Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Monday, May 15, 2006
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JEFF YASTINE: On Wall Street today, a sell off, a big one in oil and metals and some late day bargain hunting managed to put the broader averages in rebound mode. The Dow traded in a choppy and narrow range throughout the session. The main drag was Alcoa, which fell 5 percent because big declines in metals and oil prices. Crude traded and closed under the $70 a barrel level. At midday, the Dow was 18 points higher. The NASDAQ hit an air pocket in afternoon trading, off 20 points at the lows of the session before rebounding into the close. So the Dow ended up 47 3/4 points to 11,428.77 and the NASDAQ Composite falling 5 1/4 points to 2238.52. And the S&P 500 index picking up 3 1/4 points to close at 1294 1/25 And in the bond market, the 10-year note rising 10/32 to 99 24/32, the yield at 5.16 percent.
It`s Lucent Tech (LU) topping our list gaining a nickel.
But shares in Target (TGT) retreating over $2. The retailer missing its profit estimates by a penny as the struggle with lower gross margins during the quarter. Target though did keep its full year earnings target intact.
Pfizer (PFE) gaining $0.39.
Time Warner (TWX) gaining $0.04.
General Electric (GE) up $0.28. And after the close, Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett disclosing that they now hold about 7.8 million shares of GE shares in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio.
ExxonMobil (XOM) ending off $0.20 in reaction to a pull back in oil prices. They fell over $2.50 a barrel to below $70 a barrel today.
EMC Corp (EMC) dropping $0.15.
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) gaining $0.89 and it reports earnings tomorrow.
And Nortel Networks (NT) shedding $0.07.
Taiwan Semi (TSM) losing $0.12.
Alcoa (AA) leading the pack of Dow stocks to the downside, falling $1.34 due to today`s sell off in the metals sector. By the way, we`re having some technical problems with their chart and that`s why you aren`t seeing the usual explanatory details at the bottom of the screen here.
And a run down of some of the other metals producers faring today, Newmont Mining (NEM) dropping nearly $2 as gold prices fell nearly $27 to $685 an ounce.
Phelps Dodge (PD) falling over $6.
A $0.20 loss in copper prices today and Titanium Metals (TIE) tumbling over $9. This one`s been a real hot flyer for months, off about 20 percent just in the past three sessions on heavy volume.
Another mining issue to tell you about, a quarterly loss for Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) which sank over $2. The company reporting a wider loss and also the government of Mongolia wants to institute a windfall profits tax on copper and gold mining operations in the country and that could hurt Ivanhoe. Another Dow stock doing poorly, Boeing (BA) tumbling $1 and change. After the close, the Justice Department and Boeing reached a settlement to Boeing`s defense contract violations. Boeing will pay $615 million to settle that case.
And Bausch & Lomb (BOL) looking better to investors now that the company says its pulling its Renu moisture lock contact lens solution from the market. It will no longer make that product, blamed for a particular eye infection in some users. The shares vaulting over $5.
And a merger to tell you about, American Retirement Corp (ACR) soaring over $7. An industry rival, Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) offering to acquire the company for $1.2 billion at $33 a share and here`s the reaction in Brookdale stock to that merger news, the stock bolting over $5 higher.
Turning over to the NASDAQ, Google (GOOG) advancing a little over $2.
Microsoft (MSFT) with a small gain. A lot of these didn`t look so bad when you consider the NASDAQ was down over 20 points at one point earlier today.
Apple Computer (AAPL) with a small gain.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) picking up $0.22.
Intel (INTC) with a $0.28 gain.
And then we have Hansen Natural (HANS) vaulting over $22, benefiting from an expanded distribution pact that it signed with Anheuser Busch.
Amgen (AMGN) gaining $1.72.
Qualcomm (QCOM) falling $0.36.
Dell (DELL) gained $0.33.
And a fractional gain for Broadcom (BRCM).
Escala Group (ESCL) rebounding nearly $5. Last week, Spanish authorities raided Escala`s largest shareholder in that country, Alfinsa. That was in a probe of the collectibles fraud market and Escala said today that no charges have been filed against it or any of Escala`s subsidiaries. In fact it`s sought to fire two of Alfinsa`s board members that sit on Escala`s board of directors.
Cambridge Antibody Tech Group (CATG) soaring over $9. Astra Zeneca is looking to buy the remainder of Cambridge Antibody that it doesn`t already own and paying a hefty premium of more than 60 percent to buy in those outstanding shares.
And First Avenue Networks (FRNS) jumping almost $4. The company merging with Fiber Tower, a private firm in an all-stock deal worth about $1.5 billion.
And finally SSA Global Tech (SSAG) climbing over $3. SSA`s merging with another firm, Infor, in a $1.3 billion buyout of SSA shares valued at about $19.50 each. Both companies are in the enterprise software sector.
Those are the stocks in the news tonight.
