Movers & Shakers: Tuesday’s biggest gaining and declining stocks

Feb.05, 2008 in Market Outlook

Apple, CME, GM, Yahoo, Yum, more

By MarketWatch

Last Update: 2:17 PM ET Feb 5, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Shares of the following companies were among those
making notable moves in the U.S. stock market Tuesday.

Advancers

Avon Products Inc.’s (AVP) shares advanced 6.2%. Fourth-quarter earnings fell to
$128.9 million, or 30 cents a share, from $184.1 million, or 41 cents a share, a
year earlier, hurt in part by restructuring costs and charges for its product
line simplification program. The company said various costs and charges reduced
earnings by 34 cents a share in the quarter.

Celanese Corp.’s (CE) shares gained 3.4%. Fourth-quarter net income climbed to
$214 million, or $1.27 a share, from $77 million, or 45 cents a share, a year
earlier. Adjusted earnings were 93 cents a share, compared with 61 cents a share.
The Dallas chemical and acetate products company said sales increased 23% to
$1.76 billion from $1.43 billion a year ago due to higher pricing and sales from
the acquired Acetate Products Ltd. business.

Shares in Dutch office supplies wholesaler Corporate Express (CXP) rose around
20% Tuesday after a report in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that the company is in
talks to be bought by Staples . The discussions are preliminary and the details
of any deal are not yet known, the newspaper said.

Church & Dwight Co.’s (CHD) shares rose. Fourth-quarter net income rose to $31.7
million, or 46 cents a share, from $23.9 million, or 36 cents a share, a year
earlier. The Princeton, N.J., manufacturer of Arm & Hammer brand products
reported a fourth-quarter charge of $3.5 million related to reorganization and a
trademark impairment charge of $4.2 million, compared with a $12.5 million charge
same quarter a year earlier due to trademark impairments and the loss on the sale
of a plant.

Corn Products International (CPO) shares jumped 7.6%. It said fourth-quarter net
income rose 40% to $46 million, or 61 cents a share, with sales up 30% to $895
million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the corn refiner to earn
57 cents a share on revenue of $801 million. For 2008, earnings per share,
including a five-cent benefit from CME Group shares, are seen between $2.65 and
$2.85 after $2.59 in 2007.

Shares of health care group CorVel Corp. (CRVL) gained 4%. It said Monday that
its earnings per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 61% to 43 cents from 27
cents as revenue grew 15% to $76.7 million. The company said the growth reflected
improving results in all its product lines, but noted the pace of expansion has
also resulted in an increase in expenses.

Diamond Management & Technology Consultants (DTPI) shares gained. It said that
its third-quarter net income fell to $2.53 million, or 8 cents a share, from
$2.85 million, or 8 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose to $52.4 million, from
$49.2 million last year.

Shares of Global human resources company Hewitt Associates, Inc. (HEW) rose 4%.
It on Tuesday reported first-quarter net income was up $63.9 million, or 59 cents
per diluted share, beating the 39 cent per share growth estimate of 13 analysts
polled by Thomson Financial last week. Revenue also jumped 9% in the first
quarter to $793.8 million from the same period last year.

Health Management Associates (HMA) shares gained. It estimated fourth-quarter
results, seeing earnings from continuing operations of 7 cents to 8 cents a
share, revenue of approximately $1.1 billion and a $135 million provision for
doubtful accounts from continuing operations. Included in the quarter is a penny
per share benefit from a lower income tax rate.

Health Net Inc.’s (HNT) shares rose. Fourth-quarter net income rose to $123.4
million, or $1.10 a share, from $84.8 million, or 72 cents a share, a year
earlier, helped by enrollment increases. The Woodland Hills, Calif., health-care
and medical-coverage provider said revenue increased 11.7% to $3.58 billion from
$3.21 billion, as a result of higher health-care costs.

Shares of IT services group Ness Technologies Inc. (NSTC) gained. It said Tuesday
that it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of $7.1 million, or 18 cents a share,
from a profit of $9.6 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the
period rose 29% to $170 million. The company said it took charges of $21 million
in the quarter related to settling a long-running client dispute, legal expenses
and other charges. Excluding these charges, earnings were 31 cents a share.

Perrigo Co.’s (PRGO) shares were higher. Second-quarter net income rose to $34.3
million, or 36 cents a share, from $21.1 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier.
The Allegan, Mich., pharmaceutical company said revenue for the quarter ended
Dec. 29 rose 17% to $435.5 million from $370.6 million a year earlier, due to
double-digit sales growth in each of its business segments.

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) shares added 6.1%. It on Tuesday said fourth-quarter net
income rose 72% on momentum in its international business as well as cost savings
in North America tied to its acquisition of Maytag. See full story.
Click for Detail

Decliners

Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares were slightly lower. It on Tuesday expanded it iPhone
and iPod touch lines with new devices featuring more memory than current models.
Apple added a 16-gigabyte iPhone for $499 to go along wtih its 8GB device that
costs $399, and a 32-gigabyte iPod touch for $499 in addition to current models
that have 16GB of memory for $399 and an 8GB version that costs $299. Both
devices are available immediately.

Oil giant BP PLC (BP) shares were slightly lower. It said Tuesday that its
fourth-quarter net profit rose 53% to $4.4 billion as revenue for the period rose
30% to $81.22 billion. On an adjusted — or replacement cost — basis, profit
fell 24% to $2.97 billion. The result included a non-operating charge of $1.03
billion on impairments of its U.S. retail business and restructuring costs. See
full story.
Click for Detail

Charming Shoppes Inc. (CHRS) shares dropped 6.5%. It said it is closing about 150
underperforming stores, including about 100 stores at the Fashion Bug chain, and
undertaking additional actions in response to the continuing weak retail and
economic environment. The company said the moves will result in about $20 million
of annualized pretax savings. Separately, Charming Shoppes said Joseph M. Baron,
executive vice president and chief operating officer, has assumed leadership of
its retail businesses on an interim basis, following the departure of Diane M.
Paccione, who left to assume the position of chief executive at DEB Shops Inc.

CME Group Inc.’s (CME) shares were slightly lower. Fourth-quarter net income rose
96% to $201.1 million, or $3.75 a share, from $102.6 million, or $2.91 a share, a
year earlier, helped by high trading volumes and a merger with the Chicago Board
of Trade. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange holding company said non-GAAP income
increased to $201.7 million, or $3.77 a share, from $147.6 million, or $2.68 a
share, excluding merger-related and other chargers. CME’s revenue rose 88% to
$529.5 million from $281.3 million.

Shares of real estate investment trust Colonial Properties (CLP) moved lower. It
said fourth-quarter net income fell to $3.2 million, or 7 cents a share, from
$132.2 million, or $2.85 a share, a year earlier. Funds from operations came in
at 62 cents a share compared with $1.33 a share a year earlier. The decline in
profit and funds from operations was primarily due to exceptional gains that
inflated fourth quarter results in 2006.

Duke Energy (DUK) shares were slightly lower. It on Tuesday said fourth-quarter
net income fell to $271 million, or 21 cents a share from $387 million, or 31
cents a share in the year-ago period. The latest period included a loss of $133
million for income tax expense from continuing operations. Ongoing earnings rose
to 27 cents from 23 cents. Revenue rose to $3 billion from $2.8 billion.

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) shares fell. It said Tuesday that its fiscal
first-quarter net profit rose 27% to $565 million, or 71 cents a share, from $445
million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales for the quarter ending Dec.
31 rose 12% to $5.64 billion. Excluding the sale of its Brooks Instruments group,
the technology firm said earnings would have been 66 cents a share.

General Motors Corp. (GM) shares fell 3.3%. It said Tuesday it plans to invest
$69 million in its DMAX plant in Moraine to manufacture a new Duramax 6.6-liter
V-8 turbo diesel engine that will meet stringent emissions standards in 2010.
DMAX Ltd. is a joint venture between GM and Isuzu Motors Limited and was
established as a diesel engine company in 1998. GM first introduced the Duramax
diesel in the U.S. in the 2001 model year.

Idex Corp. (IEX) shares tumbled 7.8%. It on Tuesday said fourth-quarter earnings
rose 8% to $38.7 million, or 47 cents a share, from $35.6 million, or 44 cents a
share in the year-ago period. Sales increased to $346 million from $302 million.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected the Northbrook, Ill. metering and
science equipment manufacturer to earn 48 cents a share on revenue of $341.7
million, on average.

Fund manager Invesco (IVZ) shares moved lower. It said fourth-quarter net income
rose 6.5% to $175.9 million, or 43 cents a share, with revenue up 17% to $1.02
billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 44 cents a
share. The group said long-term net outflows were $5.0 billion during the fourth
quarter, compared to net inflows of $200 million during the third quarter.

Dutch telecom KPN (KPN) shares were slightly lower. It said Tuesday that its
fourth-quarter net profit rose to 1.58 billion euros, or 0.85 euros a share, from
426 million euros, or 0.22 a share. Revenue rose to 3.66 billion euros, from 3.04
billion euros. The firm said that it will make further cost reductions and
intends to cut 4,500 jobs from 2008 to 2010. In addition, KPN intends to reduce
the number of external staff by 1,300 over the same period. See full story.
Click for Detail

Louisiana-Pacific Corp.’s (LPX) shares slid. It on Tuesday said its
fourth-quarter loss widened to $38.6 million, or 37 cents a share, from a
year-earlier loss of $24.6 million, or 24 cents a share. The loss from continuing
operations was 35 cents a share, compared with 19 cents a share. Excluding the
loss on impairment and other items, the loss from continuing operations was 29
cents a share. See full story.
Click for Detail

Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (MLM) shares tumbled 8.4%. It said Tuesday its
fourth-quarter earnings were $56.5 million, or $1.33 a share, compared with $62.5
million, or $1.36 a share in the same period a year ago. Revenue in the period
rose to $475.1 million from $470.3 million.

Myriad Genetics (MYGN) shares fell. It said it narrowed its fiscal second-quarter
loss to $5.1 million, or 11 cents a share, from $8.8 million, or 22 cents a
share, after growing molecular diagnostic revenue by 55%. Total revenue rose 53%
to $56.7 million.

Mueller Industries Inc. (MLI) shares were slightly lower. It on Tuesday posted
fourth-quarter net income of $28.8 million, or 78 cents a share, up from $5.2
million, or 14 cents, in the year-earlier period. The Memphis, Tenn., maker of
copper tubes and fittings said sales for the quarter ended Dec. 29 rose 14% to
$621.7 million, from $544.2 million, due to the higher average cost of copper and
the acquisition of Extruded Metals Inc.

Shares of stock exchange operator NYSE Euronext (NYX) dropped 5.9%. It said
Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net profit jumped to $156 million, or 59 cents a
share, from $45 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier. Total revenue for
the period rose 79% to $1.18 billion. Growth primarily reflects the acquisition
of European exchange business Euronext in April, but was also boosted by record
transaction volumes across most business lines, the company said. See full story.
Click for Detail

Pentair Inc.’s (PNR) shares were lower. Fourth-quarter net income increased to
$48.5 million, or 48 cents a share, from $38.6 million, or 39 cents, a year
earlier, boosted in part by changes to its defined benefit and retiree medical
plans. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were 51 cents a share. A Thomson
Financial survey of analysts, on average, projected earnings of 47 cents a share
for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates usually exclude items.

SWS Group Inc. (SWS) shares fell. It said that it will acquire Beverly
Hills-based M.L. Stern & Co. and its subsidiary, Tower Asset Management, from
Pacific Life Insurance Co. M.L. Stern has approximately $4 billion in customer
assets under custody, while Tower Asset Management has an additional $450 million
in assets under management. SWS said that it expects initial costs will
negatively impact earnings by 5 to 7 cents a share in the first six months.

Teco Energy Inc. (TE) shares fell. It on Tuesday said fourth-quarter net income
more than tripled to $173.9 million, or 83 cents a share, from $48.9 million, or
23 cents a share in the year-ago period. Net income from continuing operations
also came in at 83 cents a share in the latest period. Results included a $146
million after-tax gain from the sale of Teco Transport and $20.2 million of
charges for debt extinguishment. Revenue rose to $858 million from $826 million.

Tyco International (TYC) shares moved lower. It said its fiscal first-quarter net
income dropped to $363 million from $793 million after the spin-off of several
divisions. From continuing operations, earnings more than doubled to $369
million, or 74 cents a share, with revenue up 12% to $4.87 billion.

Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) shares were slightly lower. Banc of America Securities
downgraded Yahoo to neutral from buy, although it increased its price target to
$31 from $26. “Even if Yahoo shareholders approve a deal with Microsoft, we
believe the acquisition could face significant regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and
particularly in the E.U., which could delay the acquisition from closing for
quite some time,” the broker said.

Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) shares dropped 4.1%. It reported fourth-quarter net income
of $231 million, or 44 cents a share, nearly unchanged from $232 million, or 42
cents, a year ago. Total sales at the company came in at $3.01 billion, up 8%.
Same-store sales, or those at outlets open at least a year, climbed 8% worldwide.
The average estimate had been for the company to earn 42 cents a share on revenue
of $3.21 billion. Looking to the current year, Yum raised its 2008 profit target
from $1.82 to $1.85 per share, excluding one-time gains. See full story
Click for Detail

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