MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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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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3:27 PM Terex (TEX -2.3%) gives back all the love plus more from an earlier Barclays upgrade to Overweight. The bank says that despite the stock recent 20% runup this month, it sees more upside from its consistent execution, leverage to an improving crane cycle and still-positive trends in the aerial-work-platform space. Comment!
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2:58 PM OGE Energy's (OGE -1.7%) power systems "suffered a lot of damage" from the Oklahoma tornado, CEO Peter Delaney says, and some of the 500K customers currently without power "won't have any infrastructure remaining to take any power." Delaney predicts ~$20M in damage to OGE's systems. Comment!
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2:19 PM SolarWinds' (SWI -13.9%) is downgraded to Sector Perform at Pacific Crest after yesterday's $120M purchase of N-able Technologies. "The customer base, integration of the acquisition and deal size is incongruous with prior acquisitions," the firm writes, adding SWI is spending half of its cash on an "incremental opportunity that pales in comparison to its existing" market. Comment!
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2:17 PM Up as high as $1,413 following Bernanke's (at the time) perceived dovish testimony this morning, gold (GLD -0.9%) reverses along with stocks. Markets make opinions, and now the focus on Bernanke is he's prepping the markets for tapering. The just-released FOMC minutes push down gold even further, now at $1,357/oz. 4 Comments
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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. 1 Comment
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2:00 PM OpenTable (OPEN -5.1%) slides as investors seem displeased with its Q1 Restaurant Industry Index which shows a 1.4% decline in the number of guests served in reservation-taking establishments in North America during the quarter. Some markets (notably Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and to a lesser extent Boston) faced "notable headwinds" as Y/Y growth rates swung squarely into negative territory. (PR) Comment!
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1:50 PM Joy Global (JOY -3.3%) slides today, making it one of the worst laggards in the S&P 500 after Barclay's cut the shares to EqualWeight and lowers its price target from $79 to $66. The bank says it's grown increasingly concerned about mining, and while JOY remains one of the higher-quality names in the space, mining-related austerity could be a more- prolonged headwind than previously thought. Comment!
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1:34 PM Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (IRWD -5%) slips after pricing its previously announced 10.5M share offering at $13 per share. All shares are being offered by the company, and proceeds are expected to be around $136.5M. The company intends for net proceeds to support the commercial launch of Linzess as well as support general research and development within the Company's pipeline. Comment!
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1:09 PM Sparton (SPA +2.2%) gains today after saying that it and USSI, a subsidiary of Ultra Electronics Holdings, have won $8.8M in joint foreign sales contracts for the manufacture of multiple Passive and Active Sonobuoys to the South Korean Government. Production will be done from their ERAPSCO/SonobuoyTech Systems joint venture, and should be completed by March, 2014. Comment!
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1:08 PM Insmed (INSM +16.9%), which is now up a cool 74.5% since April 23, gets its price target hiked to $22 from $13 at Leerink Swann and $17 from $12 at Canaccord. Leerink cites the now all-too-familiar Arikace Phase 3 data catalyst and notes that "…after speaking with multiple MEDACorp KOLs and performing an extensive review of applicable literature, we have developed more conviction that Arikace is poised to be become a first-in-line treatment for non-tuberculous mycobacteria infections, [which may] present an even more compelling market opportunity than cystic fibrosis." Comment!
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12:55 PM Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD +5.4%) surges after at least two firms - UBS and RBC - raise their price targets after encouraging results from PXD's first horizontal Wolfcamp shale well. The 24-hour initial production rate of 1,572 boe/day is considered very solid and comparable to the Hutt well in its northern acreage, which yielded an initial rate of 1,693 boe/day. Comment!
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12:47 PM A takeover of MannKind (MNKD +15.9%) is "highly probable" SA contributor George Rho says, in an article published this morning which suggests $27.50/share as a ballpark figure (that's a 413% upside from Tuesday's close if you're inclined to keep score). Rho also notes that his "assumptions and projections would have to be considerably off the mark for the stock not to have substantial upside potential." Meanwhile, in the options market, an investor rolled a short position in January $5 strike calls up to the January $9 strike — 31K contracts traded at those two strikes this morning. Comment!
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12:40 PM LipoScience (LPDX +3.4%) trades up today after announcing the availability of its NMR lipoprotein particle testing using the Vantera Clinical Analyzer through Mayo Medical Laboratories. The analysis provides physicians and patients with a detailed assessment of cardiovascular disease risk from a single blood test that measures the concentration of low-density lipoprotein particles and other lipoprotein information. Comment!
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12:38 PM ZAGG spikes 6.4% amid reports that Logitech (LOGI) is in acquisition talks, RANsquawk notes. 2 Comments
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12:26 PM WPX Energy (WPX +4.1%) shares post their third straight strong gain, rising 14% so far this week from news that hedge fund Taconic Capital took a position in the company and said it was engaged with management to boost shareholder value. Comment!
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12:15 PM North American Energy (NOA +14.8%) is a turnaround story, Barron's writes, cutting costs, slashing spending, selling assets and paying down debt since CEO Martin Ferron joined last June. FrontFour Capital predicts shares could rise to $78 based on an enterprise value of 3.5x forecast 2014 EBITDA. Worth noting: Ferron has amassed 775K shares, a sign of his commitment and NOA's potential. 1 Comment
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12:12 PM Sensata Technologies (ST -3.4%) falls after announcing a public offering of 12.5M shares by its principal shareholder Sensata Investment Company, which held 35.4% of the ordinary shares prior to the sale and 28.4% after. (PR, prospectus) Comment!
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