The Ticker

Sat., Nov. 23, 1996

A look back at the past week on Wall Street

What’s hot

When will the good news for Boeing stop? The airline manufacturer recently learned it was one of two finalists for the big fighter plane contract with the Defense Department. Then Thursday, AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, picked Boeing as the sole supplier of up to 630 jets. The purchases will refurbish American’s aging fleet of jetliners over the next 20 years. The good news also gave a boost to Boeing’s stock, which rose $1.12-1/2 Thursday and Friday to close the week at $98.62-1/2. AMR, however, lost 50 cents Thursday, gained it back Friday and ended the week at $91. … Ever heard of Applied Materials? If you have, you know it is the world’s largest chip-equipment maker and you probably know its earnings report was in line with analysts’ estimates. The news pleased brokerage firms and hiked Applied’s stock $6.62-1/2 Friday to $38.62-1/2.

What’s not

When a rent-to-own company has a large demand, that’s good. But when it has problems filling its inventory, that’s bad. Put Alrenco Inc. in the latter category. When the Indiana-based company announced Friday inventory problems would keep fourth-quarter earnings flat or slightly lower, the stock fell flat, dropping $7.75 to $11.75.

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