Pre-Open Movers 9/12; Lehman (LEH) Lower on Possible Fire Sale; Chipotle (CMG) Sinks On Lower Forecast

September 12, 2008 9:27 AM EDT

StreetInsider.com Pre-Open Movers:

PharmaNet Development Group (Nasdaq: PDGI) 38% LOWER; lowered its FY08 EPS from $0.53 to $0.63 a share to a loss of ($0.35) to ($0.58) per share, versus FY08 consensus EPS of $0.48. Additionally, PharmaNet Development lowereed its FY08 revenue guidance from $390M-$399M to $358-$366M versus consensus of $395.12 million.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) 17% HIGHER; announced that the impact of the weakened economy has been greater than anticipated resulting in further sales deceleration leading to comparable restaurant sales in the low single digits for Q308.

Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) 15% LOWER; the company tries to orchestrate a fire sale in the face of mounting pressures. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is said to be in the lead to buy Lehman, but it is unclear if they will buy the entire firm without government guarantees on Lehman's large debt, something the government may not be willing to accommodate.

Majesco Entertainment (Nasdaq: COOL) 13% HIGHER; reports Q3 GAAP EPS of $0.02, which may not compare to the analyst estimate of ($0.05). Revenues for the quarter were $14.5 million, versus the consensus of $9.6 million. (only 1 analyst covers the stock). Raises its FY08 sales guidance from $53-$58 million to $58-$60 million.

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) 7% LOWER; continue pressure on the back of Lehman's possible fire sale

Diodes Incorporated (Nasdaq: DIOD) 7% LOWER; expects its third quarter results to be at the low end of its previously provided financial guidance. Diodes now expects GAAP earnings per share to range between $0.26 and $0.30, versus the Wall Street consensus of $0.33.

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) 4% LOWER; provided an update on its expectation for third quarter performance: Washington Mutual expects its capital ratios at quarter-end to remain significantly above the levels for well-capitalized institutions and continues to be confident that it has sufficient liquidity and capital to support its operations while it returns to profitability. Washington Mutual's third quarter provision for loan losses is expected to be approximately $4.5 billion, down from $5.9 billion in the second quarter while reserves are expected to build. Washington Mutual net charge-offs are expected to increase by less than 20% in the third quarter compared with a growth rate of nearly 60% during the second quarter.Washington Mutual non interest income is expected to be approximately $1.0 billion, up significantly from the second quarter, reflecting continued growth in depositor and retail banking fees (up 6% from the second quarter) as well as stronger MSR results due to slower prepayment speeds. Washington Mutual non interest expense is expected to be down approximately $200 million, reflecting expectations for lower resizing costs and lower foreclosed asset expense. WaMu expects the third quarter provision to be approximately $4.5 billion, down from $5.9 billion in the second quarter, but nearly two times expected charge-offs, resulting in an expected increase of approximately $1.8 billion in the allowance for loan losses at quarter end. Retail deposit balances at the end of August of $143 billion were essentially unchanged from year-end 2007. In addition, the company continues to maintain a strong liquidity position with approximately $50 billion of liquidity from reliable funding sources.

Foster Wheeler Ltd. (Nasdaq: FWLT) 4% HIGHER; its board of directors has authorized a common share repurchase program under which the company is authorized to repurchase up to $750 million of its outstanding common shares.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) 2% HIGHER; announced that its Board has approved, subject to regulatory approval, an increase to the share repurchase program authorized in January 2008, raising the ceiling to approximately 10% of the public float or 31.5 million of the company's issued and outstanding common shares.

Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) 2% LOWER; Deutsche Bank downgrades to Hold

Transocean, Inc. (NYSE: RIG) 1% HIGHER; Citi starts at Buy

Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) 1% HIGHER; Citi starts at Buy

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) INDICATED LOWER; expects EBITDA in Q3 to be about US$1.25 billion, a decrease of about 3% versus the same period last year. Operating income is expected to be close to US$800 million. CEMEX expects sales for the third quarter to be about US$5.9 billion, below the consensus of $6.51 billion.

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