Lennar Surges 10%; Red Hat Net Up 7%

Mayank Mehta
25 Jun, 2009
New York City

Lennar Corp led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 9.5%. Bed Bath & Beyond earns $87.2 million in fiscal first quarter. ConAgra Foods fourth quarter profit drops 13%. Nike fourth quarter net income falls. Red Hat tops earnings views.

[R]11:45 AM New York – Lennar Corp led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 9.5%. Bed Bath & Beyond earns $87.2 million in fiscal first quarter. ConAgra Foods fourth quarter profit drops 13%. Nike fourth quarter net income falls. Red Hat tops earnings views[/R]

Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 231 increased, 256 declined and 13 were unchanged.

Paychex, Inc led the decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 6.3% followed by losses in Dynegy Inc of 5.3%, in NIKE, Inc of 4.4%, in ConAgra Foods, Inc of 3.0% and in Ford Motor Company of 3.0%.

Lennar Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 9.5% followed by gains in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc 8.3%, in Cameron International Corp of 5.6% and KB Home of 4.8%.

Other Movers

Acxiom Corporation ((ACXM)) fell 22.0% or $2.51 to $8.87 after the computer-services company today reported its revenues and earnings expectations for the fiscal 2010 first quarter ending June 30, 2009. The company expects revenue of approximately $245 million to $255 million and diluted earnings per share of approximately 3 cents to 7 cents.

Analog Devices, Inc ((ADI)) climbed 3.5% or 84 cents to $24.57 after the maker of chips was upgraded from “underperform” to “buy” at Merrill Lynch.

Antigenics Inc ((AGEN)) advanced 5.4% or 10 cents to $1.94 after the vaccine maker today announced that the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, has expanded its Phase 2 clinical trial of Oncophage to include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc ((BBBY)) added 5.8% or $1.67 to $30.06 after the home decor chain said first quarter sales rose 2.8% to $1.69 billion from $1.65 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 14% to $87.2 million or 34 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $76.8 million or 30 cents per a year ago.

ConAgra Foods, Inc ((CAG)) fell 4.1% or 83 cents to $19.20 after the maker of frozen meals reported fourth quarter sales rose 8% to $3.3 billion from $3.1 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 13% to $174.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $201.3 million or 41 cents per share a year ago.

Deere & Company ((DE)) gained 3.6% or $1.44 to $41.43 after the world’s largest maker of agricultural equipment was upgraded to “neutral” from “sell” at Goldman Sachs.

Dynegy Inc ((DYN)) the electric energy services provider lost 3.0% or 6 cents to $1.98.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc ((HTZ)) gained 9.2% or 65 cents to $7.66 after the rental car company for the second quarter forecasts revenues in the range of $1.70 to $1.75 billion. EBITDA in the range of $260 million to $270 million, adjusted pre-tax income in the range of $65 to $70 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of 9 cents to 10 cents.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc ((JAZZ)) surged 47.0% or $1.53 to $4.80 after the Palo Alto, California based drug maker said positive preliminary top-line results from the second of two Phase III clinical trials of sodium oxybate for the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Jefferies Group, Inc ((JEF)) gained 4.3% or 89 cents to $21.34 after the New York based brokerage expects to report net earnings for the second quarter of greater than $50 million on record net revenues that are expected to exceed $500 million.

Lennar Corporation ((LEN)) rose 4.6% or 36 cents to $8.18 after the homebuilder reported second quarter revenues fell 21% to $891.9 million from $1.13 billion a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $125.2 million or 76 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $120.9 million or 76 cents per share a year ago.

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc ((MCZ)) fell 3.0% or 0.010 cents to $0.340 after the third-party interactive entertainment accessory provider said fourth quarter sales rose 3.9% to $22.8 million from $21.9 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $3.7 million or 7 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $0.8 million or 2 cents per a year ago.

NIKE, Inc ((NKE)) declined 4.6% or $2.44 to $50.58 after the athletic shoe and clothing maker said fourth quarter revenues fell 7.8% to $4.7 billion from $5.1 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 30.4% to $341.4 million or 70 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $490.5 million or 98 cents per a year ago.

Paychex, Inc ((PAYX)) fell 2.0% or 52 cents to $26.19 after the payroll and personnel services provider said fourth quarter revenues fell 4% to $495.9 million from $519.2 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 16% to $113.8 million or 32 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $135.5 million or 38 cents per a year ago.

Red Hat Inc ((RHT)) rose 3.0% or 50 cents to $20.13 after the business software provider said first quarter revenues rose 11% to $174.4 million from $156.6 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 7% to $18.5 million or 10 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $17.3 million or 8 cents per a year ago.

Tween Brands, Inc ((TWB)) gained 27.6% or $1.43 to $6.61 after the U.S. clothing retailer today jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which a subsidiary of Dress Barn, Inc. will merge with Tween Brands in a stock-for-stock transaction.

Xyratex Limited ((XRTX)) surged 5.9% or 22 cents to $3.95 after the data storage and storage technology company said second quarter revenues fell 27% to $194.7 million from $266.5 million a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was $9.6 million or 33 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $2.2 million or 7 cents per a year ago.