Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Monday, February 13, 2006
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PAUL KANGAS: Stocks on Wall Street spent the morning mostly lower, especially the tech sector as Google fell on a bearish cover story in "Baron`s Financial" magazine. The blue chip sell off was cushioned however by lower oil prices. At midday the Dow was off 12 points; NASDAQ down 16.
Growing nervousness over incoming Fed chief Bernanke`s congressional testimony on Wednesday sent the Dow down over 60 points in mid-afternoon, but some late buying trimmed the losses. So the Dow Industrial Average closed off only 26 3/4 points at 10,892.32. The NASDAQ Composite down just over 22 points at 2239.81. Standard & Poor`s 500 down 4.13, ending at 1262.86. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note edged up 3/32 to 99 12/32, putting the yield at 4.58 percent.
Big board volume leader on 16.1 million shares, Lucent Technology (LU) edging a penny higher.
And then Pfizer (PFE) losing a dime, stock weak after forecasting slightly lower 2006 earnings late last week.
Time Warner (TWX) dropped a nickel.
General Electric (GE) $0.03 loss there.
AT&T (T) bucking that trend, up $0.17, fifth in volume.
$0.17 gain in ExxonMobil (XOM) as well.
Chesapeake Energy (CHK) was down $0.94. The company`s president and chief exec Tom Ward is stepping down after 20 years with the firm. But he will remain as a consultant for a while.
Valero Energy (VLO) no change.
The Ishares Japan (EWJ) down $0.29.
Nortel Networks (NT) moved a penny higher, tenth in big board volume.
Merrill Lynch (MER) up $1.04. As you just heard, Merrill may take a big stake in Blackrock, maybe up to $8 billion worth and interestingly, PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) did very well, up $2.01 and traded as high as $58.30. PNC owns a 70 percent stake in Blackrock and would profit if Merrill invests $8 billion or so, no question about that.
Genentech (DNA) down $1.95. The company and its partner Roche Holdings have suspended phase III trial recruitment for their colon cancer drug Avastin. That`s occurring after the deaths of four patients that were taking that product.
Harmony Gold Mining Co (HMY) down $1.32. The South African gold company cut its second quarter loss to only $0.75 a share from $0.86 a year ago. That was in the first quarter, I should say not a year ago first quarter. The Street was actually looking for a $0.12 profit however, and of course in New York today, April gold fell $11.40 an ounce, all the way down to $542.10 an ounce.
Bedford Property Investors (BED) up $2.37. An affiliate of LBA Realty will acquire this company for $27.21 a share cash.
W.R. Berkley (BER), this is an insurance holding company, up $3.18. The company came in with fourth quarter operating earnings of $1.23, $0.19 above the Street estimate, way up from $0.86 last year and revenues up a respectable 14 percent.
American Financial Group (AFG) up $1.63. Fourth quarter earnings came in at $1.11, $0.13 above the Street estimate. The company boosted its 2006 earnings guidance from the Street estimate of $4.08 a share to as much as $4.20 a share.
And then US Airways Group (LCC) doing well, up $1.17. Lehman Brothers upgraded it to "over weight," also boosted its 2006 earnings estimate from $2.70 to $3.96 a share and on top of that, boosted its price target by $2 to $40 a share.
There you see Google (GOOG) topping the NASDAQ active, plunging $16.91. The cover story in this week`s "Baron`s Financial" says the stock could lose over 50 percent of its value this year because of tough competition and ad pricing pressures.
Apple Computer (AAPL) down $2.60.
$0.16 drop in Intel (INTC).
Microsoft (MSFT) fell $0.30, but Microsoft and several wireless carriers are reportedly ramping up efforts for new products that give customers easy access to e-mail. The smart phone devices are a low-cost alternative to Research in Motion`s Blackberry device and shares in Research in Motion fell $1.72 to $68.35.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) down $0.21, fifth in dollar volume.
Yahoo! (YHOO) fell $0.47.
Dell (DELL) dropping $0.22.
Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) off $3.82.
Oracle (ORCL) a $0.20.
And Applied Materials (AMAT) dropped a dime, tenth in volume.
AC Moore Arts & Crafts (ACMR) up $2.02. Oppenheimer says the retirement of its CEO Jack Parker may prompt the sale of the company or make it more likely, upgraded it from "hold" to a "buy" apparently on that basis.
And over on the American Exchange, Universal Security Instruments (UUU) up $2.97. The company in with third quarter earnings of $0.80, way up from $0.45 a year ago, sales up 26 percent.
Those are the stocks in the news tonight.
