Weak Opening
Stocks appeared set to open weaker
Friday as the earning season winds down.
Ericsson
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ERICY |
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PowerRating) reported a Q2
loss which was in line with Wall Street’s expectations. The company said the
duration of unfavorable market conditions in the U.S. and Western Europe is
unknown and did not give any Q3 guidance.
K-Swiss
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KSWS |
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PowerRating) said Q2 profits
increased. KSWS reported earnings of 39 cents a share which beat analysts’
estimates of 33 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Air Products and Chemicals
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APD |
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PowerRating)
announced Q3 earnings fell 5% but was in line with expectations. The company
cited a slowing economy and energy costs as the cause. APD earnings came in at
60 cents a diluted share.
Chocolate maker Hershey Foods
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PowerRating)
said Q2 profits rose 31%. The maker of chocolate Kisses reported earnings of 38
cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call expected the
company to earn between 37 and 41 cents a share, with an average of 39 cents.
Cooper
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COO |
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PowerRating) reaffirmed the
company’s 2001 expectations on earnings to be in the range of $2.38 to $2.42 per
share. Analyss’ estimates for the company were for a range of $2.40 to $2.42 with
a mean of $2.41, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
T. Rowe Price Group
(
TROW |
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PowerRating) said
Q2 profits fell due to a weak stock market. Earnings came in at 40 cents a share,
which were lower than earnings for the same quarter a year ago by 14 cents.
Analysts expected earnings of 36 cents a share, based on a survey taken by
Thomson Financial/First Call.
Mircrosoft
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MSFT |
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PowerRating) reported
earnings after yesterday’s close which came in line with estimates. However, the
company warned on their Q1 earnings, citing a slump in P.C shipments. Salomon
Smith Barney downgraded the company from Buy to Outperform.
Sun Microsystems
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SUNW |
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PowerRating) reported
a loss for Q4, but was still able to beat Wall Street’s estimates. Earnings for
SUNW came in at 4 cents a share, analysts’ expectations for the company were for
3 cents a share, based on a poll taken by Thomson Financial/First Call. Salomon
Smith Barney upgraded SUNW from Neutral to Buy.
Chewing tobacco maker, UST Inc
(
UST |
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PowerRating)
reported Q2 profits increased by 8.4%. The maker of Skoal Bandits and Copenhagen
said earnings came in at 74 cents a share. Analysts’ expectations for the company
were for 72 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
Drug maker Merck
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MRK |
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PowerRating)
announced Q2 profits rose 5%, but slower than prior quarters. The company made
78 cents a share for the quarter, in line with analysts’ lowered estimates.
Bear Stearns upgraded Cypress
Semiconductors
(
CY |
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PowerRating) to a Buy from Attractive.
Carrier Access
(
CACS |
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PowerRating) was
downgraded by Credit Suisse First Boston from a Buy to Hold.
PMC-Sierra
(
PMCS |
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PowerRating) was downgraded
by Bear Stearns from Attractive to Neutral.
Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded
Documentum
(
DCTM |
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PowerRating) to a Buy from Hold, after the company reported Q2 loss
that beat analysts’ expectations by 8 cents.
Lehman Brothers downgraded
Georgia-Pacific
(
GP |
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PowerRating) from Strong Buy to Buy.
UBS Warburg raised their rating on
Scientific-Atlanta
(
SFA |
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PowerRating) from Buy to Strong Buy, viewing the drop in price
as an opportunity to buy.
Ebay
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EBAY |
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PowerRating) reported Q2 earnings
of 12 cents a share beating analysts’ expectations of 9 cents a share, according to
Thomson Financial/First Call.