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THE DAY AHEAD: Stocks to Watch

2 min read

Expect the following tech stocks to be among Thursday's movers: IXL Enterprises, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Ortel.

  • IXL Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: IIXL)

    The online services provider's initial offering of 6 million shares priced last night at $12 a share. These shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq later today.

    The Internet consultant helps businesses identify how the Internet can be used to their competitive advantage, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Merrill Lynch led the issue, assisted by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, BancBoston Robertson Stephens and Nationsbanc Montgomery Securities.

  • Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HWP)

    The computing giant said on Wednesday it expects low double-digit revenue growth in the second half of 1999 and a slight dip in the company's operating profit margin. The company cited revenue growth in Asia and strong demand for its UNIX servers for the expected rise in sales. Operating margins are seen coming down to 9 percent to 10 percent from 10 percent to 11 percent.

    Also, H-P expects to spend about $200 million to split its company into two units.

    Shares dropped 3/8 to 89 3/4.

  • Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)

    As he has done before, Paul Allen is selling a portion of his stake in the software giant. Allen filed to sell 600,000 shares, which raises about $46.5 million. According to a filing, Allen intended to sell the shares on May 21. As of January, Allen had a 5.5 percent stake in Microsoft. Shares dipped 1/16 to 78 7/16.

  • Ortel Corp. (Nasdaq: ORTL)

    The data transmission software company reported a fourth quarter loss of 4 cents a share, which beat the 9-cent loss expected by the First Call Corp. consensus estimate of six analysts.

    Ortel also announced plans to sell its wireless business to focus on fiber optics.

    Shares added 1/16 to 11 7/16.