Buying Speculation Pushes Paine Webber Shares Up

Shares of Paine Webber Group Inc. surged 8.3 percent amid speculation the firm would be acquired, traders said.

New York-based Paine Webber, the fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm in terms of brokers, rose $3.87-1/2 to $50.75 a share as 2.4 million shares changed hands, the heaviest volume in four years. The shares rose as much as $5.25 to a record $52.12-1/2.

Paine Webber is “up because of speculation it can’t stand alone forever,” said Paul Foster, senior options strategist at Mercury Trading in Chicago. The most common name mentioned Friday as a possible buyer was Goldman Sachs Group LP, traders said.

A spokesman for Goldman, the biggest U.S. investment banking partnership, denied the firm is in talks with Paine Webber. “We have in place the talent, the resources and the structure to best serve our clients,” Goldman said in a statement responding to the takeover speculation.

A spokesman for Paine Webber declined to comment.

Paine Webber and other brokerage shares have gyrated recently amid a wave of mergers as firms combine to offer more financial services to a wider range of clients. Last month, Travelers Group Inc. bought Salomon Inc. for $9 billion, the most recent of 10 mergers and acquisitions in the securities industry this year.

Buying Paine Webber would give Goldman, an investment bank serving mainly institutional clients, more than 6,000 brokers who focus on retail customers.

Still, acquiring Paine Webber or another firm would require consensus among Goldman’s 190 partners, who own the firm along with a few institutional investors. That wouldn’t be easy to come by, people at Goldman said.

Some of the stocks that are moving substantially or trading heavily today on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, and American Stock Exchange.

NYSE

Boeing, down 1/2 at 52

The Seattle-based company said it won’t build any new 747 jetliners for 20 days and will focus on catching up with production delays brought on by a huge surge in orders from airlines.

Jenny Craig, down 7/16 at 8

The La Jolla, Calif.-based operator of weight-loss centers said late Thursday that its president and chief executive, C. Joseph LaBonte, resigned effective immediately to “pursue other business opportunities.”

NASDA

Ansys, down 1-1/16 at 8-5/16

The Canonsburg, Pa.-based developer of engineering software said it expects to report third-quarter net earnings that are about one-third below analysts’ estimates.

FileNet, up 6-1/2 at 22-3/4

Dow Jones News Service reported that Morgan Stanley Dean Witter upgraded the software company’s stock.

At Home, up 4-1/4 at 26-5/8

Cablevision, up 4-5/16 at 68-1/4 on the American Stock Exchange

At Corp. signed a deal with cable television provider Cablevision Systems Corp. to deliver At Home’s high-speed Internet service to key East Coast markets including New York, Boston, and Cleveland.

British Biotech, down 2-3/4 at 22-3/4

The Oxford, England-based company said it had halted development of BB-2983, a potential oral antiinflammatory drug, due to unexpected side effects.

Interlink Computer Sciences, down 9/16 at 4-7/16

The Fremont, Calif.-based supplier of network technology said late Thursday it expects to take a loss of 55 cents to 60 cents a share in the first quarter.

HBO & Co., up 1-5/8 at 40-5/8

National Health Enhancement Systems, down 3/16 at 11-15/16

Atlanta-based HBO & Co. said it will acquire Phoenix-based National Health. HBO provides health-care information systems, while National Health is a health management company.