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|  | MAY 24, 2005 04:29 PM
 MARKET MOVERS GM Falls on Fitch Debt DowngradeGenentech gets boost from eye drug; Toro's weather woes; plus more of Tuesday's stocks in the newsGeneral Motors (GM ) shares declined Tuesday after Fitch Ratings downgraded the senior unsecured ratings of the automaker, its GMAC unit, and the majority of affiliated entities to BB+ from BBB-, below investment grade. Fitch said the rating outlook for GM remains negative. Shares of Genentech (DNA ) moved higher after the company said a Phase III clinical study of Lucentis met its primary efficacy endpoint of maintaining vision in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration. S&P reiterates strong buy and raises its price target. The Genentech news had a negative impact on shares of Eyetech (EYET ) as the new compound could cut into the market share of Eyetech's competing product, Macugen. S&P upgraded Eyetech to hold on valuation; Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley reportedly downgraded the stock. Shares of Pfizer (PFE ), Eyetech's marketing partner for Macugen, were also lower. The MidAmerican Energy Holdings unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A ) agreed to buy the PacifiCorp unit of Scottish Power (SPI ) for about $9.4 billion. Maxtor (MXO ) will restate first-quarter results. The company says the first-quarter loss was overstated by 2 cents; inventory was understated by $4 million, cost of goods sold was also understated by $4 million. Maxtor says the restatement will not impact second-quarter guidance or results. LSI Logic (LSI ) named Abhi Talwalkar as president and CEO. S&P keeps hold. One of Morgan Stanley's (MWD ) co-heads of M&A, Raymond McGuire, told the company he taking a job at Citigroup (C ), according to a Wall Street Journal report. Toro (TTC ) posted $1.33 vs. $1.00 second-quarter EPS on a 15% sales rise.The company says narrowed gross margin was offset by lower SG&A costs. Toro adds that if the weather doesn't improve soon, its third-quarter EPS target will be at risk. PalmSource (PSRC ) sold its its 55% stake in the group that owns the Palm brand. PalmOne will pay $30 million over three and one-half years to acquire full rights to the brand. Williams-Sonoma (WSM ) posted 22 cents vs. 18 cents first-quarter EPS on a 5% same-store sales rise and a 12% net revenue rise. The retailer cut its 2.5%-4.5% second-quarter same-store sales guidance to 1.5%-3.5%, and lowered its $782-$798 million second-quarter net revenue guidance to $774-$790 million. It also set an additional 2 million share buyback.  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. Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  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  | | |
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