Regional stocks tread water

Stocks locally and nationally paused for some much-needed rest and relaxation during the monthly trading session ended April 15.

Locally, the bottom line for stocks read as follows: The Business Report Stock Index backtracked a modest 6.73 points, or 0.51 percent, en route to a

close of 1312.24. In comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 managed to eke out gains last month, rising 0.14 percent and

0.25 percent respectively.

Of all the stocks in the nearby table, declining issues outpaced advancing issues by a 41-to-36 count, while those issues reaching new 52-week highs

towered over those falling to new lows by an 18-to-5 ratio.

Atrix Laboratories Inc. closed the month at $12.38, off 25 cents a share. Among developments at the company last month: Atrix said it will sell

another 2.5 million shares of common stock, proceeds of which will used for research and development.

The company posted a loss for 1995 of $12.7 million vs. a loss of $5.5 million in 1994, and the company won Food and Drug Administration

approval to begin marketing its Atrisorb dental product.

Advanced Energy Industries Inc. also traveled a southerly route last month, as it capsized $1.25 a share, or 15.2 percent, before closing at $7. The

company said its first-quarter profit fell to $1.7 million from $2 million in the year-ago period. Sales for the three-month period improved to $27.2

million from $18 million.

Analyst John Dean of Salomon Brothers cut ratings for several makers of personal computers, disk drives and other components. Among those

targeted was Storage Technology Corp., which was cut to “hold” from “buy.” In addition, its fiscal 1996 earnings estimates were cut to $2 a share,

down from $2.28. Investors watched their shares of Storage Technology slide 0.88 points, or 3.18 percent, to close at $26.63, for the month.