De poging die meteen na de start gisteren werd ingezet om via een relief rally het 200-daags gemiddelde te verlaten kreeg geen vervolg. De markt bracht menig belegger op het verkeerde been zodat we ons nu opnieuw moeten opmaken voor de daling onder die 200-MA lijn. De beweging in welke richting dan ook zal behoorlijk stevig worden, let daarom op met uw posities.
Dinsdag 25 mei:
Vandaag, op economisch gebied krijgen we het consumentenvertrouwen over de maand mei en het aantal verkochte bestaande woningen over de maand mei. Bedrijfscijfers krijgen we van o.a. Vodafone, Heinz Company, Agile Software en VA Software Company. Let er wel op dat de markt gevaarlijk dicht bij hun 200-daags gemiddelde blijven.
- 18:00 ET Monday After Hours : prices levels vs. 4 pm ET: The after hours has assumed a more positive tone on the heels of today's disappointing finish, with the S&P futures, at 1097, 2 points above fair value, and the Nasdaq 100 futures, at 1415, 5 points above fair value. Tonight's corporate developments have been fairly sparse, but most have been of an upbeat nature.
- Dycom (DY) (+3%) : Provider of specialty contracting services matches the Q3 (Apr) Reuters Research consensus EPS estimate of $0.23, but handily beats the consensus revenue estimate of $197.8 mln (revenues rose 57% to $219.6 mln); Company goes on to guide Q4 (July) EPS and sales above the Street's forecasts; Q1 (Nov) was also pegged at the high-end of estimates; DY has underperformed the market the past 3 months.
- Medtronic (MED) (+1%) : As suggested in this morning's Wall Street Journal, medical device maker does top the market's Q4 (Apr) top and bottom-line expectations; Management describes 'market share gains and accelerating growth across all operating segments;' On its conference call, company says its highly anticipated drug-eluting stent, End eavor (due out next year), should add $1 bln in sales in its first full year on the market, contributing about $0.35 a share to EPS.
- Monster Worldwide (MNST) -1%: Internet company announces its intention to buy Tickle Inc, a site that offers psychological and self-help tests for career assessment purposes; Deal is structured as an initial cash payment of $29.5 mln plus 1 mln shares of MNST stock, to be followed by potentially $40-plus mln over 3 years, depending on Tickle's ability to meet certain financial hurdles; According to Monster, Tickle is profitable and generated $25 mln in sales over the last 12 months.
- Novell (NOVL) (-6%) : Network software maker reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.03 per share on revenues that rose 6% to $293.6 mln; NetWare (its largest product) sales, though, fell roughly 5% - helping to solidify the view that NetWare (tied to the Linux operating system) is losing share to Windows-based technology; Stock has also sold off on a 7 day sequential increase in days sales outstanding (to 67).
- VeriSign (VRSN) -2% : Internet and telecom company says it plans to purchase Germany-based Jamba!, a wireless content provider, for $273 mln in cash and VRSN stock; VeriSign said the acquisition 'may have some incremental impact to Q2 (June) results,' but was comfortable enough reiterating its Q2 forecast; Company adds that it expects Jamba! to generate $70 mln in revenue in 2H04, to be neutral to FY04 (Dec) EPS and to be modestly accretive to FY05 EPS.
Guy Boscart,