STOCK WATCH

Investors pull out of ARM

Microchip designer ARM saw 13 per cent of its stock sold by three leading investors last week. Apple, venture capitalist Nippon Investment and Acorn collectively offloaded 6.5 million shares worth #52 million on 15 October. ARM shares fell four per cent to 810p, compared with over #13 in July.

Baan

Dutch software group Baan lost almost 30 per cent of its market value on 12 October, after announcing it would make losses of 13 to 16 cents per share in the three months ended 31 September. Tom Tinsley, chairman of Baan, revealed that customers had delayed placing orders at the end of last month. Baan's shares have lost 75 per cent of their value since the beginning of the year.

Sun Microsystems

Sun has warned the industry not to expect it to increase its earnings, despite turning in first-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations by one cent. Mike Lehman, vice president of corporate resources and chief financial officer at Sun, warned it could be adversely affected by the introduction of server products and said currency fluctuations and the uncertain outlook in Asia could affect its performance. Sun's revenue increased by 19 per cent to $2.492 billion, while profit rose 21 per cent to $197.9 million.

Seer Technologies

Seer Technologies was delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange last week following a run of poor financial results and an announcement earlier this month that its 1998 fiscal year would be well below expectations. The ailing mainframe development tools company will now trade its common stock on the over-the-counter bulletin board system, but claimed the move will not affect its day-to-day operations.

Peoplesoft

Peoplesoft's shares crashed 20 per cent last week amid fears that the applications supplier's third-quarter figures would be below analysts' expectations. The slump occurred for the second time this month after it emerged that Peoplesoft had pulled out of an investment conference hosted by finance company BT Alex Brown due to be held later this week.

Seagate Technology

Seagate Technology is seeking a buyer for its Seagate Microelectronics subsidiary in Livingstone, Scotland, after reporting a $30 million net loss for the first quarter, down from a $240 million loss this time last year. Seagate is taking $84 million in charges, which comprises a $77 million amendment to the August 1997 acquisition of Quinta and a further $7 million associated with the acrimonious departure of former chief executive Al Shugart.