Dollar Thrifty, Administaff Rise; BP, BHP Fall

Mayank Mehta
03 May, 2010
New York City

SanDisk Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 4.9%. Administaff, Inc first quarter sales fall 1% but still reported higher than expected profit. Dollar Thrifty soars after Avis said it is prepared to offer more than Hertz

[R]12:30 PM New York - SanDisk Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 4.9%. Administaff, Inc first quarter sales fall 1% but still reported higher than expected profit. Dollar Thrifty soars after Avis said it is prepared to offer more than Hertz’s bid. Continental and UAL Corp were active after the merger agreement.[/R]

Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 397 increased, 96 declined and 7 were unchanged.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc led the decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 5.1% followed by losses in Peabody Energy Corporation of 4.4% and in Consol Energy Inc of 3.2%, in Owens-Illinois, Inc of 3.0% and in Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc of 2.9%.

SanDisk Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 4.9% followed by gains in Apartment Investment and Management Company 4.6%, in JDS Uniphase Corporation of 4.6% and in Tesoro Corporation 4.1%.

Other Movers

Administaff, Inc ((ASF)) surged 25.5% or $5.26 to $27.40 after the professional employer organization reported first quarter sales fell 1% to $457.7 million from $462.0 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 72% to $2.3 million or 9 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $8.2 million or 33 cents per share a year ago.

Alaska Air Group, Inc ((ALK)) added 2.2% or 94 cents to $42.35 after the airline was reported to have hedged 50% of fuel purchase for this year according Barro’s.

Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo ((SBS)) rose 2.9% or $1.15 to $40.50 after the Brazil’s water utility has launched a 27.6 million-real ($15.8 million) tender to improve water services in western São Paulo city.

The Clorox Company ((CLX)) fell 1.3% or 85 cents to $63.79 after the manufacturer and marketer of consumer products reported third quarter sales rose 1.5% to $1.37 billion from $1.35 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 8% to $165 million or $1.16 per diluted share compared to net income of $153 million or $1.08 per share a year ago.

Continental ((CAL)) traded up 52 cents to $22.87 and UAL Corp added 61 cents to $22.22 after the airlines agreed to merge.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc ((DPS)) gained 3.7% or $1.21 to $33.95 after the beverage company was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Stifel Nicolaus.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group ((DTG)) soared 14.8% or $6.53 to $50.52 after Avis Budget Group sent a letter to board of directors and indicated it is prepared to offer “substantially higher” price per share than $41 a share offered by Hertz Global Holdings. Hertz declined 5.3% to $13.69.

Doral Financial Corporation ((DRL)) plunged 33.5% or $1.81 to $3.58 after the Puerto Rico bank holding company was downgraded to “sell” from “buy” at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

General Growth Properties, Inc ((GGP)) rose 1.9% or 30 cents to $16.00 after the mall owner’s selected as its preferred option for exiting bankruptcy a revised proposal led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. over a competing offer from rival Simon Property Group Inc., according to the Wall Street Journal.

Integral Systems, Inc ((ISYS)) dropped 6.9% or 65 cents to $8.72 after the maker of Epoch Client satellite systems and software said that Bill Bambarger has announced his intention to resign as Chief Financial Officer, citing personal and health reasons.

Kaydon Corporation ((KDN)) added 4.1% or $1.71 to $43.34 after the designer and manufacturer of custom engineered, performance-critical products reported first quarter sales rose 8% to $119.2 million from $110.3 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 36.6% to $13.8 million or 41 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $10.1 million or 30 cents per share a year ago.

Loews Corporation ((L)) rose 1.4% or 52 cents to $37.76 after the diversified corporation reported first quarter revenues rose 23% to $3.71 billion from $3.02 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter was $420 million or 99 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $647 million or $1.49 per share a year ago.

Mednax, Inc ((MD)) fell 0.3% or 20 cents to $54.74 after the health care services company reported first quarter sales fell 9.5% to $332.9 million from $303.9 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 12.3% to $38.3 million or 81 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $34.1 million or 74 cents per share a year ago.

Popular, Inc ((BPOP)) gained 8.6% or 34 cents to $4.29 after the bank said Westernbank Puerto Rico was seized by the FDIC on Friday with about $11.9 billion in assets.

Pozen Inc ((POZN)) surged 21.2% or $2.30 to $13.15 after the drugmaker and AstraZeneca and said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved VIMOVO™ for arthritis patients at risk of gastric ulcers.

Standard Microsystems Corporation ((SMSC)) rose 2.1% or 54 cents to $26.22 after the semiconductor maker was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Capstone Investments.

Sysco Corporation ((SYY)) rose 0.2% or 8 cents to $31.59 after the distributor of food and related products reported third quarter sales rose 2.4% to $8.95 billion from $8.74 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 9.5% to $247.6 million or 42 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $226.2 million or 38 cents per share a year ago.