From Briefing.com: 4:30PM KLA-Tencor announces results of tender offer to acquire ICOS Vision Systems for EUR36.50/share (KLAC) 44.53 -1.69 : Co announces the results of its tender offer to acquire I.C.O.S. Vision Systems. The acceptance period for the tender offer ended on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 4 p.m. (CT). At the close of the initial acceptance period for the takeover bid, 10,250,802 shares of I.C.O.S had been tendered, constituting 96.03% of the outstanding shares of ICOS. The shares tendered into the bid during this initial acceptance period are expected to be settled on May 30, 2008.
4:29PM Ascent Solar announces exercise of over-allotment option (ASTI) 14.83 +0.13 : The co announces that the underwriters of its public offering exercised their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 570,000 shares of its common stock at $14.00 per share, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions.
4:08PM LTX Corp beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (LTXX) 3.20 +0.00 : Reports Q3 (Apr) earnings of $0.03 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.02; revenues rose 26.7% year/year to $39.3 mln vs the $38.8 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.00-0.03 vs. $0.08 two analyst est; sees Q4 revs of $36-40 mln vs. $46.25 mln two analyst est. Co sees Q4 gross margin of approximately 51%.
4:06PM Hewlett-Packard reports Q2 in-line with preannouncement; reaffirms Q3 & FY08 guidance (HPQ) 46.46 -0.25 : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.87 per share in-line with company preannouncement of $0.87; revs fell 0.7% yr/yr to $28.3 bln. Co reaffirms guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.82-0.83, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.82 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $27.3-27.4 bln vs. $27.35 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $3.54-3.58, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.54 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $114.2-114.4 bln vs. $114.19 bln consensus.
4:04PM Analog Devices beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (ADI) 34.65 -1.07 : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $649.3 mln vs the $627.2 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.43-0.45 vs. $0.43 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $650-665 mln vs. $638.81 mln consensus. Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend up 11% q/q to $0.20.
4:15 pm : On Tuesday, the stock market posted a substantial loss, with market participants concerned that the stock market's rally from its March lows may have been overdone. The S&P 500 settled the day with a 0.9% loss, with seven of the ten economic sectors in negative territory.
Prompting traders to take some money off the table was bearish news on financial stocks, a major retailer's earnings report, and a higher-than-expected core inflation reading. Crude prices set another record high, which did not help matters either.
The financial sector -- which comprises 16.5% of the S&P 500 -- acted as the biggest drag with a 2.2% loss. Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney believes the credit crisis will extend well into 2009, and may go on even longer. Whitney's calls typically move the market, as she has correctly predicted several aspects of the credit crisis, including the Citigroup (C 22.11, -0.88) dividend cut. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS 182.43, -1.97) and Morgan Stanley (MS 44.80, -1.40) had their second quarter earnings estimates cut at Lehman Brothers. AIG (AIG 38.12, -0.83) was also under selling pressure after the company said it will raise a total of $20 billion, up from its previous plan to raise $12.5 billion, according to reports.
The S&P 500 Retailing Index had a 2.0% decline, which weighed on the consumer discretionary sector (-1.6%). Home Depot (HD 27.37, -1.50) was the worst performing name with a decline of 5.2%. Traders were disappointed with the home improvement retailer's 66% drop in net income -- although the results were good enough to top Wall Street's low expectations. Meanwhile, AutoZone (AZO 126.99, -0.81) and Target (TGT 54.29, -0.69) reported earnings that beat estimates, while Staples (SPLS 23.61, +0.04) met expectations.
A mixed inflation reading also weighed on the broader market. The April Producer Price Index rose 0.2%, while core-PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.4%. Economists expected the opposite, forecasting a 0.4% rise in PPI and a 0.2% rise in core-PPI. The difference in total PPI and core-PPI is largely due to a 0.2% drop in energy costs on a seasonally adjusted basis. On a nonadjusted basis, energy prices are up 2.9%.
There were some pockets of strength. The energy sector (+0.8%) climbed to a lifetime high, as crude oil shattered another intraday high, hitting $129.60 per barrel, before settling with a gain of 1.6% at $129.07 per barrel.
A 0.87% drop in the Dollar Index helped lift crude, and the Commodity Index (+1.0%) as a whole.
Despite the retreat, the stock market is still up 12.4% from its March 17 low.DJ30 -199.48 NASDAQ -23.83 NQ100 -0.8% R2K -0.4% SP400 -0.2% SP500 -13.23 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1733/1133/2.01 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2032/1104/1.24 bln
2:38PM Micrel shareholders overwhelmingly reject OCM's attempt to take over company (MCRL) 9.44 -0.29 : Co announces that, based on preliminary information provided by the co's proxy solicitor, shareholders have rejected all proposals made by Obrem Capital Management at a special meeting held today. The results include an overwhelming rejection of OCM's proposals to remove Micrel's current Board and replace them with OCM's nominees and of their proposal to rescind the co's shareholder rights plan. OCM's proposals to expand Micrel's Board to six members and fill the sixth seat with another of OCM's nominees were also decisively rejected.
12:33AM Tower Semiconductor to acquire Jazz Technologies (TSEM) 1.16 : Co and Jazz Technologies (JAZ 0.85) announce the signing of a definitive agreement by which Tower will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Jazz in a stock-for-stock transaction valuing Jazz at a fully diluted equity value of approx $40 mln, based on Tower's closing price on May 19, 2008. Under the terms of the agreement, each outstanding share of Jazz common stock will be converted into the right to receive 1.8 Tower ordinary shares. The total value of the transaction, including net debt, is approx $169 mln.
08:16 am Microsoft (MSFT)
The pride of Microsoft (MSFT 29.99) and Yahoo! (YHOO 27.66) may yet to be fully tested. After both companies refused each other's overtures for buyout terms, Microsoft has expressed an interest in striking a business transaction as an alternative.
Microsoft announced this last Sunday it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online and advertising business. In turn, Microsoft has proposed a transaction with Yahoo, but not an acquisition.
Just as there was no guarantee to the previous buyout effort, there is no guarantee these two companies will reach amicable business transaction terms.
Microsoft's interest in improving and expanding its online and advertising business reflects its commitment to challenging Google (GOOG 580.07) for market share. A marriage of Microsoft and Yahoo was considered a strong move in that direction. If Microsoft can obtain the specific assets it was seeking all along, without the headache of completely merging operations and culture, it may find itself better positioned in the long run.
Microsoft noted that the interest has come since the withdrawal of its buyout proposal. During that time activist investor Carl Icahn is taking a proxy fight to Yahoo and proposing nominees for board seats. It is likely Microsoft sees the shareholder dissent as an opportunity to make a play for certain strategic assets.
(Disclosure: Briefing.com has a business relationship with Yahoo! and Microsoft.)
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