Stronger Opening For Stocks
Stocks appear set to open higher Thursday.
Prudential Securities lowered its
rating on Automatic Data Processing
(
ADP |
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PowerRating) from Hold to Sell after the
company reported numbers lower than analysts’ consensus.
Merrill Lynch downgraded JP Morgan
Chase
(
JPM |
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PowerRating) from Strong Buy to Buy due to concerns on relative valuation.
Charter Communications
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CHTR |
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downgraded at Merrill Lynch from Strong Buy to Near Term Neutral due to high
leverage and accounting worries.
Sprint PCS
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PCS |
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PowerRating) reported
a Q2 loss
of 17 cents a share compared to analysts’ average consensus of a loss of 8 cents
a share.
Goldman Sachs lowered its rating on
Siebel Systems
(
SEBL |
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PowerRating) from Recommended List to Market Perform.
Bear Stearns downgraded Symantec
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SYMC |
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PowerRating)
from Attractive to Neutral, stating the company’s four recent acquisitions could
negatively impact results.
International Business Machines
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was downgraded by Bear Stearns from Attractive to Neutral, citing concerns with
respect to a shortfall in service signings.
EMC Corp
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EMC |
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PowerRating) reported a loss of
1 cent a share for Q2, beating analysts’ consensus by a penny according to Multex.
Nokia
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NOK |
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of 19 Euro cents a share, beating analysts’ consensus by a penny.
Biogen
(
BGEN |
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earnings of 31 cents, in line with analysts’ consensus according to a survey taken
by Multex.
Dianon Systems
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DIAN |
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PowerRating) reported Q2
net earnings of 47 cents a share, beating Multex’ consensus by 3 cents.