Stock Reports Friday

jjgold · 10-31-2003, 11:14 AM

08:17 ET Digital Theater Systems files for 4.5 mln share offering (DTSI) 29.91: The offering will consist of 1.5 mln newly issued shares to be offered by the Company and 3 mln shares to be offered by selling stockholders. (Briefing.com note: DTSI came public in July of this yr in an IPO priced at $17).
08:14 ET CL upgraded at Morgan Stanley 51.62: Morgan Stanley upgrades to Overweight from Equal-Weight, saying valuation looks compelling as CL discounts an unrealistically pessimistic scenario for North America; firm believes the co's business is not broken, global competitive advantages remain intact, and the pipeline is strong, and they see opportunities for continued steady growth and believe that North America should improve sequentially over each of the next 4 quarters. Target is $66.
08:12 ET ZLC upgraded at Goldman Sachs 48.85: Goldman Sachs upgrades to Outperform from In−Line and raises their FY04 est well above consensus based on: 1) accretive share buybacks, 2) building mall momentum and stronger jewelry sales could drive better top−line, yielding further EPS upside, 3) increased direct sourcing could yield 200 bp gross margin improvement over the next 3−5 yrs, and 4) value concept test could capitalize on secular shift away from the mall.
08:05 ET Anadarko Petro beats, ex items, guides, increases dividend (APC) 42.85: Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.46 per share, $0.29 better than the Reuters Research consensus of $1.17; revenues rose 42.9% year/year to $1.34 bln vs the $1.24 bln consensus. Company sees Q4 EPS of $1.10 vs consensus of $1.17. For Y03 EPS of $5.00 vs consensus of $2.05. Company also annoucned a 40% increase in its declared quarterly dividends.
08:04 ET Reliant Resources reaffirms Y03 EPS guidance (RRI) 5.05: Company reaffirms adjusted Y03 EPS from continuing operations of $0.10 (ex items), excluding goodwill impairment charge and charge related to the FERC settlement; the Reuters Research consensus is $0.20 while the First Call consensus is $0.17.
08:04 ET LIZ upgraded at Merrill Lynch 36.60: Merrill Lynch upgrades to Buy from Neutral, as firm thinks the sell-off following the co's Sept results represents a buying opportunity and that imminent acquisition(s) and cleaner sellthroughs into Spring will present upside to mgmt's CY04 EPS outlook. Target is $43.
08:03 ET CI upgraded to Buy from Hold at Smith Barney; tgt $61 47.97: Firm cites improved outlook for core Health segment; recommends that value-oriented investors swap into CI from AET.
08:01 ET S&P futures vs fair value: +1.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.0. Looks like a slightly higher open for the cash market... Last night's mostly better than expected earnings reports, combined with the slight gains on the European bourses, has supported the positive tone in the futures market.
08:00 ET LM Ericsson estimates raised at Wells Fargo, but reiterates Sell rating (ERICY) 17.60: Wells Fargo is raising its FY03 and FY04 EPS estimates for ERICY fairly dramitically. For FY03 and FY04, estimates go from ($0.48) and ($0.09), respectively, to ($0.23) and $0.10. Firm is reiterating its Sell rating and price target of $5.50.

jjgold · 10-31-2003, 02:29 PM

11:30 ET Dow +20, Nasdaq +0.07, S&P +3.41: [BRIEFING.COM] Stock market dips a bit lower, but holds tight to the morning's trading range... Drug, brokerage, cyclicals, and oil service continue to show relative strength to the broader market, and prop the indices above the unchanged mark... The latter has chalked up gains greater than 1% following ChevronTexaco's (CVX 73.50 +1.74) better than expected Q3 (Sept) report... The integrated oil & gas company delivered an EPS upside of $0.25 owing, in part, to its upsteam business benefiting from higher oil and natural gas prices... Elsewhere, the treasury market has enjoyed a solid bid today in a bit of a bounce from yesterday's early drubbing off the strong Q3 advanced GDP figure... NYSE Adv/Dec 1708/1265... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1407/1473.

11:00 ET Dow +31, Nasdaq +2, S&P +4.07: [BRIEFING.COM] Indices continue to trade in lackluster fashion with little in the way of news to drive the action... Although a number of economic reports were released this morning, most of them checked in in line with the consensus expectation and carried - compared to yesterday's advanced Q3 GDP figure - little market-moving influence... This week's rush of earnings reports has left the investment community exhausted, and such ennui has manifested itself in the morning's trading activity... Nonetheless, a positive bias has still prevailed in the action, reflecting the strong corporate profit growth seen in the September quarter, and the still bullish technical stance of the market... NYSE Adv/Dec 1619/1270... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1372/1427.

10:30 ET Dow +19, Nasdaq +3, S&P +0.39: [BRIEFING.COM] Equities sink lower despite the roughly in line October Chicago PMI Index... The regional manufacturing report rebounded to 55.0 (consensus of 55.4) after the 7.7 point drop in September to 51.2... Key components of the index reflect the solid pace of activity with production rising to 62, new orders increasing to 59.2, and employment improving to 53.1... Despite this, the major indices have taken a turn for the worse with the Nasdaq nearing the flat line... A reversal in the semiconductor index has dragged the Composite lower, and weighed heavily on sentiment... NYSE Adv/Dec 1816/958... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1392/1253.

jjgold · 10-31-2003, 03:58 PM

13:00 ET Dow +25, Nasdaq -1, S&P +3.74: [BRIEFING.COM] Stock market slips somewhat lower as buyers remain a rather unenthusiastic group... The light earnings calendar, along with the dearth of analyst commentary on leading industry names, has only compounded the malaise of the day... Next weeh, quarterly earnings releases will drop off from this week's fast pace, with the major reports being Cisco Systems (CSCO 20.91 +0.05) and Qualcomm (QCOM 47.58 -0.44) after the close on Wednesday... The economic calendar is actually fairly heavy, with the headlining report being the October employment report on Friday... Investors will be looking to see if nonfarm payrolls grow for a second month in a row... NYSE Adv/Dec 1881/1416... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1442/1564.

12:30 ET Dow +26, Nasdaq +1, S&P +4.09: [BRIEFING.COM] The major indices continue to trade just above the unchanged mark, with the blue chip averages outperforming the Nasdaq on a relative basis... The negative showing in the semiconductor sector has prevented the tech-heavy Composite from catching up with the Dow and S&P 500... Biotech, networking, and other components that are heavily represented on the Nasdaq have all tacked up gains today... As for the blue chips, they have benefited from an uptick in the financial sector that has positioned the S&P 500, specifically, close to its October high at 1053... NYSE Adv/Dec 1799/1273... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1562/1421.

jjgold · 10-31-2003, 04:38 PM

13:30 ET Dow +19, Nasdaq -0.07, S&P +3.53: [BRIEFING.COM] Stock market continues to run in place in modestly higher territory... Industry leadership remains split, with the influential financial sector exhibiting some upside against an otherwise weak showing in the semiconductor group... Without definitive leadership in one direction, the market has held - and looks poised to continue doing so - to a narrow range... One area that has managed a decent move has been the managed care stocks... Smith Barney upgraded Cigna (CI 56.65 +8.68) to Buy from Hold citing an improved outlook for the core health segment... The company exceeded the EPS consensus estimate by $0.28 in its Q3 (Sept) report yesterday, due in part to "business improvement and expense control initiatives implemented in CIGNA HealthCare"... NYSE Adv/Dec 1698/1407... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1471/1570.

13:00 ET Dow +25, Nasdaq -1, S&P +3.74: [BRIEFING.COM] Stock market slips somewhat lower as buyers remain a rather unenthusiastic group... The light earnings calendar, along with the dearth of analyst commentary on leading industry names, has only compounded the malaise of the day... Next week, quarterly earnings releases will drop off from this week's fast pace, with the major reports being Cisco Systems (CSCO 20.91 +0.05) and Qualcomm (QCOM 47.58 -0.44) after the close on Wednesday... The economic calendar is actually fairly heavy, with the headlining report being the October employment report on Friday... Investors will be looking to see if nonfarm payrolls grow for a second month in a row... NYSE Adv/Dec 1881/1416... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1442/1564

jjgold · 10-31-2003, 06:04 PM

:00PM: Stock market slides lower as the indices enter their final hour of regular session trading... Choppy trading activity has predominated today's action as buyers and sellers alike have not shown much enthusiasm... Semiconductor continues to be a key laggard that has undercut the broader market... Other pockets of technology, such as telecom, internet, hardware, software, and networking have also traded lower... The blue chip issues have fared comparatively better, with retail, banking, drug, and oil service putting up decent gains for the session...

jjgold · 10-31-2003, 07:14 PM

Close: The prospect of Halloween apparently spooked buyers and sellers alike out of the market as the indices made little headway from the unchanged mark... The inertia on the part of the market was largely the result of the strong run-up it had experienced this week - buyers were simply unwilling to bid stocks any higher with the indices trading near the top of their October trading ranges... Nonetheless, the blue chip averages were successful in putting up some gains today with most sectors finishing higher and most economic reports coming in roughly in line with the consensus expectation...
The October Chicago PMI Index increased to 55.0 (consensus of 55.4) from 51.2 in September thanks to strong rises in the production, new orders, and employment components... September Personal Income and Spending also checked in at +0.3% (consensus of +0.2%) and -0.3% (consensus of -0.1%), respectively, while the revision to October Michigan Sentiment went up to 89.6 (consensus of 89.5) from 89.4... Some consumer-oriented issues got a lift from the data, with retail and footwear moving higher... Brokerage, managed care, and oil service also marched higher ahead of the broader market...

The latter saw its gains occur off of ChevronTexaco's (CVX 74.46 +2.70) better than expected Q3 (Sept) report... Elsewhere, most technology shares traded lower, and precipitated the Nasdaq's slightly lower close... Semiconductor, internet, computer hardware, and internet all posted losses for the session