Stocks Set To Open Higher
Stocks appeared set to open higher Thursday as earnings continue to be reported.
Smith International
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Q3 earnings of 84 cents a share beating analysts’ estimates by 3 cents and
outpacing earnings from a year ago by 43 cents. The company’s revenues came in
at $909.7 million, a 27% increase, citing increased drilling for natural gas
in the United States.
Tollgrade Communications
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reported Q3 earnings of 16 cents a share on a net basis. Earnings beat analysts’
expectations by a penny. Revenues for the company came in at $16.04 million, a
decrease of 46%.
According to a report in the Wall
Street Journal, securities trading firm Bear Stearns
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to announce a 7.5% decrease in its workforce.
Chocolate maker Hershey Foods
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posted Q3 earnings of 88 cents a share, an increase of 12% from the same period
a year ago and beating analyst mean estimates of 86 cents a share, according to
Thomson Financial/First Call.
Check Point Software
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reported Q3 profits of $74.3 million, an increase of more than 20% from the same
period a year ago. Earnings came in line with analysts’ estimates of 29 cents a
share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Consumer products maker, Dial Corp
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posted earnings of 26 cents a share before special charges. Earnings came in
line with analysts’ consensus, according to a poll taken by Thomson
Financial/First Call.
Dianon Systems
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earnings of 28 cents a share on a diluted basis, an increase of 27% from the same
quarter a year ago.
Automaker, General Motors
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reported Q3 earnings of 85 cents a share, a decrease of 54% from the same
quarter one year ago. GM beat analysts’ estimates by 5 cents, based on data
collected by Thomson Financial/First Call.
Textron
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cents a share or $35 million for the third quarter.
Merck & Company
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Q3 earnings of 84 cents, beating estimates by a penny. Revenues for the drug
maker increased 12.8% to $11.92 billion.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Immunex
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from Outperform to Neutral, based on the company’s valuation.
CIBC World Markets upgraded Symantec
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from Buy to Strong Buy and put a price target of $65 a share.
Olin Corp
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Morgan Stanley from Outperform to Strong Buy.
Texas Instruments
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downgraded by Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha from Buy to Near Term Accumulate.
Soft drink maker Coco-Cola
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reported earnings of 43 cents for Q3, beating analysts’ consensus of 40 cents.