Lower Opening On Economic Data
Stocks appeared set to open lower
Thursday.
Retail sales for May fell 0.9%, which
was larger than expected. PPI for May fell 0.4%, while the PPI Core rate remained
unchanged.
Charter Communications
(
CHTR |
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PowerRating) was
downgraded by RBC Capital Markets from Top Pick to Outperform.
Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded
Dow Jones
(
DJ |
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PowerRating) from Buy to Hold based on valuation.
Merrill Lynch made positive comments
on Hewlett-Packard
(
HPQ |
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PowerRating) and continues to recommend the stock based on its
valuation and cost savings.
Dana Corp
(
DCN |
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PowerRating) raised its Q2
estimates from a range of 33 – 35 cents to 41 – 45 cents a
share. Analysts’ consensus is for 34 cents according to Multex. The company cites
improving operations and stronger than anticipated vehicle production in North
America.
Merrill Lynch reiterates the firm’s
Reduce/Sell rating on Ciena
(
CIEN |
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PowerRating). Merrill continues to believe that CIEN
is expensive.
Tyco International
(
TYC |
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PowerRating) was
upgraded at JP Morgan from Market Perform to Long Term Buy. Merrill Lynch
upgraded TYC from Neutral to Near Term Buy, stating the company is trading at its
“floor” valuation of $10.
Canadian Aviation Transportation
Security Administration has placed a $13.5 million order with Invision
(
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PowerRating)
for its explosives detection systems.
Microvision
(
MVIS |
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PowerRating) said it
expects Q2 revenues to exceed guidance of $4.5 million. MVIS also said that it
expects loss per share for the quarter to come in narrower and will beat Thomson
Financial/First Call estimates.
Fleming Co
(
FLM |
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PowerRating) has priced an 8-million-share follow-on offering at $19.40 per share.
H.J. Heinz Co
(
HNZ |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said it earned
63 cents a share for Q4, or $223.5 million, compared with 49 cents a share, or
$170.5 million, for the same quarter a year ago. Analysts’ consensus was for HNZ
to earn 62 cents a share with range of 59 cents to 63 cents.