Mixed Opening For Stocks
Stocks appear set to open mixed to
higher Thursday.
Jobless claims for the week of June 1
fell 32,000 to 383,000, more than expected.
Merrill Lynch downgraded Intel
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from Strong Buy to Near Term Neutral on the belief that INTC will be conservative
in its mid-quarter update this afternoon.
Pier 1 Imports
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same-store sales for May rose 9% and raised its earnings guidance for May from
20-21 cents a share to 23 cents a share.
Merrill Lynch downgraded semiconductor
stocks. Texas Instruments
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Semtech
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and Triquint
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Analog
Devices
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Buy. The firm lowered the ratings pre Intel’s
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afternoon.
CIBC World Markets downgraded Symantec
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from $46 to $40, stating the company is not closing big enterprise deals.
Panera Bread
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to $1.96. The company still sees 2002 earnings coming in at $1.40.
The Limited
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increased of 5% in same-store sales for May.
Bear Stearns cut estimates on Nokia
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for 2002 EPS estimates from 75 cents to 70 cents. Analysts’ consensus was for 73
cents.
Linens n’ Things
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by Merrill Lynch from Neutral to Near Term Strong Buy based on valuation.
Lehman Brothers upgraded Photon
Dynamics
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the company from $50 to $52 based on valuation.
Circuit City
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for May rose 12%. CC raised earnings guidance for the May quarter to come in
between 5-8 cents a share. Analysts’ consensus was for 3 cents a share according
to Multex.