Broader Markets Appear Strong On The Open
Stocks appear set to open higher
Thursday.
According to a report in the New
York Times, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston is investigating a unit of
Pfizer
(
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PowerRating) with regard to its marketing practices. The investigation is
into Warner-Lambert’s marketing of Neurontin, which Pfizer acquired in 2000.
A federal judge has ruled in the favor
of Teva Pharmaceuticals
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PowerRating), invalidating three of GlaxoSmithKline’s
(
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patents.
According to a letter to its readers,
the Los Angeles Times said approximately $65,000 was stolen from donations to
the newspaper’s Sept. 11 disaster relief fund.
Itron
(
ITRI |
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PowerRating) raised guidance for
Q1. The company expects operating earnings to come in between 18 cents and 22
cents a share. Based on a survey taken by Thomson Financial/First Call, estimates
were for 14 cents a share.
Stage Stores
(
STGS |
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PowerRating) posted Q4
earnings of $15.8 million, or 77 cents a share, on a diluted basis vs. a net
loss of $24.2 million, or 86 cents a share, for the same quarter a year ago.
Kimball International
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said it expects Q3 income of between 12 cents and 16 cents a share.
DB Alex Brown said that it believes
that a drop in DRAM prices could trigger a correction in tech stocks.
Performance Food
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PFGC |
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upgraded by Lehman Brothers from Buy to Strong Buy, saying it believes the
accounting issue has now been isolated.
UBS Warburg downgraded Albertson’s
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ABS |
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PowerRating)
from Hold to Reduce based on valuation.
Fleet Boston
(
FBF |
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PowerRating) was downgraded
by UBS Warburg from Buy to Hold due to valuation. The firm also lowered
estimates for 2002, citing near- and intermediate-term earnings woes due to Argentina
and commercial credit equality.
Coors Tek
(
CRTK |
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PowerRating) has signed a
letter of intent to provide supply chain management for Invision Technologies
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PowerRating).
Merrill Lynch has lowered its rating
on Reebok International
(
RBK |
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PowerRating) from Buy to Near Term Neutral, saying that RBK
is losing momentum.
Banc of America upgraded Atmel Corp
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ATML |
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PowerRating)
from Market Perform to Buy based on the belief that the business has bottomed.
The firm has a price target of $12 on ATML.