Analyst roundup: IBM cut again
IBM's standing with Gruntal & Company suffers; Cypress sees a ratings cut as well. Netscape and Open Market were among those picked up.
IBM (IBM) had its ratings cut by Gruntal & Company analyst David Takata for fiscal year 1997 to $12.47 a share from $13 a share. Takata also cut his first-quarter earnings per share estimate to $2.32 a share from $2.62 a share.
The stock was trading today from 145-3/4 to 147-3/4, compared with yesterday's close of 146-3/8.
This follows a round of analyst cuts on Wednesday, who cited a strong dollar abroad. (See related story)
Network General, BBN, E*Trade picked up
Network General (NETG), BBN (BBN), and E*Trade Group (EGRP) were picked up by Raymond James Financial.
All three companies were given an initial rating of "buy" and were fairly stable from yesterday's close of 26-1/8, 22-7/8, and 16-3/8, respectively.
Cypress downgraded
Cypress Semiconductor (CY) was downgraded by Schroder Wertheim to "hold," from "buy."
The company's stock tipped back just over 3 percent, trading as low as 11-3/4, from yesterday's close of 12-3/8.
Actel is upped
Actel (ACTL) was upgraded by Needham and Company to "buy" from "hold."
The stock was trading up over four percent, as high as 20-5/8 this morning, from yesterday's close of 19-5/8.
"The company's current business has picked up and the stock is undervalued compared to other programmable logic companies such as Altera," said New York-based Needam & Company analyst Haans Mosesman. "The momentum for the business is good going forward, and there is a great growth opportunity in 1998 and in late '97."
RadiSys gets upped
RadiSys (RSYS), a designer and manufacturer of PC-compatible embedded computer solutions, was boosted by Jensen Securities of Oregon to "neutral" from "underperform." Jensen also upped its earnings estimate for fiscal year 1997 to $1.55 a share from $1.50.
The stock was fairly stable, trading from 36 to 38-1/4, compared with yesterday's close of 37-1/2.
Netscape picked up
Two brokerage houses picked up coverage on Netscape Communications (NSCP). Prudential Securities and PaineWebber initiated a "neutral" rating.
The stock was trading around 37-1/2 in afternoon trading, up from yesterday's close of 36-5/8.
Open Market picked up
Paine Webber also started coverage of Open Market (OMKT) with a "buy."
The company's stock was up almost 6 percent, trading as high as 15-1/4 from yesterday's close of 13-3/4.
BDM upped to "buy"
BDM International (BDMI) was upped by Prudential Securities to a "buy" from a "hold."
The company's stock was trading up 2-1/2 points from yesterday's close of 46.
Credence sees a "buy"
Semiconductor equipment maker Credence Systems' (CMOS) near-term rating was boosted by Merrill Lynch to "buy" from "accumulate." The firm maintained its long-term "buy" rating.
The company's stock jumped over 12 percent to 20-3/4 from yesterday's close of 18-1/4.
Micron upped to "buy"
Micron Technology (MU) was upgraded by Josephthal, Lyon & Ross to a "buy" from a "hold."
The stock was trading up at 34-3/4, from yesterday's close of 33-/14.
Wind River 3-for-2
split
Software company Wind River Systems (WIND) announced a 3-for-2 stock split payable March 10 to shareholders of record as of February 24.
The stock jumped over nine percent to trade as high as 47-1/4 from yesterday's close of 43-1/8.