Stocks Set To Open Lower
Stocks appear set to open lower
Thursday.
Cignal
(
CI |
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PowerRating) reported Q1 net
earnings of $1.92 a share, beating analysts’ consensus by 4 cents. Revenues came in
at $4.83 billion, an increase of 2% on a year-over-year basis.
Wind River Systems
(
WIND |
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PowerRating) warned
that it expects a Q1 loss of between 12 cents and 14 cents a share, wider than
analysts’ consensus of a loss of 3 cents a share according to Multex.
NetBank
(
NTBK |
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PowerRating) reported earnings
for Q1 of 11 cents a share, beating analysts’ consensus of 6 cents a share
according to a survey taken by Multex.
WR Hambrecht downgraded Peet’s Coffee
(
PEET |
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News |
PowerRating) from Buy to Market Outperform based on valuation. The firm’s price
target for the coffee maker is $18.
Merrill Lynch lowered its rating on
Priceline.com
(
PCLN |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) from Buy to Near Term Neutral after the company
reported numbers and missed Q1 revenue estimates.
The European Central Bank left its
benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25%.
EchoStar Communications
(
DISH |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reported a loss of 20 cents a share, or $38.6 million, compared with a loss of 36
cents a share, or $169.9 million, for the same period a year ago. Revenues for the
company rose 28% to $1.1 billion.
Merrill Lynch upgraded Isle of Capri
(
ISLE |
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News |
PowerRating)
from Neutral to Near Term Buy and from Buy to Long Term Buy.
Host Marriott
(
HMT |
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PowerRating) was downgraded
by Merrill Lynch from Strong Buy to Near Term Buy due to valuation. The firm has
a price target of $13.50.
United Defense
(
UDI |
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News |
PowerRating) was
downgraded by Credit Suisse First Boston from Buy to Hold due to the risk that
the Crusader may be cancelled due to budgetary cuts within the Pentagon.
ICN Pharmaceuticals
(
ICN |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported
earnings of 40 cents a share for Q1, beating analysts’ estimates by 3 cents
according to a survey taken by Multex.
Swift Energy
(
SFY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was downgraded
by Lehman Brothers from Strong Buy to Buy and cuts its price target from $24 to
$21 due to the company’s conservative timetables.