Friday Stocks to Watch

The market is trading higher in the afternoon after the good house data reported this morning. Maybe the economy is not as bad as people think. Perhaps buyers are back now.
Here are the stocks to be watched on your list from MarketWatch:

Advancers

3Com Corp. (COMS) shares rose Friday after the company narrowed its third-quarter net loss to a penny a share from 8 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue at the provider of voice and data networking solutions nearly doubled to $323.4 million vs. $177.6 million. Additionally, the Chinese government cleared 3Com's proposed $882 million acquisition of Huawei Technologies' 49% stake in the Huawei-3Com Ltd. joint venture.

Advancis Pharmaceutical Corp. (AVNC) said it has resubmitted a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for its once-daily amoxicillin Pulsys product, a treatment for adolescents and adults with pharyngitis/tonsillitis. The Germantown, Md.-based company said it believes it responded to the FDA's requests for more information fully and directly. Advancis said it sees the anticipated target action date for the product's application as January 2008.

Bel Fuse (BELFA)(BELFB) shares jumped after Technitrol Inc. (TNL) sent a letter to the board of Bel Fuse offering to acquire the company for $40.30 a share, or $480 million, in cash.

DaimlerChrysler (DCX) shares rose on speculation it had issued a letter to employees prohibiting insider share sales in conjunction with the possible sale of Chrysler, though a spokesman for DaimlerChrysler rejected the rumor.

Dreamworks (DWA) was lifted to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Shares of storage hardware makers EMC Corp. (EMC) and Network Appliance (NTAP) gained, lifted by Wall Street upgrades.

G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (GIII) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of 3 cents a share from a loss of 23 cents in the year-earlier period. The New York apparel maker's net sales rose 43% to $98.8 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted earnings of 2 cents on revenue of $99.4 million. G-III expects a first-quarter loss of 51 cents to 56 cents a share and net sales of $28 million.

General Motors Corp. (GM) shares rose after Merrill Lynch in a note reiterated that it has a $50 price target for the stock and said it's currently trading well below its historical range

Shares of ImClone Systems Inc. (IMCL) jumped Friday after rival Amgen Inc. (AMGN) said it discontinued a trial of colon cancer treatment Vectibix because it reduced patient survival. ImClone's Erbitux competes with Vectibix. See full story.

Kronos Inc. (KRON) signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VI LP and its related funds in a transaction valued at about $1.8 billion. The Chelmsford, Mass., maker of data collection systems said its shareholders will receive $55.00 a share in cash, a 34.4% premium over its closing share price from 20 trading days ago. The company's board has approved the agreement and will recommend that shareholders approve the agreement. Kronos said the transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter ending Sept.

New Century Financial (NEWC) agreed to transfer $900 million of loans to Barclays Plc, one of its financial backers, as the subprime mortgage specialist tries to recover from a credit crunch in the sector. See full story.

New York Times Co. (NYT) lifted the quarterly dividend 31%, to 23 cents a share from 17.5 cents, payable June 13 to holders of record as of June 1.

Palm's (PALM) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell, though revenue beat Wall Street's forecasts thanks to strong sales of its smart-phone products. See full story. The company was cut to reduce from neutral at UBS.

Paxar Corp. (PXR) said Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) agreed to buy the label and tag company for $30.50 a share, or about $1.34 billion.

Power-One Inc. (PWER) shares rose after the company said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has completed the Markman hearing in its patent litigation against Artesyn Technologies and issued its claim construction ruling, which Power-One said "decides a number of important issues" in its favor. Power-One said the court's ruling rejects a defense raised by Artesyn, a unit of Emerson Electric Co. , that Power-One's patents are invalid as being indefinite. "The court's ruling is a big positive for our litigation and validates our belief in the broad meaning and scope of our patent claims," said Power-One Chief Executive Bill Yeates in a statement.

Pozen Inc. (POZN) said the Food and Drug Administration accepted for review its amended response to the agency's approvable letter for its Trexima migraine treatment. Pozen said the FDA has also notified the company that it expects a Class II review, which could result in a new decision date of Aug. 1. Pending FDA clearance, the product could be available in the second half of 2007, the Chapel Hill, N.C., company said.

Royal Ahold (AHO) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch on the supermarket operator's fourth-quarter figures. "Less leveraged, more orderly in operating terms and with over 5 billion euros of property on the balance sheet, the group could then start to consider increased investment or further possible 'asset-funded' distributions to investors," the broker said.

Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. (SMXC) said Friday it would be acquired by Western Express Inc. in a deal with an enterprise value of about $90 million, including existing debt. Smithway, a Fort Dodge, Iowa, trucking company, said its stockholders will receive $10.63 a share, an 18% premium over Thursday's closing price, for an equity value of $54 million. Separately, Smithway reported that it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $42,000, or a penny a share, from a year-earlier profit of $755,000, or 15 cents a share, due partly to an uninsured loss and legal expenses from a settlement.

Shares of State Street (STT) rose Friday after analysts at UBS upgraded the shares to buy from neutral.

Synnex Corp. (SNX) shares gained after the Fremont, Calif.-based company reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $13.9 million, or 43 cents a share, up from $10.7 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue for the quarter ended Feb. 28 rose to $1.59 billion from $1.5 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 40 cents a share on revenue $1.61 billion. Synnex forecast fiscal second-quarter earnings of 43 cents to 45 cents a share on revenue of $1.595 billion to $1.645 billion. Analysts are looking for a per-share profit of 41 cents on revenue of $1.62 billion.

Urban Outfitters (URBN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wachovia Securities after a meeting with management that convinced the broker that a turnaround is well underway. "After a challenging year in which margins fell 560 basis points and earnings declined 10%, management was forced to take a hard look at virtually all aspects of the business. What it found were several areas that could benefit from improved efficiencies including real estate, store construction, and sourcing," Wachovia said.

Decliners

Amgen (AMGN) discontinued a clinical trial evaluating the addition of its Vectibix drug to a treatment regimen of chemotherapy and Avastin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The combination was found to hinder patient survival. See full story.

A. Schulman Inc. (SHLM) cut its fiscal 2007 earnings outlook on continued weakness in Europe and North America during the second quarter ended Feb. 28. The Akron, Ohio, supplier of plastic compounds and resin now expects net income for the year ending Aug. 31 of $25 million to $30 million, below the prior estimate that it would meet or exceed fiscal 2006 net of $32.7 million.

Bookham Inc. (BKHM) shares slipped after the San Jose, Calif.-based maker of optical components, modules and subsystems said it will sell 13.7 million shares and warrants to purchase 4.1 million shares in a private placement. The company said the offering will generate gross proceeds of roughly $28.6 million. The warrants, which have a term of five years and will become exercisable after Sept. 23, have an exercise price of $2.80 per share, subject to adjustment. Bookham plans to use the proceeds from the offering for general working capital.

Ceco Environmental Corp. (CECE) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $1.2 million, or 9 cents a share. During the same period a year ago, the company posted a net loss of $393,000, or 4 cents a share. The New York-based provider of air pollution control and industrial ventilation systems reported revenue of $41.5 million vs. $23 million.

Comverse Technology (CMVT) reported a fourth-quarter loss from operations of $18.2 million, compared with earnings of $20.6 million in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings were $26.6 million versus $34.3 million. In addition, the first phase of the company's stock-option inquiry is complete and it has recorded $314 million of expense for the period during which it is restating results.

Genentech Inc. (DNA) backed its 2007 earnings growth forecast on Friday and said it expects first-quarter U.S. product sales to be essentially flat compared with the fourth quarter, but lifted its short-and long-term drug production goals. See full story.

Hana Biosciences Inc. (HNAB) shares tumbled after the South San Francisco, Calif.-based company announced it is no longer pursuing a special protocol assessment for its drug Marqibo with the Food and Drug Administration due to an FDA policy restricting SPAs to randomized trials. Marqibo is being developed to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Hana said it will conduct a Phase II, open-label trial in relapsed adult ALL. The company also plans to initiate a Phase III randomized, multicenter trial comparing Marqibo to vincristine in elderly patients with ALL. In addition, Hana said it will withdraw its new drug application for Zensana and stop development of the drug's original formulation. Zensana was being developed to prevent nausea and vomiting as a result of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Hana added that it is evaluating a new formulation of Zensana.

IHS Inc., (IHS) the Englewood, Colo., provider of technical information, tools and services, said a holder began a secondary offering of 3.75 million shares.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) reported fiscal second-quarter revenue rose 27% to $2.9 billion. The contract manufacturer for the electronics industry didn't provide earnings results because accountants and board's audit committee are still reviewing its previous financial statements. For the third quarter, Jabil estimates a result between a loss of 8 cents a share and a profit of 4 cents a share as revenue ranges $2.9 billion to $3 billion.

Newtek Business Services Inc. (NEWT) shares sank after the New York-based company late Thursday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $3.9 million, or 11 cents a share, on revenue of $29.8 million. For 2007, the company forecast a net loss of 30 cents to 33 cents a share on revenue of $90.5 million to $92.5 million.

Nike Inc. (NKE) reported a nearly 8% jump in quarterly profit, helped by strength in Europe and Asia and favorable currency exchange, but said profit margins in the current quarter and year would be flat or slightly down. See full story.

Reliant Energy (RRI) was cut to sell from neutral at Banc of America, which said the company's valuation doesn't support the current stock price.

RF Monolithics Inc. (RFMI) swung to a second-quarter loss of 44 cents a share from year-earlier net income of 2 cents, as revenue fell 2.7% to $12.3 million. The Dallas wireless technology company expects third-quarter sales to rise 5% to 10% sequentially. The company said it expects fiscal 2008 per-share earnings of 15 cents to 25 cents.

Vonage (VG) shares fell Friday after a federal judge ordered the Internet-phone company to stop using patented technology owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ). See full story.