JDS Uniphase Up on Lehman Bros. Purchase

JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) jumped 10% on Wednesday after Lehman Bros. Inc. said it’s buying the stock of the world’s biggest maker of parts for fiber-optic communications networks.

The San Jose-based company’s shares leaped $20.75 to close at $235.50 on Nasdaq. The stock has climbed almost tenfold in the last 12 months.

Jeffrey Applegate, Lehman’s chief investment strategist, wrote that the firm is buying JDS Uniphase shares as a shift in its U.S. strategy portfolio. JDS already leads the market for fiber-optic network parts and plans to unveil 30 new products at the Optical Fiber Conference 2000 next month in Baltimore, Applegate wrote.

Lehman is selling its position in Tellabs Inc. (TLAB) to buy shares of JDS Uniphase, Applegate wrote, partly because of “higher near-term product development expenses and execution risks” for Tellabs. Lisle, Ill.-based Tellabs, the biggest maker of equipment that manages phone-network traffic, slid $2.19 to $53.81 on Nasdaq.