MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Thursday, May 23, 2013
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12:45 PM Kindred Healthcare (KND +2.5%) rallies for a second day on the back of Susquehanna's upgrade to Positive yesterday. The firm says the stock should continue to trade higher as the company exits its underperforming nursing care centers and free cash flow continues to rise. Comment!
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12:33 PM Forest Laboratories (FRX +3.4%) gets a bump higher after it says that Howard Solomon will retire as CEO and president effective December 31. He's expected to remain as chairman through the 2014 Annual General Meeting, when another chairman will be elected, then will serve as senior advisor to the company following his retirement. Comment!
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12:11 PM Shares of small-cap, generic pharmaceutical maker Lannett Company (LCI +5%) get a boost today after being initiated at Needham with a Buy rating and a price target of $15. The firm calls FY13 a transition year for LCI as its operations are positioned for strong future growth, with potentially significant upside coming from additional generic approvals/product launches, and progress around key product filings. Technical note: The stock is currently in the process of breaking out of its 52-week range of $3.72 - $12.57. Comment!
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11:46 AM HEICO (HEI +10.8%) jumps to new 52-week highs today, after the company reported late Wednesday FQ2 earnings that easily topped Street estimates. Revenue grew by 10% Y/Y, driven by strong organic growth in both its Flight Support and Electronic Technologies segments, as well as better margins. Looking ahead, the company says it sees increases in airline capacity and maintenance spending to yield moderate organic growth, and it raises FY13 growth guidance from around 6% to 8% to between 8% and 10%. Comment!
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11:38 AM Nordion (NDZ +9%) ramps higher this morning after the company says it will divest its Target Therapies business to BTG for around $200M. That means, after fees, NDZ should rake-in nearly $185M on the closing. The sale its part of the company's larger strategic reorganization, and it's hefty price tag for a business whose sole product is its targeted liver cancer therapy, TheraSphere. Comment!
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10:59 AM Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI +0.2%) bucks a weak tape after saying it won a $750K cooperative research agreement with a US government agency to develop rapid point-of-carediagnostic tests for five infectious diseases associated with febrile illness and to multiplex them into one assay. The eight-month project also hopes to optimize the test for use with a mobile reader that incorporates cell phone technology to enable the results to be recorded, transmitted and monitored remotely via a cloud system, in real-time. 1 Comment
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10:36 AM Shares of Stemline Therapeutics (STML -2.2%) slip this morning after Jefferies and Aegis Capital announced an exercise of their option to purchase around 620K additional shares in connection with STEM's previously announced 4.1M share public offering. The option's exercise at $14.50 per share will add around $69M in total gross proceeds to STEM's coffers before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Closing is expected on or about May 28. 1 Comment
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8:35 AM Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Pharmaceuticals Business Review is just getting underway (webcast) (agenda) (presentation). The company anticipates more than 10 new product filings and 25 significant brand extensions by 2017. Shares -1.2% premarket. Comment!
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7:45 AM More on Alkermes' (ALKS) FQ4 : Revenues from five key commercial products rise +26% Y/Y and free cash flow jumps to $48M from $8.4M. For the full year (the first full year that reflects the Elan Drug merger) revenues and (non-GAAP) net income rise 48% and 285% to $575.5M and $1.31/share respectively. AMPYRA/FAMPYRA revenues were $65M for the full year vs. $24.6M for FY12 and VIVITROL revenues rose 41% Y/Y to $58.1M. Operating expenses ex a one-time restructuring charge were essentially flat. (PR) 1 Comment
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7:24 AM Medtronic (MDT) announces regulatory approval for VIV procedures using CoreValve and CoreValve Evolut TAVI systems in degenerated bioprosthetic surgical aortic valves. It's the first-ever approval for VIV procedures, a minimally-invasive option for at-risk patients. Shares -1% premarket. Comment!
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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6:19 PM Apricus Biosciences (APRI) gets slammed in the post session after anouncing a public offering of common stock and warrants, with a 30-day option to purchase additional shares and warrants to cover over-allotments, if any. Lazard Capital Markets is acting as sole book-running manager. Shares -13% AH. Comment!
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3:49 PM Thermo Fisher (TMO -1.5%) rolls over in a bout of profit taking today after touching a new 52-week high earlier today. The company reaffirmed its FY13 EPS guidance at an analyst meeting today, saying it expects to earn between $5.27 and $5.39 per share, bracketing consensus EPS estimates of $5.34. Revenues are still expected to be $12.84B - $13B, in line with the consensus of $12.94B. Comment!
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2:38 PM Varian Medical (VAR -1.5%) says it's received FDA 501(k) clearance for its Nexus DRF Digital X-Ray Imaging System, a diagnostic X-ray imaging processing workstation that combines radio frequency and digital radiography. Comment!
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2:14 PM Boston Scientific (BSX -1%) slides in spite of reporting positive results earlier today from a pre-specified analysis of the first 60 patients enrolled in its trial evaluating the performance and safety of the Lotus Valve System in symptomatic patients with severe aortic valve disease considered at high risk for surgical valve replacement. The results showed the trials met primary endpoints in both performance and safety. Comment!
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2:07 PM After an early 5% pop to the upside, Amarin (AMRN -0.9%) reverses course to trade lower after the company said the USPTO published a notification tied to its combination product of Vascepa and Statin Therapy. The application is part of AMRN's expansive portfolio, which includes 23 patent applications either issued or allowed, and over 30 applications pending in the U.S. 2 Comments
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1:35 PM Citing an FDA warning letter and the company's revised FY13 guidance among other factors, Moody's puts Hospira's (HSP -0.8%) long-term debt rating on review for downgrade. The ratings agency says "cash payouts associated with [HSP's new medical device] strategy, remediation costs, and the potential for lost sales once its branded injectible sedative, Precedex, loses patent protection" could hurt liquidity and tighten credit metrics. Comment!
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