The Ticker A Look Back At The Past Week On Wall Street
What’s Hot
Insurance and finance firms made big market leaps this week. At Thursday’s close on the New York exchange, Provident Companies had moved up $5.38 to $63.38. The Chattanooga, Tenn., insurer reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and announced plans to raise its dividend, buy back stock, and split its shares 2-for-1. Its stock closed Friday at $63.25, up from last week’s close of $57.06 … Citicorp moved up $6.44 to $130.56 on Tuesday. Merrill Lynch analyst Judah Kraushaar raised his near-term rating to “buy” from “accumulate,” Dow Jones News Service reported. Friday, Citicorp closed at $134.88 a share on the NYSE, up from $127.19 last week.
What’s Not
On Wednesday, AEP Industries, was down $7.13 at $26 a share. The South Hackensack, N,J. plastic packaging maker said Monday profits for its third quarter ending July 31 will only match second quarter results. Its stock closed Friday on the NASDAQ at $25, down from last week’s close of $33 … Meanwhile on Wednesday, PLC Systems was down $12.19 at $13.31 on the AMEX. The Gaithersburg, Md. company faced a setback when the Food and Drug Administration rejected its new laser treatment for heart angina. PLC’s stock closed Friday at $12.13 a share, down from $25.50 last week’s close.