|
|
Get Four
|  | JANUARY 23, 2006
 EUROPEAN MARKET MOVERS On the Move: Philips, Vodafone, Sanofi-AventisPlus: Intercontinental Hotels, Nokia, Infineon, and other European companies making headlines MondayFrom Standard & Poor's European MarketScope France SANOFI-AVENTIS (SNY ) was down €1.00 to €75.15. A U.S. tribunal ruled against the company and partner QLT of Canada in a case about their Eligard drug, used to treat prostate cancer. TAP Pharmaceutical Products had sued both companies, claiming Eligard infringed one of its patents. The tribunal rejected the company's and QLT's argument that the patent was not applicable; both companies intend to appeal. Separately, the FDA opened a probe into the company's Ketek drug after three cases of serious liver damage. STM (STM ) was up €0.24 to €15.54. Dutch-based Philips (PHG ) reported strong fourth-quarter performance, especially in its semiconductor business, providing a good read-across for the company's shares. RHODIA was up €0.17 to €2.13. UBS upgraded the company to buy from neutral and upped its target by 46%, to €2.95 from €2.02. Germany INFINEON (IFX ) was up €0.17 to €7.79 on Philips's strong fourth-quarter results. TUI AG was unchanged at €17.27. ABN Amro downgraded the company to sell from hold and cut its target to €14.2 from €20.0. The broker said global container capacity growth of 13%-14% pa for the next two years is likely to drive down freight rates. LUFTHANSA was down €0.08 to €12.39. EasyJet is considering a lawsuit against the company over suspicions of "illegal dumping and cross-subsidizing" of low-cost affiliate Eurowings. DAIMLERCHRYSLER (DCX ) was down €0.18 to €42.66. Italian scooter company Piaggio, majority owned by Immsi, is mulling a takeover offer for the company's loss-making Smart car unit, Automotive News Europe reported, quoting sources familiar with the matter. Nordics NOKIA (NOK ) was down €0.09 to €14.99. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who is to take over as the company's CEO this summer, has been fined €31,000 for 'a minor tax fraud' in Finland, the FT wrote. The newspaper added that he failed to declare €11,000 worth of imported goods. Separately, the company is due to post fourth quarter earnings on Thursday. Spain ALTADIS was down €0.68 to €36.20. Fortis downgraded the company to hold following Friday's cigarette tax rises. The broker said that in order to maintain margins, the company would have to increase prices by 12.9% on its 'Fortuna' brand and by 18.5% on 'Ducados Rubio'. Ixis downgraded it to add from buy and lowered its target to €40.0 from €42.5. Netherlands PHILIPS (PHG ) was up €0.65 to €26.00. The company reported fiscal year net income of €2.868 billion (fourth quarter €332 million); EPS €2.29 (fourth quarter €0.28); sales €30.395 billion, +4% (fourth quarter €9.518 billion, +6%). It said fiscal year IFO amounted to €1.779 billion (fourth quarter €971 million). UNILEVER NV (UN ) was down €0.45 to €56.35. Lehman downgraded the food sector to negative from neutral saying valuation levels look high vs. historic levels. Switzerland NESTLE was down CHF0.75 to CHF379.25 on Lehman's downgrade of the food sector. UBS (UBS ) was up CHF1.50 to CHF134.00. The company is cutting all business ties with Iran because business in the country is unattractive, not for political reasons. United Kingdom CENTRICA was up £0.02 to £2.765. Gazprom has admitted that it is considering a takeover bid for the company, the Independent on Sunday reported. Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said last week that it wanted to supply a fifth of the UK's gas within a decade. VODAFONE (VOD ) was up £0.03 to £1.21. Several of the company's largest shareholders have called on it to sell its U.S. business Verizon Wireless, in which it has a 45% stake, and raise a possible £25 billion, The Sunday Times reported. HSBC was down £0.12 to £9.31. Goldman Sachs downgraded the company to in-line from outperform. The downgrade, which followed the 8% share price recovery from an October HK$120 low, was on the view that the company's earnings outlook will continue to be weighed down by the same U.S. consumer revenue and profit pressures that beset Citigroup (C ) in its fourth quarter 2005 results. INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS (IHG ) was down £0.08 to £8.32. ABN Amro upped its target to £10.00 from £7.75, implying a 19% upside. The broker retained its buy rating and said the stock is one of its four top picks in the sector for 2006.  Prepared by Zaida Espana, Valerie Vidal, Michael Sanderson, Mariella Mongio, Alexander Wisch, Holly Cook, Emma Stevenson, Pawan Girglani, Julien Manrique, and Rocio Opazo-Aniotz (Standard & Poor's); Alex Halperin (BusinessWeek Online) All of the views expressed in this research report accurately reflect the research analyst's personal views regarding any and all of the subject securities or issuers. No part of analyst compensation was, is or will be, directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this research report. Standard & Poor's Regulatory Disclosure Any advice, analysis, or recommendations contained in articles labeled "Insight from Standard & Poor's" reflect the views of Standard & Poor's, which operates separately from and independently of BusinessWeek Online. It is possible that BWOL may from time to time publish information that is not consistent with advice, analysis, or recommendations that are published by Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's and BusinessWeek Online are each units of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
BW MALL
SPONSORED LINKS
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Buy a link now! Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2006, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version
