The Ticker

A look back at the past week on Wall Street

What’s hot

It was a good week for a couple of software makers. Electronic Arts kicked off the run by announcing Thursday its net income for the second quarter rose 97 percent. The good news jumped the stock $4.12-1/2 that day before profit taking took off 62-1/2 cents Friday, when it closed at $36.87-1/2. Next in line was SoftKey International, an education software maker. The company reported a net third-quarter loss based on a special $120.8 million charge due to acquisitions of other educational software makers. The news came on the heels of a strong buy rating by Salomon Brothers on Wednesday. SoftKey’s stock jumped $4 Thursday before falling $1.62-1/2 Friday, finishing at $23.37-1/2. … Another stock upgrade, this time by Bear Stearns & Co., took Chubb Corp. to new heights. The buy rating was triggered by Chubb’s saying it was considering spinning off its life insurance operations. The stock finished the week at $50.87-1/2, up $5.37-1/2 Friday.

What’s not

On the other end of the spectrum is Octel Communications, which suffered Friday. Merrill Lynch & Co. downgraded the stock even though the company reported first-quarter net income in line with projections. The poor rating forced the stock down $9.12-1/2 to $15.37-1/2.