Axa, Goodyear, Lowe’s, UBS, Wright Medical: U.S. Equity Preview

By Rita Nazareth

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and prices are as of 7:55 a.m. in New York.

Axa SA (AXA US) fell 11 percent to $11. Europe’s No. 2 insurer had its credit outlook lowered to “negative” from “stable” at Standard & Poor’s, which cited a possible drop in earnings from life insurance and asset management.

Career Education Corp. (CECO US) rose 12 percent to $21.98. The for-profit education company reported fourth-quarter profit excluding some items of 43 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 78 percent.

Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB US): The seller of bananas and other produce in more than 70 countries posted a fourth-quarter loss from continuing operations of 74 cents a share. That’s more than triple the 20-cent average loss estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT US) fell 12 percent to $5.40. The largest U.S. tiremaker was cut to “sell” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said profit estimates for the company are too high.

Lowe’s Cos. (LOW US) declined 6.6 percent to $15.85. The second-largest home-improvement retailer said first-quarter profit will be as little as 23 cents a share, missing the average analyst estimate by 26 percent.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (RRGB US): The restaurant operator reported fourth-quarter profit excluding some items of 43 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 33 percent.

Terex Corp. (TEX US): The world’s third-biggest maker of construction equipment was raised to “outperform” from “market perform” at Wachovia Corp., which said the stock is “oversold” after a 43 percent decline since its quarterly report on Feb. 11.

UBS AG (UBS US) plunged 13 percent to $9.18. Switzerland’s largest bank was sued by the U.S. government to force disclosure of as many as 52,000 American customers who allegedly hid their Swiss accounts from tax authorities.

WellCare Health Plans Inc. (WCG US): WellCare became the second managed care provider this year ordered by the government to stop enrolling new customers in Medicare-backed drug and medical plans.

Wright Medical Group Inc. (WMGI US): The maker of hip and knee implants said sales this year will be as little as $500 million, or 2.9 percent less than the average analyst estimate.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at nazareth@bloomberg.net.