Boston, MA 02/18/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Shares of Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) tanked by more than 8% on Friday trading as the company came out with disappointing guidance for the second quarter. The company expects revenues of $1.72-1.74 billion in the second quarter against analysts’ expectation of $1.78 billion. Analysts are also expecting EPS of $0.81 for the second quarter; the company feels it may be able to declare EPS of $0.71-$0.73. For the full fiscal 2014 (the company ends the fiscal in October), the company estimates revenues of $6.9-7.1 billion again lower than $7.05 forecasted by analysts. EPS for the full fiscal is expected to be $2.96-$3.16 again below consensus of $3.19.
Shares of North American Palladium Ltd (USA) (NYSEMKT:PAL) surged by about 28% to close at $1.83 after the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary SES Asia Technologies has entered into a joint venture in China. This will allow the company to fortify its position in the clean gasification market there. The company will hold a 35% stake while the other partner will contribute $16.5 million for a 65% ownership. The joint venture will cover the nearby countries of Malaysia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines as well as China.
Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYMX) announced the progress of its ramp up of production from the Lower Offset Zone. This will utilize the new shaft infrastructure at the Lac des Iles mine in north Ontario which produces palladium. The output for the last month was the highest achieved by the company in the last 24 months of operation. The company estimates that the production of payable palladium totaled 15,200 ounces, a 15% increase over internal estimates for the month. The company could also take advantage of higher underground grades of 4.90 grams per ton palladium. The shares of the company rose by more than 12% to close at $0.377 while trading in the range $0.35-$0.39.
