Midday Movers: Tommy (Can You Hear Me) Hilfiger Floundering and Gene (Genie) Logic Struggling
Charles Schwab
(SCH)
fell 1 5/8 to 35 15/16 and
U.S. Trust
(UTC)
popped 39 3/8, or 49.9%, to 118 1/2 after the companies said they have agreed to merge in a stock deal valued at $2.7 billion. According to the terms, U.S. Trust shareholders would get 3.427 shares of Schwab per each U.S. Trust share.
The two companies said the merger would qualify as a pooling of interest for accounting treatment. Schwab said the merged company would have had 1999 revenue totaling $4.5 billion and income of $663 million. Schwab said it expects the acquisition to boost earnings by 4% on a per-share basis in 2000 before synergies take place.
For additional coverage of the
merger, check out a separate story from the
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
joint newsroom.
Separately, U.S. Trust posted third-quarter earnings of 96 cents a share, beating the eight-analyst estimate of 92 cents and up from the year-ago 76 cents.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
BP Amoco
(BPA)
inched up 3/8 to 56 15/16 after it decided to force the hand of the
Federal Trade Commission
TheStreet Recommends
over its planned takeover of
Atlantic Richfield
(ARC) - Get ARC Document Solutions Inc. Report
, triggering a 20-day regulatory period after which the U.S. antitrust body must decide whether to go to court to block the deal. Shares of ARCO slipped 1/2 to 76 7/16.
Applied Materials
(AMAT) - Get Applied Materials Inc. Report
lost 4 7/8 to 122 1/4 after it said that it would acquire
Etec Systems
(ETEC)
in a stock swap worth $1.77 billion based on the companies' value at the close of trading Wednesday. Shares of Etec soared 31 5/16, or 73.4%, to 74.
In an announcement after the markets closed, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based supplier of semiconductor parts and services said it would exchange 0.649 of a share for each Etec share.
Cypress Group
said it has agreed to pay $100 million for the majority of
Hannaford's
(HRD)
Internet grocery division. Shares of Hannaford inched up 1/16 to 69 3/4.
DoubleClick
(DCLK)
tacked on 1 9/16 to 109 25/32 after it said it has taken a 30% interest in closely held
ValueClick
, which charges advertising fees depending on the number of times a user opens an ad on a Web page.
According to the terms of the deal, ValueClick will get $75 million in DoubleClick stock and $10 million in cash. The two companies would combine technology, which would enable Web publishers to post ads that automatically target the viewer.
For more on this
story, check out a separate story from the
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
joint newsroom.
Ericsson
(ERICY)
gained 1 1/16 to 63 after it said it has entered a pact with
Extended Systems
(XTND)
to improve the transmission of information between mobile phones and computers. Shares of Extended Systems jumped 8 1/4, or 18.6%, to 53 1/4. Ericsson said Extended would lend its
XTNDConnect
PC mobile data synchronization and management software to certain Ericsson mobile phones.
NBC Internet
(NBCI)
jumped 3 7/16 to 78 1/2 after it said it agreed to a deal with
Asiacontent.com
to roll out an Asian Internet service. NBC Internet, which would hold a 35% interest in the venture, said that the service would be started in Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. NBC Internet said it has an option to boost its interest to 60% and plans to start Internet services in other Asian markets in the months ahead.
Lockheed Martin
(LMT) - Get Lockheed Martin Corporation Report
lost 5/16 to 20 7/8 after it said it received a $172 million undersea systems pact from the
U.S. Navy
.
Wells Fargo
(WFC) - Get Wells Fargo & Company Report
gained 2, or 5.2%, to 40 5/16 after it said after yesterday's close that it signed a definitive merger agreement with
National Bancorp of Alaska
(NBAK)
, Alaska's largest bank, for a stock deal worth about $907 million. Shares of NBAK were rising 3/4 to 28 3/4.Under the deal, National Bancorp of Alaska shareholders will receive $30 a share worth of Wells Fargo stock. The companies announced their intent to merge three weeks ago.
During a special meeting,
Royal Bank of Scotland
shareholders favored the bank's offer for
NatWest Group
(NW)
, 488 million votes to 5.9 million. Shares of NatWest rose 9/16 to 121 9/16.
Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(
Earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.
)
PNC Bank
(PNC) - Get PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (The) Report
rose 1 5/8 to 43 5/8 after it posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.01 a share, in line with the 22-analyst estimate, and up from the year-ago 92 cents a share.
Tommy Hilfiger
(TOM)
lost 3 3/16, or 16.6%, to 16 after it warned investors it expects to post third-quarter earnings of between 58 cents to 64 cents a share, greatly missing the 14 analyst estimate of 73 cents but possibly exceeding the year-ago 61 cent profit. The company is blaming pricing pressure for the disappointing outlook.
Tommy is forecasting fourth-quarter earnings between 35 cents to 45 cents a share, also missing the 13-analyst estimate of 58 cents.
For more on the tune of Tommy's
earnings, check out a separate story from the
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
joint newsroom.
ATI Technologies
(ATYT)
lost 3/4, or 5.2%, to 13 5/8 after it posted first-quarter earnings of 25 cents a share, in line with the eight analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 2 cent-profit.
Blackrock
(BLK) - Get BlackRock Inc. Report
fell 1/8 to 17 after it posted fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share, in line with the five-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 24 cents.
Chicago Title
(CTZ) - Get Qwest Corp 6 5/8 % Notes 2015-15.9.55 Report
inched up 1/16 to 45 3/4 after it said it would report fourth-quarter earnings of roughly $1.25 a share, beating the two analyst estimate of $1.05 per share.
Omnova
(OMN) - Get OMNOVA Solutions Inc. Report
lost 1/8 to 7 3/8 after it posted third-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, missing the two analyst-estimate of 21 cents and down from the year-ago 34 cents.
Rational Software
(RATL)
gained 4, or 7.8%, to 55 3/4 after it reported third-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share, beating the 10 analyst estimate of 24 cents and the year-ago 20 cents.
Credit Suisse First Boston
upped its price target on Rational to 71 from 52.
UAL
(UAL) - Get United Airlines Holdings Inc. Report
dropped 8 15/16, or 12%, to 65 13/16 after its
United Airlines
unit forecast its fiscal 2000 fully distributed earnings per share at between $7 and $9. United said its cost-control program would not offset increased wages and rising fuel prices, which have become challenges for the company. United said it expects revenue improvement in three out of four global regions. In a research note, Salomon Smith Barney described the reaction to UAL's announcement as "overdone" and said it presented an excellent buying opportunity.
For more on United's earnings
warning, check out the coverage provided by
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's
joint newsroom.
Separately, the company said it would launch an e-commerce division to increase Internet sales.
Offerings and stock actions
Gene Logic
(GLGC)
lost 4 1/16, or 13.7%, to 25 5/8 after it said it has filed with the
SEC
for a 3.5 million-share offering.
Infinity Broadcasting
(INF) - Get Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. Report
inched up 1/8 to 35 3/4 after it said it added $500 million of Class-A common shares to its current stock buyback.
Solectron
(SLR)
climbed 1 to 84 7/8 after it set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Analyst actions
Merrill Lynch
raised its intermediate-term rating on
Allied Capital
(ALLC)
to buy from accumulate. Allied Capital rose 1 1/16, or 6.5%, to 17 1/2.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
upgraded shares of
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Apple Inc. Report
to outperform from neutral. Apple popped 7, or 8%, to 94 5/16.
Warburg Dillon Read
initiated coverage of
Biomatrix
(BXM)
with a buy rating and set a price target of 32. Biomatrix gained 3/4 to 23 7/8.
Salomon Smith Barney
rolled out coverage of
Ciena
(CIEN) - Get Ciena Corporation Report
with a buy rating and a price target of 75. Shares gained 2 5/16 to 61 3/4.
ABN Amro
upped its price target on
Illinova
(ILN)
to 54 from 47. Shares rose 15/16 to 44 3/4.
J.P. Morgan upgraded shares of
IMC Global
(IGL)
to buy from long-term buy and set a price target of 25. IMC Global gained 1/2 to 18 1/2.
Credit Suisse First Boston raised its 12-month price target on
Kopin
(KOPN) - Get Kopin Corporation Report
to 60, and upped 2000 earning estimates to 47 cents from 40 cents a share. Kopin climbed 8 7/16, or 19.3%, to 52 3/16.
Goldman Sachs
said analyst May-Kin Ho widened his 2000 per-share loss view for gene manipulation company
Maxygen
(MAXY)
to 76 cents from a loss of 49 cents. Maxygen lost 1 7/16 to 78 1/4.
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown
initiated coverage of
OnDisplay
(ONDS)
with a buy rating. Shares gained 3 to 90 15/16.
J.P. Morgan raised its rating on
Potash
(POT)
to long-term buy with a price target of 65. Potash rose 1 11/16 to 58 5/16.
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of
Teligent
(TGNT)
with an outperform rating. Teligent inched up 3/16 to 59 1/4.
Salomon started coverage of
Sycamore Networks
(SCMR)
as an outperform and set a price target of 315. Sycamore lost 5 5/8 to 254 3/8 despite the news.
Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette
said analyst Kent Blair raised his earnings estimates on
Warner-Lambert
(WLA)
. Earnings for 1999 were raised to $1.94 from $1.93 per share, and 2000 estimates were upped to $2.34 from $2.30. Warner-Lambert inched up 3/16 to 87.
Miscellany
The
Justice Department
said
Chevron
(CHV)
will pay a $95 million civil fine to settle charges the firm underpaid royalties on crude oil drilled from federal and Indian leases. Chevron gained 1 7/16 to 88 3/16.
