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Shuffle Master Higher on Raised Guidance

Oracle posts higher net; Jones Apparel retains Goldman to advise on possible sale of company; plus more stocks in the news Tuesday

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Shuffle Master (SHFL) shares moved higher Tuesday after the company posted 21 cents vs. 17 cents first quarter EPS on a 31% revenue rise. It raises fiscal year 2006 EPS guidance to between $1.02 and $1.05.

Jones Apparel(JNY) shares moved higher Tuesday after the company retained Goldman Sachs as advisor to assist in a possible sale of the company.

Healthways (HWAY) shares surged Tuesday after the company posted 34 cents vs. 24 cents second quarter EPS (non-GAAP) on a 33% revenue rise. It raises fiscal year 2006 EPS guidance to between $1.16 and $1.19. Jefferies upgraded the shares to buy from hold.

Oracle (ORCL) posts 14 cents vs. 10 cents third quarter earnings per share (EPS) under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) on an 18% revenue rise.

Corning (GLW) late Tuesday announced the commercial launch of EAGLE XG(TM), the industry's first liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrate that is free of all heavy metals. They aim to minimize their customers' potential costs related to environmental regulations and recycling challenges.

Qualcomm (QCOM) says the Supreme Court for the State of New York dismissed all claims brought against Qualcomm by Whale Telecom.

LG.Philips (LPL) sees first quarter LCD's area shipments down slightly from the fourth quarter 2005, vs. previous guidance of a mid-single digit percentage increase. It raises its high-teens earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin percentage forecast to the mid-twenties.

Host Marriott (HMT) raises its quarterly dividend 17% to 14 cents.

McCormick (MKC) posts 11 cents (including items) vs. 26 cents first quarter EPS despite a 1% sales rise.

Bally Total Fitness (BFT) Virgin Group, run by the flamboyant British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, is eyeing a takeover of the health club chain Bally Total Fitness as a way to grow its Virgin fitness club business in the U.S., according to the NY Post.

Dollar General (DG) posts 46 cents vs. 41 cents fourth quarter EPS on a 13% sales rise. It sees 15 cents to 18 cents first quarter EPS, excluding the potential effect of proceeds from a hurricane-related insurance claim, and $1.14 to $1.21 EPS in fiscal year 2007 including a penny of stock-based compensation expense.

Digital River (DRIV) raises first quarter EPS non-GAAP guidance to 48 cents and revenue to $77 million. Current first quarter guidance excludes amortization of purchased intangibles, stock-based comp expenses, and a 34% tax rate.

Progress Software (PRGS) posts 14 cents vs. 23 cents first quarter EPS as higher operating expenses offset a 6.3% revenue rise. It sees 17 cents to 19 cents second quarter GAAP EPS and 78 cents to 85 cents fiscal year 2006 GAAP EPS.

Sonic (SONC) posts 22 cents vs. 18 cents second quarter EPS on 5.5% higher system-wide same-store sales growth and 12% higher total revenue. It targets a same-store sales growth target of 3% to 5% in both the third and fourth quarters.

Rambus (RMBS) raises $41 million to $43 million first quarter revenue guidance to between $45 million and $48 million.

Actions Semiconductor (ACTS) says the US International Trade Commission made Initial Determination in a patent infringement lawsuit between Actions Semiconductor and Sigmatel (SGTL), in which it found that certain Actions Semicondcutor audio processing ICs infringe on asserted patents of Sigmatel.

Steinway Musical (LVB) posts 66 cents vs. 84 cents fourth quarter EPS (adjusted) as narrowed gross margin and a higher tax rate offset a 3% revenue rise. It expects the US piano business to remain challenging. It also sees 2006 total sales and operating profits showing improvement over 2005.

TRM (TRMM) S&P Ratings Services lowers its corporate credit rating on the company to 'CCC' from 'B+', and revises its CreditWatch placement to developing from negative. The agency downgrade reflects the weakened status of the company's loan agreement with the bank group. S&P and BusinessWeek Online are owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Phillips van Heusen (PVH) posts 41 cents vs. 33 cents fourth quarter EPS on an 11% revenue rise. It sees $2.16 to $2.22 non-GAAP fiscal year 2007 EPS.

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.
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