NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Uncertainty about the weather and volatile propane prices prompted Cornerstone Progane to slash its quarterly distribution, which elicited negative reactions from analysts.
Stocks in the financial sector, including Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and Franklin Resources, also took a hit after several analysts came out with negative comments and rating cuts.
Bucking the financial downtrend were shares of Heller Financial, which rallied after the company agreed to a $5.3 billion cash buyout offer from the financial services arm of General Electric Co.
Monday's losers
Cornerstone Propane (CNO: down $7.40 to $9.05, Research, Estimates). The company cut its quarterly dividend distribution to 27 cents from 54 cents. AG Edwards cut its rating to "sell" from "buy" citing concerns over the timing of a price recovery. CIBC World Markets cut its rating to "hold" from "buy."
Lehman Brothers (LEH: down $1.62 to $73.52, Research, Estimates). Goldman Sachs cut its rating to "market perform" from "market outperform" citing expectations for a slowdown in fixed income which has been traditionally a strong unit for Lehman. Goldman also cut its earnings estimate for 2001 to $5.47 a share from $5.85.
Goldman Sachs (GS: down $2.13 to $82.69, Research, Estimates). J.P. Morgan cut its third-quarter earnings estimate to 84 cents a share from 94 cents citing weaker than anticipated investment banking and trading.
Franklin Resources (BEN: down $1.10 to $43.19, Research, Estimates). UBS Warburg cut its rating to "hold" from "buy" citing the prospect for weak margins led by pressure from Franklin's Fiduciary Trust acquisition.
Ivax (IVX: down $5.22 to $32.69, Research, Estimates). ABN Amro downgraded the drugmaker to "hold" from "add" after Bedford Labs received approval to sell the cancer drug paclitaxel, making it the second generic competitor to surface in the past week. Ivax had been the only generic competitor and ABN Amro said earlier-than-expected approvals for competitors could damage sentiment as visibility decreases.
Aviron (AVIR: down $13.87 to $27.21, Research, Estimates). The biotech developer's spray flu vaccine has been delayed after a government regulatory committee said it needed more information. The company had been planning on launching the product by year's end.
Biomet (BMET: down $1.18 to $48.43, Research, Estimates). U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray cut its rating on the medical device manufacturer to "buy" from "strong buy."
Salix Pharmaceutical (SLXP: down $2.59 to $17.82, Research, Estimates). UBS Warburg downgraded the firm to "buy" from "strong buy," based on the higher risk-reward profile from a valuation standpoint and the slight delay in the ramp up for the anti-colitis drug Colazal.
Phelps Dodge (PD: down $0.56 to $40.57, Research, Estimates). Morgan Stanley downgraded the copper producer to "underperform" from "neutral" with a $35 price target based on uninspiring outlook for the copper market over the next 18 months.
Daimler Chrysler (DCX: down $0.70 to $48.87, Research, Estimates). Merrill Lynch cut its intermediate term rating to "reduce" from "neutral," saying near-term sentiment risk remains on the downside.
Adobe Systems (ADBE: down $2.52 to $40.54, Research, Estimates). The graphics software maker said it expects to meet fiscal third-quarter earnings forecasts, but may have trouble meeting its revenue estimates.
QLogic (QLGC: down $1.36 to $37.75, Research, Estimates). U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray issued negative comments about the maker of specialty chips for storage networking solutions.
Monday's winners
Heller Financial (HF: up $17.09 to $52.99, Research, Estimates). GE Capital, the huge financial services arm of General Electric Co. (GE: down $1.05 to $43.60, Research, Estimates) that was spurned in two attempted takeovers this year, said it has agreed to buy Heller Financial for $5.3 billion in cash.
Numerical Technologies (NMTC: up $2.46 to $26.80, Research, Estimates). The software maker said that Analog Devices (ADI: down $0.25 to $46.75, Research, Estimates) and Qualcomm (QCOM: up $0.93 to $64.11, Research, Estimates) are using the company's Cadabra tools.
ATMI (ATMI: up $0.42 to $25.96, Research, Estimates). Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of the semiconductor material manufacturer with an intermediate-term rating of "accumulate" and a long-term rating of "buy." Merrill said ATMI's sales are more tied to demand for wafer usage than capital spending, providing more stable revenue growth.
Vivendi (V: up $0.41 to $58.38, Research, Estimates). The media company, whose "Jurassic Park III" is its latest summer film hit, benefited from a Barron's cover story.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: up $0.53 to $18.21, Research, Estimates). The chipmaker received a positive mention in the latest edition of Barron's.
NetObjects (NETO: up $0.34 to $1.04, Research, Estimates). The Web building and software developer announced a three-year distribution and services deal in which Hewlett-Packard (HWP: down $0.15 to $24.21, Research, Estimates) will use NetObjects' software in its digital imaging devices.
Eli Lilly (LLY: up $0.71 to $79.09, Research, Estimates). The company said a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel unanimously recommended approval for the use of Lilly's Fortea as a treatment for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Barr Laboratories (BRL: up $3.60 to $89.38, Research, Estimates). The drugmaker said an Indiana judge entered an order invalidating the December 2003 patent protecting Eli Lilly's Prozac anti-depressant, clearing the way for Barr's launch of generic Prozak.
Amarin (AMRN: up $3.28 to $16.16, Research, Estimates). The pharmaceutical firm said it teamed up with Elan (ELN: up $0.13 to $57.65, Research, Estimates) to establish a franchise in the therapeutic area of Parkinson's disease. Amarin gains exclusive U.S. marketing, sales and distribution rights to Permax tablets, currently marketed as a therapy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Tommy Hilfiger (TOM: up $0.90 to $14.00, Research, Estimates). The clothing designer posted a fiscal first-quarter profit of 10 cents a share, 2 cents better than expectations but unchanged from the year- earlier period. The company said second-quarter estimates should be trimmed by 1 to 2 cents, but also said it was comfortably for full-year estimates of $1.60 a share.
Humana (HUM: up $0.83 to $10.13, Research, Estimates). The health insurance company posted second-quarter profit of 15 cents a share, in line with estimates and 4 cents better than the year-earlier period.
Lincoln National (LNC: up $1.53 to $50.70, Research, Estimates). The life insurance firm agreed to sell its reinsurance unit to Swiss Reinsurance for $2 billion in cash.
BEA Systems (BEAS: up $0.37 to $21.90, Research, Estimates). The e-business software developer announced that United Airlines (UAL: up $0.58 to $34.21, Research, Estimates) will use the BEA platform to integrate operations and improve customer service.
Wireless Facilities (WFII: up $1.10 to $7.60, Research, Estimates). Wachovia Securities initiates coverage with a "neutral" rating. The firm is bullish on the entire wireless network services sector in the mid- and long-term, but the industry faces a challenging operating environment in the near-term and visibility is poor.
Microsoft (MSFT: up $0.33 to $65.80, Research, Estimates). Pervasive Software (PVSW: up $0.11 to $2.07, Research, Estimates) renewed its agreement with Microsoft's Great Plains Business Solutions unit under undisclosed terms.
Brocade Communications (BRCD: up $0.30 to $31.98, Research, Estimates). Robertson Stephens trimmed estimates in anticipation of lowered guidance when the communication chipmaker reports results in mid-August. The firm continues to rate Brocade a "buy" with a $56 price target.
-- compiled by Catherine Tymkiw from staff and wire reports 
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