WorldCom slide continues on heavy vol. (WCOM) By Tomi Kilgore
Shares of WorldCom (WCOM) are sliding 54 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $7.59, and is now down 46 percent since the start of the year. Volume is 64.8 million shares, enough to make the stock the Nasdaq's most active. Analyst Dan McBride at H&R Block Financial Advisors downgraded the stock to"neutral" from"accumulate," as the long-distance company's balance sheet has become an"intense focus of concern." He noted that WorldCom's peers -- AT&T (T), Qwest (Q) and Sprint (FON) -- reported"poor" quarterly results recently, further weighing on the stock. Although Sprint gave an upbeat view of 2002, McBride says the industry's problem is not one of volume, but of pricing for voice and data,"which continues to reflect intense competitive pressures." He thinks the company may report fourth-quarter results Thursday that could surprise to the upside, since it hasn't warned up to this point."We do not think there is likely to be much support for WorldCom's shares until it gets to a level where an RBOC could buy them without any significant dilution," McBride said in a note to clients. He thinks that level is $8 to $9, but doesn't see a merger taking place this year due to regulatory barriers. One could be coming in 2003, he added.

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