Lower Opening For Stocks
Stocks appeared set to open lower
Wednesday.
Adelphia
(
ADLAE |
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PowerRating) Chief Executive
Officer John Rigas resigned after 50 years with the cable operator. The
resignation came after the scrutiny of the U.S. government’s investigation into the
company’s accounting practices and off-balance sheet deals.
Microsoft
(
MSFT |
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PowerRating) said it plans to
reduce the price of the Xbox Game System to approximately $199.99 after Sony
Entertainment
(
SNE |
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PowerRating) also announced a reduction for its Playstation 2 game
unit.
Boron LePore
(
BLPG |
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PowerRating) has entered a
definitive agreement to be acquired by Cardinal Health
(
CAH |
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PowerRating) for $16 per
share cash.
Salomon Smith Barney upgraded Computer
Sciences Corp
(
CSC |
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News |
PowerRating) from Neutral to Outperform based on valuation and
improving balance sheets and cash flows. The firm raised its price target on the
company from $47 to $48 and FY03 earnings estimates from $2.67 to $2.71.
Prudential Securities upgraded
Abercrombie & Fitch
(
ANF |
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PowerRating) from Hold to Buy and raised its price target
from $23 to $38 after the company announced earnings.
WR Hambrecht upgraded Anadigics
(
ANAD |
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PowerRating)
from Market Perform to Market Outperform, saying it believes the company has a
solid broadband business.
Pep Boys
(
PBY |
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PowerRating) reported earnings
for Q1 of 26 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates of 22 cents a share
according to a survey taken by Multex.
Merrill Lynch has added Universal
Health Services
(
UHS |
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PowerRating) to their Focus 1 list, saying the current valuation
provided an intriguing entry level. The company has a price target on the
company of $61.
PPG Industries
(
PPG |
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PowerRating) was upgraded
by Lehman Brothers from Buy to Strong Buy, stating that the asbestos settlement
makes its fundamentals attractive.
Mattson
(
MTSN |
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PowerRating) was upgraded by
Bear Stearns from Attractive to Buy, stating it believes the worst of the downturn
is over. The company has a price target of $15 on the stock.
Bear Stearns downgraded Qlogic
(
QLGC |
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PowerRating)
from Attractive to Neutral based on valuation.
Deutsche Bank downgraded Applied
Materials
(
AMAT |
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PowerRating) from Strong Buy to Buy.
Merrill Lynch upgraded AOL Time Warner
(
AOL |
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PowerRating) from Neutral to Near Term Buy based on attractive risk-to-reward
ratios.