Accenture, Edwards, Koppers, Oracle, RIM: U.S. Equity Preview
Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses.
The following index changes have been announced by Standard & Poor’s:
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) will replace Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q) in the S&P 500, The Cooper Cos. (COO US) will move to the S&P MidCap 400 from the S&P SmallCap 600 and Koppers Holdings Inc. (KOP) will replace Cooper Cos. in the S&P SmallCap 600, all after the close of trading on March 31.
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) will remain in the S&P 500 after it spins off Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII-W US), while Huntington Ingalls will replace Dynegy Inc. (DYN) in the S&P MidCap 400 Index. Those changes will take place after the close of trading on March 30.
Accenture Plc (ACN) : The world’s second-largest technology-consulting firm said its 2011 forecast was $3.22 a share to $3.30 a share, more than the estimated $3.13 cents a share.
Body Central Corp. (BODY) : The woman’s clothing retailer said 2011 earnings-per-share would be between $1.08 a share and $1.12 a share, more than the forecast 96 cents a share.
Finish Line Inc. (FINL) : The athletic apparel retailer said adjusted fourth-quarter profit was 65 cents a share, in line with the average of eight estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) : The world’s top supplier of database software reported third-quarter profit of 54 cents a share excluding some items, beating the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey by 8.9 percent.
Primo Water Corp. (PRMW) : The provider of bottled water and water dispensers reported a fourth-quarter loss of 13 cents a share versus a forecast loss of 16 cents a share from the average of four analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) : The BlackBerry maker projected first-quarter earnings of $1.47 to $1.55, while analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated an average profit of $1.66 a share.
Smart Modular Technologies Inc. (SMOD US): The storage chipmaker said its third-quarter earnings will be 9 cents a share to 12 cents a share. Analysts estimated a profit of 11 cents a share.
Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA) : The apparel chain for teenage girls said fourth-quarter profit was 7 cents a share excluding some items, beating the projected 5 cents a share from the average of seven estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cecile Vannucci in New York at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net.