Mixed Opening

Stocks appeared set to open mixed to
flat Monday.

Do It Yourself home improvement store
Lowe’s

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posted Q4 net earnings of 28 cents a share, beating analyst’s
estimates by 3 cents.

Roxio
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raised its guidance
for Q4, saying it sees Q4 earnings per share of 17 cents and revenues coming in
at $38 million vs. prior guidance of 15 cents a share and $33 million.

La Quinta
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posted a
Q4 loss of $256.6 million or $1.79 a share vs. a loss of $49.1 million or 34
cents a share for the same quarter a year ago. The hotel company said the loss
was wider due to the downturn in domestic travel.

Williams-Sonoma
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raised its
fiscal 2001 earnings from a range of $1.25 to $1.28 to $1.31 to $1.32. According
to Thomson Financial/First Call consensus estimates were for $1.27 a share.

Qualcomm
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said its expects
to earn 20 cents a share for Q2, in line with analyst’s expectation according to
Thomson Financial/First Call.

Isis Pharmaceuticals
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said
the Phase II trials of its psoriasis topical cream Alicaforsen has shown
“statistically significant improvement.”

Hewlett Packard
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started a
lab to develop low cost-tech solutions to assist the needs of India.

General Motors
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raised its
earnings estimates for Q1 and full year. GM expects Q1 earnings to come in at
$1.20 a share excluding items and 2002 estimates to be $3.50 a share.

SG Cowen upgraded Johnson &
Johnson

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from Buy to Strong Buy citing increasing confidence
in the
company’s drug Procrit. The firm also raised its price target on JNJ from $65 to
$72.

Reebok
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was downgraded by UBS
Warburg from Buy to Hold citing increasing competitive pressure.

UBS Warburg upgraded Citrix Systems
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from Hold to Strong Buy saying the selling of the company is overdone. The firm
has a price target of $25 on the company.

Sun Microsystems
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was
upgraded by Banc of America from Market Perform to Buy based on valuation.

Merrill Lynch upgraded Smith
International

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from Neutral to Near-Term Buy. The firm has a price
target of $75 on the stock.

Greg