Stock Price

Under Armour shares soared nearly 11 percent yesterday to reach an all-time high after the company raised its financial outlook for the year. The stock rose as high as $64.75 during the day before it finally settled to close at $61.24. The company said its improved forecast, which it announced during a scheduled release of second quarter earnings, came after a better-than-expected first half of the year as sales increased across the business in the women's, men's and youth categories.

Trying to boost its stock price, Integrated Health Services Inc. will sell or spin off its RoTech division, which analysts said might be worth more than the current market value of the entire company.IHS, with headquarters in Owings Mills, said it will explore strategic options to get cash out of RoTech, which provides home respiratory services and durable medical equipment.Robert M. Wasserman, vice president for research at Southeast Research Partners in Boca Raton, Fla., said the two most likely options are to sell RoTech in its entirety, most likely to a company specializing in leveraged buyouts, or to do an initial public offering of a minority interest in RoTech, allowing IHS to raise cash while retaining majority ownership.

TROY, Mich. -- Kmart Corp., the No. 2 U.S. discount retailer, said yesterday that it plans to buy back as much as $1 billion worth of company stock to boost the price of the shares.At current prices, the buyback would amount to about 12 percent of shares outstanding. Kmart said it will buy the shares over the next few years with cash generated from operations.Kmart is enlarging its stores and focusing on private-label goods such as Jaclyn Smith fashions and Martha Stewart lawn-and-garden furniture.

TRADITIONALLY, your pay has depended on real things: your line of work, seniority, performance, expertise. But not anymore -- at least, not in the white-collar world.Nowadays, compensation feels more like a lottery. You might, or might not, luck into a job that gives stock options. The options might, or might not, pay off.Employees with traditional pay get modest raises. The consulting firm William M. Mercer thinks that average salaries will rise by around 4 percent next year.Employees with stock options might luck into giant paychecks.

After losing 66 percent of its stock value in a little over two months, Manugistics Group Inc. has been hit by at least three suits from shareholders who say the company deceived them about the firm's financial health.Two suits have been filed against Manugistics in federal court in Baltimore since June 12; the company, which provides inventory management software, is facing additional federal shareholder litigation in Minnesota.The complaints share the same allegation: That Manugistics made falsely optimistic statements about its finances, which artificially boosted the stock's value, enriched Manugistics' officers and lured investors to buy shares that were doomed to plummet.

For HCIA, there is before the LBA deal and after the LBA deal.HCIA, a Baltimore health data company, bought LBA Health Care Management Inc. of Denver in July 1996 for $130 million.Before the deal, things were heady.Fueled by internal growth and acquisitions, revenue for the four quarters before the announcement of the LBA deal was 55 percent higher than in the year-earlier period. Profitability was improving.And the stock price was on a steep climb; from an initial offering at $14 a share in February 1995, the price tripled in less than a year.

HCIA Inc. reported net income for the first quarter yesterday of $2.5 million -- nearly double the $1.3 million posted in the same quarter a year ago -- with growth coming in part through a series of acquisitions and alliances.Revenue also showed sharp growth -- at $25.7 million, it was 81 percent higher than the $14.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year.Income was equal to 21 cents a share -- the consensus estimate of analysts. Last week, after its stock price slipped on rumors of poor performance, the Baltimore health data company had said it would hit the 21-cent target.

A Montgomery County circuit judge has thrown out a shareholders' lawsuit against Mid-Atlantic Medical Services Inc. that accused the company of misleading them about the company's financial health.The shareholders had alleged that the Rockville-based managed-care company made misleading statements that inflated its stock price long enough for Mamsi's chief executive to sell shares worth nearly $3 million."We take some pride in the fact that the state court set it aside," said Mamsi Vice Chairman Thomas P. Barbera.

The recent drop in Microsoft Corp.'s stock price may have rattled some investors, but it has been good news for one of the biggest purchasers of the company's stock: Microsoft.Microsoft owes its employees about $30 billion worth of stock the software company doesn't currently own, and any drop in price is welcomed as an opportunity to buy.The stock owed is in the form of options, which Microsoft uses as a substitute for higher salaries and cash bonuses to attract some of the sharpest minds in the industry.

HFS Inc. said yesterday that it would buy back up to 2.6 million shares as a drop in the company's stock price threatened the value of its offer for PHH Corp. of Hunt Valley.As HFS, of Parsippany, N.J., announced the move, its shares dipped below $60 before rallying to close at $60.875.If the average price of HFS stock falls below $60, PHH shareholders will get less than HFS' offer of $49.50 per share.PHH said it did not expect a drop in HFS' stock price to disrupt the companies' plans. "Both managements are committed to seeing the merger go through," said Virginia Shelley, PHH's director of investor relations.

Robert J. Lawless gave up his final duties at McCormick & Co. spice company Wednesday but said he'll be doing something just as strenuous as running a major corporation - playing on an amateur hockey team in Canada. The 62-year-old is playing in a league made up of players his age. He also plans to play golf and serve on three corporate boards. Lawless technically retired last year, passing on the job of leading the day-to-day operations of the Sparks company to his hand-picked successor, Alan D. Wilson, the company's president and chief executive officer.

Q: What does a reverse stock split mean, and why does a company do it? R.P., via the Internet A: In light of this year's drop in stock prices, more companies could be declaring reverse splits. They can be declared by a firm's board of directors without shareholder approval. A reverse stock split doesn't increase the value of your holdings but reduces the number of shares and increases the share price proportionately. For example, a 1-for-2 reverse split means you get half as many shares, but at twice the price.

Legg Mason Inc. strongly denied yesterday a published report that it is considering taking itself private and spinning off some of its many subsidiaries. The question about going private comes as the Baltimore money manager's stock price has been weighed down by poor performance of its flagship mutual funds and soured investments in mortgage-backed debt by some of its money-market funds. Citing people familiar with the situation, the New York Post reported yesterday that Legg has been weighing a move involving one or more private equity investors, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co., to buy the company and spin off its independently run fund units, such as equity manager ClearBridge Advisors and Permal, which invests in hedge funds on behalf of clients.

The federal government has imposed a two-week ban on short-selling of stocks in nearly 800 financial institutions, including several in Maryland, to improve investor confidence amid continued turmoil in the stock market. The Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday that the temporary crackdown on short-selling - in which investors make money by betting that the price of a stock will fall - has contributed to drastic declines in the market value of financial institutions and that it wanted to prevent further erosion.

Julia B. Anderson was impressed with the high-tech presentation Under Armour put on yesterday during its annual meeting at the ESPN Zone sports bar and restaurant - complete with big-screen televisions and snippets from its various marketing campaigns. But what Anderson isn't so impressed with is the company's stock price. And yesterday, Anderson told Under Armour executives just that. She bought the stock three years ago when it priced at more than $50. Yesterday it closed at $35. "Is there anything you can say to make me feel better?"

Investing can be counterintuitive. How on earth can a stock price go down after higher profits are announced? Russell Brenza of Naperville, Ill., gave two examples: "Can you explain why in a news story about a company's increase in profits or net income, it often also states the stock dropped? "In a recent business section, it was reported `Net income at Saks surges 84 percent,' but yet `Saks stock slipped 25 cents.' In the same edition, `Costco Wholesale Corp. said second-quarter profit rose 31 percent,' but the closing sentence stated: `Shares of Costco dropped $1.56.

I am 24 and have been saving in my 401(k) for about a year, but I find mutual funds boring. So I started paying attention to stocks. I discovered that I was good at spotting those that would do well. For a while, I just made a mental note of stocks I liked, but when I saw them go up I decided to buy my first stock. It was Garmin, which makes navigation devices for cars. I bought it for $70 and I made money immediately. Now I'm wondering how to decide when it's time to sell. Are there some rules of thumb?

Research In Motion Ltd. Shares rose $15.47 to $235.99 after Goldman, Sachs & Co. boosted its subscriber estimates for the BlackBerry e-mail device and said the stock price didn't reflect the firm's growth potential.

Under Armour shares soared nearly 11 percent yesterday to reach an all-time high after the company raised its financial outlook for the year. The stock rose as high as $64.75 during the day before it finally settled to close at $61.24. The company said its improved forecast, which it announced during a scheduled release of second quarter earnings, came after a better-than-expected first half of the year as sales increased across the business in the women's, men's and youth categories.

NEW YORK -- A federal judge set a $500,000 bond yesterday for a former executive at a Maryland technology company who has been charged with manipulating stock option grants to allow top employees to lock in unlawful stock gains and exaggerated bonuses. Flanked by two attorneys and watched by her husband in the courtroom gallery, Carole D. Argo, 46, a former chief financial officer, president and chief operating officer of SafeNet Inc. in Belcamp, in Harford County, entered a not guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on charges of securities fraud and conspiracy.