1 13/16, or 8.9%, to 22 1/16.
Merrill reiterated a buy, and raised its price target on
Xilinx
(XLNX) - Get Report
to 70 from 62. Xilinx popped 5, or 8.7%, to 61 15/16.
Wit Soundview rolled out coverage of
Xtal Technology
(AXTI) - Get Report
with a buy rating and set a price target of 50. Xtal Technology flew up 7 3/16, or 22.5%, to 39 1/8.
Miscellany
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
said its
OptiPlexGX300
, which uses
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
memory chips made with
Rambus
(RMBS) - Get Report
technology is ready to hit the shelves. The desktop PC, which includes Intel's 820 chips set and Rambus's RDRAM, faced delays after Intel found bugs in the technology. Dell slid 7/16 to 36 7/16 and Intel bounced 4 to 109 7/8, while Rambus shot up 23 3/16, or 26.2%, to 111 7/16.
Merrill Lynch
(MER)
named Thomas Patrick CFO. In addition, John Steffens was named chairman of the brokerage titan's U.S. private client group. Merrill Lynch shed 1 to 90 3/8.
Switzerland's price regulator said he was launching an investigation into
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
software prices after an initial probe backed complaints from consumer groups that they were paying too much. Microsoft stumbled 5/16 to 99 5/8.
Rupert Murdoch is planning to consolidate
News Corp.'s
(NWS) - Get Report
global satellite operations and investments into a new public company, the
Journal
reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The move comes in response to criticism the company lacks a digital strategy, the story said.
For more on this
story see the coverage from
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom. News Corp slipped 3/4 to 56 1/4.
Rent-Way
(RWY)
lifted 1, or 6.2%, to 17 after it said it would open 400 new stores within the next three or four years. The company said it has agreed to 20 new leases this quarter.
The Heard on the Street column in the
Journal
says shares of Steve Wynn's
Mirage Resorts
(MIR)
are down more than 50% from their 52-week high in May. According to the story, Wynn's lack of good communication with Wall Street analysts hasn't done any favors for Mirage's share price.
At times, Wynn has insulted and chastised his investors and withheld key information about hotel operations, the story says. Musing on the analysts who cover Mirage, Wynn is quoted as saying, "I was surprised ... They were dumber than I thought." Mirage edged up 1/4 to 11 13/16.
