Agilent Halted After Q3 Earnings Report

August 18, 2003
Vincent Mao

Stocks were
higher Monday, as the power was turned
back on in Wall Street; the major indices put in a healthy, broad-based rally to
start off the week. Chips led the pack after market
researcher Gartner Group said that market conditions for the semiconductor
industry have “improved markedly” and that growth is poised to accelerate. Smith
Barney also had some positive comments on the sector, citing improving
demand for PCs and improvements in the wireless industry. Shares of Advanced
Micro Devices jumped more than 14% after technology analyst Fred Hickey’s
positive views on the company’s new line of its 64-bit Opteron chips, which he
sees are “the most significant threat Intel has ever faced.”

Retail issues boosted
stocks today after Lowe’s
(
LOW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) checked in with better-than-expected
quarterly results and raised guidance. Also, retail giant Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
said that weekly sales are in the high end of their 3%-5% range and that last
week’s blackout would have no effect on earnings. The Dow
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) broke
out of its two-month long trading range. The blue chip index is at its highest
level since last June but is nearing trendline resistance at the 9500 level.
Bonds are higher today while the dollar shot to a two-week high.

No economic news to report.
Tomorrow look for Building Permits, Housing Starts, Treasury Budget, and the
Michigan Sentiment numbers.

The 10-year U.S. Note
was +120 at 110 030.

The dollar was +0.69 at
97.34.

Gold was -4.00 at
358.60.

Crude Oil -0.10 at
30.88.

Volume was
1,126,668,000
on the NYSE, and 1,469,575,000 on the Nasdaq.

Market breadth was positive,
with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by 2.03:1, and up over down
volume by 3.14:1. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining issues at 2.07, and up
volume over down volume at 7.12.

Top Dow stocks were:

Stocks in the news:

After the close, Agilent
(
A |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported Q3 earnings of (0.02) was (0.07) estimate. The stock was halted at
press time.

Career education provider
Devry
(
DV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained almost 10% after an upgrade from J.P.
Morgan. Morgan upgraded the stock from “underweight” to “neutral” The firm
believes that new undergraduate student growth could come in higher than
expected.

Electric utility holding
company First Energy
(
FE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell 9% after the company’s system was
identified as the possible culprit of last week’s blackouts. Analysts cite that
the company’s role in the blackouts could impact its stock and credit ratings.
Merrill Lynch also cut its rating from “Buy” to “Neutral.”

Home improvement retailer
Lowes
(
LOW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose 6% after the company reported
better-than-expected results and raised full-year guidance. Home Depot’s biggest
rival reported second-quarter results of 75 cents compared to 59 cents in the
year-ago quarter. The company also beat estimates by 6 cents. Revenues jumped
17% to$8.77 billion from $7.49 billion. Looking ahead, the company sees full-year
results between $2.24 to $2.27 per share compared to consensus estimates of
$2.19.

Electronics component maker
Vishay Intertech
(
VSH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) added 7% after UBS upgraded the
stock from “Neutral” to “Buy.” The firm based the upgrade on valuation after the
stock’s recent sell-off on the heels of Vishay’s convertible offering. UBS also
reiterated its $16 price target.

If you have any comments or
questions, please feel free to email me.

Vincent Mao

vincentm@tradingmarkets.com

Agilent Halted After Q3 Earnings Report

BUY THE FEAR, SELL THE GREED

Quick Links

Company Info

Contact

Company Resources