US HOT STOCKS:Kulicke & Soffa, Motorola, Mylan, WW Grainger -2-

Industrias Romi SA (ROMI3.BR) abandoned its $116 million hostile bid for fellow machine-tool maker Hardinge Inc. (HDNG, $8.09, -$0.97, -10.69%) as far fewer shares were tendered than the suitor had sought, despite an extended offer period. "Romi will now focus on other alternatives in order to continue executing our plans for strategic growth," said Chief Executive Livaldo Aguiar dos Santos. Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc.'s (KLIC, $6.95, -$1.04, -13.02%) comments Wednesday about delayed orders continued to weigh on shares of the maker of semiconductor assembly equipment and its peers Thursday as the warning went against the grain of recent reports of strength in the chip sector. Also in the red were Amtech Systems Inc. (ASYS, $9.30, -$0.20, -2.11%), Teradyne Inc. (TER, $10.25, -$0.12, -1.16%), Verigy Ltd. (VRGY, $8.74, -$0.14, -1.58%) and LTX-Credence Corp. (LTXC, $2.85, -$0.19, -6.25%). Magnetek Inc. (MAG, $1.18, +$0.04, +3.51%) boosted its fiscal fourth-quarter target, saying it now expects a profit on higher-than-expected sales as backlog levels now sit at a nearly two-year high. The maker of digital power and motion-control systems for overhead material handling in energy and mining industries has been in the red of late due to depressed sales and orders. Morgan Stanley boosted its rating on Motorola Inc. (MOT, $7.72, +$0.26, +3.49%) to overweight from underweight, saying it believes the mobile phone maker can achieve higher handset margins with its Android strategy as evidenced by the sustainability of HTC Corp.'s (HTCXF, $19.51, +$0.00, +0.00%) margins to date. In addition, the supply chain woes plaguing HTC at Verizon should lead to continued share gain opportunity in the near term in a rapidly expanding Android market. Mylan Inc. (MYL, $18.32, +$0.47, +2.63%) said it plans to pay $550 million in cash for Bioniche Pharma Holdings Ltd. to gain entry to the North American injectables market. The acquisition of privately held Bioniche is expected to increase the generic-drug maker's earnings in the first year after closing. Stifel Nicolaus sees Hulu Plus threatening online video-rental company Netflix Inc.'s (NFLX, $121.11, -$1.89, -1.54%) grip on the streaming video service now that it's available to view through the Sony PlayStation 3. Hulu's streaming content library is larger and doesn't require a streaming disc to play videos, Stifel says, meaning the "Hulu Plus experience on PS3 may prove superior" in the long run. Greece's fourth-largest lender by assets, Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR.AT), said it will offer EUR701 million to acquire controlling stakes in two Greek government-controlled banks. "This is good news and may begin a wave of other mergers in the banking sector," said a local broker. "In the end, there will only be two big banking groups, Greece doesn't need more." The news boosted American depositary shares of National Bank of Greece SA (NBG, $2.76, +$0.16, +6.15%). Opnet Technologies Inc. (OPNT, $14.04, -$1.85, -11.64%) expects to report fiscal first-quarter revenue below its previous guidance because of more pronounced seasonal buying patterns and the delay of several key six-figure deals for administrative reasons. The software company also said it booked a large multi-product deal for which ratable revenue recognition was required. Drug company Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PPHM, $1.76, -$0.14, -7.37%) reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss and revenue that were worse than analysts expected. ShoreTel Inc. (SHOR, $5.68, +$0.29, +5.38%), a seller of Internet-protocol business phone systems, predicted higher-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter revenue on "broad-based strength across our business, led by increases from our U.S. regional and international partners." In addition, Chairman and Chief Executive John Combs said he plans to leave the CEO post when the board finds a successor. Gary Daichendt was named chairman, and will lead the search. Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (SKH, $2.78, +$0.53, +23.56%) said it has reached an agreement to stay proceedings related to a lawsuit that could rock the health-care service company to the tune of more than $671 million in damages. Universal Forest Products Inc.'s (UFPI, $31.35, -$1.27, -3.89%) second-quarter earnings fell 12% on a slide in margins, although revenue grew robustly. The lumber and wood packaging producer said the lumber market "dropped precipitously" during the quarter, noting prices fell 33% by late June from their peak at the end of April. That volatility hurt gross profit, it said. Other forest-products companies declining included Deltic Timber Corp. (DEL, $44.46, -$1.36, -2.97%) and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LPX, $7.42, -$0.18, -2.37%). Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO, $38.46, -$2.70, -6.56%) was cut to neutral from overweight by Piper Jaffray analysts who said bookings for some of the company's systems used in producing LEDs and solar cells may have peaked in the second quarter. The analysts slashed their price target to $44 all the way from $69. Shares of Verenium Corp. (VRNM, $3.20, +$0.74, +30.08%) jumped after BP PLC's (BP, $38.92, +$2.74, +7.57%) North American biofuels business agreed to acquire the cellulosic biofuels business of Verenium for $98.3 million. Under the agreement, Verenium, which develops and commercializes enzymes for use in industrial processes, will retain its commercial enzyme business, including its biofuels enzymes products, as well as certain research-and-development capabilities and access to some biofuels technology that BP may develop using what it is acquiring from Verenium. Websense Inc. (WBSN, $20.23, -$0.94, -4.44%) was cut to equalweight from overweight by Morgan Stanley, which said the employee-internet management company faces mounting European concerns and tough comparisons, which won't be offset enough by new products. WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (WX, $16.04, +$0.37, +2.36%) projected second-quarter earnings above analysts' expectations as the contract-research firm sees higher demand, with biotechnology and medical-device companies increasingly outsourcing research-and-development efforts. W.W. Grainger Inc.'s (GWW, $106.89, +$3.14, +3.03%) second-quarter profit jumped 40% on improved sales. As results handily topping expectations, the provider of industrial equipment and often considered a U.S. economic bellwether because of its breadth of products again raised its 2010 forecast. -By Dow Jones Newswires; write to hotstocks@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 15, 2010 16:59 ET (20:59 GMT)