Here's a list of possible AH movers as well as some news on them
US HOT STOCKS: Medicines Co, Perry Ellis, Safe Bulkers -2-
Last update: 3/19/2010 4:50:57 PM
U.S. stocks traded lower Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37.19 points to 10741.98, the Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 5.93 points to 1159.90 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was 16.87 points lower at 2374.41. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the after-hours session is Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF).
Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn stepped up his bid for control of Lions Gate offering to buy all shares of the film studio that he doesn't already own, just as the company participates in the final round of bidding for debt-laden rival Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Lions Gate said late Friday it would review the offer but that it didn't represent a price increase. Shares slipped 1.3% to $5.95 in late trading.
Regular Session Movers:
The latest forecast and smart-phone sales data from Palm Inc. (PALM, $4.00, -$1.65, -29.16%) raised serious concerns Friday about the company's viability, helping send shares to new 52-week lows. Everyone knew the smart-phone maker's fiscal third quarter was going to be rough after the company preannounced results last month, but its final results--with a warning of significantly lower revenue in the current quarter on disappointing sales of its latest smart phone--raised further questions about the company's future.
Many other telecom and tech companies also declined, wireless interconnection services company Neutral Tandem Inc. (TNDM, $17.93, -$0.67, -3.60%) and Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX, $15.82, -$0.74, -4.47%), a provider of data-storage subsystems. Wireless Internet provider Clearwire Corp. (CLWR, $7.80, -$0.19, -2.32%) and cellphone-maker Motorola Inc. (MOT, $7.18, -$0.17, -2.31%) also fell as did mobile-communications chip maker TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. (TQNT, $6.93, -$0.27, -3.75%) and semiconductor equipment-maker Rudolph Technologies Inc.(RTEC, $7.90, -$0.41, -4.93%).
Solar-panel maker SunPower Corp.'s (SPWRA, $18.96, -$3.08, -13.97%) (SPWRB, $16.91, -$2.73, -13.90%) fourth-quarter profit fell 70%, hurt by sagging margins, though sales grew in both the solar-panel maker's systems and component businesses. The company also restated financial results due to an internal accounting probe of its Philippines operations.
AP Pharma Inc. (APPA, $1.21, -$0.85, -41.26%) said U.S. regulators need more answers about the company's lead drug candidate, a treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea, before they can approve the company's new-drug application.
Addus HomeCare Corp.'s (ADUS, $6.30, -$2.60, -29.21%) fourth-quarter loss widened, despite higher revenue, on rising operating expenses and weak results in the home-health segment, which was weighed down by a slowdown in admissions. The provider of in-home nursing and rehabilitative therapies saw results widely miss Wall Street estimates.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG, $3.72, +$0.31, +9.09%) surprised investors and shareholders by saying it expects to return to a profit this year as its trading performance picked up and impairments eased after two years of hefty losses.
Shares of managed-care companies kept climbing Friday as uncertainty over a health-care reform package nearing a key vote in Congress seemed to clear. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Borsch said the clouds over how health-care reform would fare in Congress have cleared now that the House has released its plans for a reconciliation bill designed to win passage through the Senate. Gainers included Aetna Inc. (AET, $34.46, +$1.22, +3.67%), Cigna Corp. (CI, $37.08, +$1.24, +3.46%), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH, $34.39, +$0.80, +2.38%), WellPoint Inc. (WLP, $65.07, +$1.25, +1.96%) and HealthNet Inc. (HNT, $26.15, +$0.40, +1.55%).
Energy stocks, particularly Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN, $39.60, -$1.18, -2.89%), led the markets lower, as natural-gas companies appeared to be catching up to a slump in the price of that commodity. Natural gas prices have been falling in recent weeks in part because of the arrival of the warmer weather, but also as a significant recovery in industrial demand for the commodity has yet to materialize. Meanwhile, the industry is dealing with an oversupply thanks to the strong production in U.S. natural-gas shale formations. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG, $38.14, -$1.38, -3.49%) and Penn Virginia Corp. (PVA, $24.20, -$1.36, -5.32%) also fell.
Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI, $47.53, -$1.84, -3.73%) and BJ Services Co. (BJS, $21.56, -$0.80, -3.58%) adjourned their special stockholders meetings on their proposed merger until the end of the month as U.S. regulatory approval is still being awaited. The oilfield-services companies have all the required foreign approvals for their combination but haven't received antitrust clearance from the U.S. Justice Department, which has raised issues regarding the overlap between some of their Gulf of Mexico businesses.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Best Buy Co. (BBY, $40.99, +$0.54, +1.33%) to buy from neutral, on valuation and hopes for a stronger 2010. With the shares trading at "one of the lowest multiples in hardlines retailing," the firm said two positives now drive the stock higher: "[T]he market's recognition that upside risk to 2010/2011 results from fresh TV product matches downside risk from margin contraction; and, deployment of the firm's cash hoard and free cash flow."
Boeing Co. (BA, $70.72, -$0.15, -0.21%) plans to raise production of its 777 and 747 aircraft earlier than anticipated due to increasing demand in the airplane industry. The news also helped to lift shares of companies in Boeing's supply chain, including Boeing spin-off Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. (SPR, $22.40, +$0.86, +3.99%), Precision Castparts Corp. (PCP, $121.79, +$2.44, +2.04%) and Rockwell Collins Inc. (COL, $62.97, +$1.81, +2.96%).
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its rating on Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. (BPFH, $7.62, -$0.39, -4.87%) to market perform from outperform, saying shares are trading roughly in line with the group. The firm said it became positive on the stock last autumn, following the sale of its Florida affiliate, but actions in the past several quarters have "significantly improved" its credit profile and capital position, putting it more in line with peers.
Bovie Medical Corp. (BVX, $6.86, +$0.16, +2.39%), a maker and marketer of electrosurgical products, said it received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its BOSS bipolar coagulation device. The device will be targeted primarily to orthopedic surgeons who perform hip and knee arthroplasty.
Hong Kong-based City Telecom Ltd. (CTEL, $14.28, +$1.88, +15.16%) shares jumped a day after the telecommunications company rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq and got a positive mention by Jim Cramer on his CNBC show "Mad Money." Meanwhile, City Telecom has been on a road show this week and has been told that several institutional investors are taking positions in the stock, according to a company representative.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch cut its rating on Internet services company F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV, $61.75, -$2.56, -3.98%) to neutral from buy, based on valuation.
First California Financial Group Inc. (FCAL, $2.68, -$0.08, -2.90%) said the size of its planned stock sale was raised as it was priced at a 9.4% discount to Thursday's close. The holding company for First California Bank specializes in serving small and middle-sized businesses, professional firms and commercial real-estate development and construction companies.
Hansen Natural Corp. (HANS, $42.93, +$0.73, +1.73%) is attractive on a standalone basis, Stifel Nicolaus noted, but the firm believes significant value would be unlocked if the soda and juice maker were acquired by a public beverage company that owns its U.S. distribution system. "While we have no knowledge of any M&A negotiations or discussions between Hansen and any party, Coke's (KO, $54.75, +$0.80, +1.48%) proposed acquisition of CCE North America makes an eventual acquisition of Hansen by Coke more likely," the firm noted.
Heritage Financial Group (HBOS, $12.11, +$0.71, +6.23%) said it will reorganize from a two-tier holding company and will undertake a "second-step" offering of common shares in the third quarter. Chief Executive Leonard Dorminey said the company, which is the holding company for HeritageBank of the South, believes the move will allow it to take advantage of expansion opportunities.
ICX Technologies Inc.'s (ICXT, $7.12, -$0.33, -4.43%) fourth-quarter loss widened slightly on lower sales, although margins improved. Revenue for the maker of homeland-security products topped Wall Street's expectations, though its loss was bigger than expected.
Medicines Co. (MDCO, $7.88, -$1.42, -15.27%) shares fell after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it won't extend the drug company's patent on its lead product, blood-thinning drug Angiomax. The decisioncame even after a U.S. district court on Tuesday ordered the patent office to reconsider its earlier decision to deny the extension. If extended, that patent wouldn't expire until 2014--as it stands, the patent will expire this year. Friday's decision could lead to well over $1 billion in lost revenue for Medicines, Wedbush Securities analyst Duane Nash said.
Memory-parts maker Netlist Inc. (NLST, $3.99, -$0.24, -5.67%) boosted the size of its planned stock sale by one-third as the price was set at an 8.9% discount to Thursday's close.
Perry Ellis International Inc. (PERY, $20.90, -$2.07, -9.01%) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit following prior-year write-downs. The clothing maker posted its first quarter of revenue growth over the past year and kept margins high by avoiding the steep markdowns of a year earlier.
PolyOne Corp. (POL, $10.33, +$1.39, +15.55%) projected first-quarter results well above Wall Street's expectations, due to improved demand and the positive impact of new business. President and Chief Executive Stephen D. Newlin said the plastics compounder and resins distributor won new business across each of its platforms.
Safe Bulkers Inc. (SB, $6.97, -$0.39, -5.30%) priced its nine million shares at $7 each, a 4.9% discount to Thursday's closing price and 19% below the price at which the dry-bulk shipper was trading before announcing its plans to offer the shares. The company plans to use the $63 million it raised for, among other purposes, acquiring vessels and repaying debt.
Oppenheimer cut its rating on Synaptics Inc. (SYNA, $26.28, -$1.38, -4.99%) to perform from outperform, saying channel checks suggest the maker of interfaces for portable electronics' mobile business is continuing to struggle with share loss and average selling price erosion. "These factors are undercutting the lift Synaptics should be enjoying from the volume growth in capacitive touch handsets," the firm wrote.
Team Inc. (TISI, $16.78, -$1.44, -7.90%) lowered its earnings view for the current fiscal year, as the specialty industrial services company finds a recovery slower coming than expected. The company which repairs leaks in pipes under extreme temperature and pressure conditions for the petrochemical, power and other heavy industries has seen lower sales during the recession but remained in the black.
Janney upgraded Tetra Tech Inc. (TTEK, $21.86, +$1.11, +5.35%) to buy from neutral as the provider of consulting, engineering and technical services' shares have suffered since it said in January that fiscal-2010 earnings would be below views because of project delays.
-By Dow Jones Newswires; write to hotstocks@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2010 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)
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