UAM - News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha 'UAM' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/uam What the Market Wants: Feels Like Groundhog Day http://seekingalpha.com/article/165049-what-the-market-wants-feels-like-groundhog-day?source=feed 165049 (Monday, October 5, 2009 - 5:18 pm PDT)
Today felt like Groundhog Day. Whereas in last week's newsletter I called the market "a mirror image" of its previous week, today it's the opposite. As I review last week's market performance, it's hard to find any changes from the prior week. In fact, last week virtually repeated the previous week's style/cap performance, with Small-cap Value the worst, losing 3.4%, and Large-cap Growth, the best, down 1.3%.

It was a week of mixed economic data. On the one hand, we had a positive GDP revision and positive consumer spending; on the other hand, there was a very poor and unexpected increase in jobless claims, along with the continuing rise in unemployment to a worrisome 9.8%. And if that wasn't enough, consumer confidence fell as well. Already in a negative mood, the market responded with a virtual repeat of the previous week's pattern.

]]> Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:18:06 -0400 David Brown (Monday, October 5, 2009 - 5:18 pm PDT)
Today felt like Groundhog Day. Whereas in last week's newsletter I called the market "a mirror image" of its previous week, today it's the opposite. As I review last week's market performance, it's hard to find any changes from the prior week. In fact, last week virtually repeated the previous week's style/cap performance, with Small-cap Value the worst, losing 3.4%, and Large-cap Growth, the best, down 1.3%.

It was a week of mixed economic data. On the one hand, we had a positive GDP revision and positive consumer spending; on the other hand, there was a very poor and unexpected increase in jobless claims, along with the continuing rise in unemployment to a worrisome 9.8%. And if that wasn't enough, consumer confidence fell as well. Already in a negative mood, the market responded with a virtual repeat of the previous week's pattern.


Complete Story »]]> AFAM BARE EZPW SOLR UAM VIP David Brown 15 Health Insurance Stocks to Watch Post-Public Option http://seekingalpha.com/article/156582-15-health-insurance-stocks-to-watch-post-public-option?source=feed 156582 In an astute political move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius on Sunday said that providing citizens with the option of government-run insurance is not essential to the Obama administration's overhaul of U.S. health care. Evidently, the administration has caved on this very important issue, leaving the door open for private health insurance companies to move forward with creative products and profits for shareholders. Of course the devil will be in the details, but at fist glance Team Obama will expand health using cooperatives similar to the public/private scheme in the domestic utility industry.

Here are potential winners for investors to explore. Beware of using the insurance index ETFs as your vehicle, as the health care sub-sector is in play now, not all insurance stocks.

]]> Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:28:01 -0400 Thomas Smicklas Thomas Smicklas submits:

In an astute political move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius on Sunday said that providing citizens with the option of government-run insurance is not essential to the Obama administration's overhaul of U.S. health care. Evidently, the administration has caved on this very important issue, leaving the door open for private health insurance companies to move forward with creative products and profits for shareholders. Of course the devil will be in the details, but at fist glance Team Obama will expand health using cooperatives similar to the public/private scheme in the domestic utility industry.

Here are potential winners for investors to explore. Beware of using the insurance index ETFs as your vehicle, as the health care sub-sector is in play now, not all insurance stocks.


Complete Story »]]> AET AGP AIZ AMIC AMSF CI CVH GTS HNT HUM MOH UAM UNH WCG WLP Thomas Smicklas Universal American Corp. Q2 2009 Earnings Call Transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/152576-universal-american-corp-q2-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed 152576 Universal American Corp. (UAM)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009; 10:00 am ET

]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:57:11 -0400 Universal American Corp. (UAM)

Q2 2009 Earnings Call

July 30, 2009; 10:00 am ET


Complete Story »]]> UAM Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News http://seekingalpha.com/article/152443-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news?source=feed 152443

  • Reactions to Microhoo. Reactions to the Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) search deal announced yesterday have been mixed. Some investors wondered why Yahoo agreed to a deal with no upfront fee, after previously saying any deal would be conditioned on 'a boatload of cash,' and doubts about the deal's benefits to Yahoo helped pull shares down 12% (Microsoft closed up 1.4%, and the deal may mark an important turning point for CEO Steve Ballmer). Still, others felt "dropping the dead weight of search isn’t a horrible idea" for a company that has no realistic chance of beating Google (GOOG). The deal could face antitrust concerns but will likely be approved.
  • TARP exit for AmEx. American Express (AXP) has officially exited TARP after repurchasing warrants from the government for $340M. The company said the warrant buyback, along with $74.4M of dividend payments it made, provided taxpayers with an annualized 26% return. Analysts noted the repurchase price was in line with the $1.1B Goldman Sachs (GS) paid, indicating the Treasury has indeed taken a tougher negotiating stance on the warrant purchases in light of congressional pressure.
  • FDIC to break up banks. In an effort to entice more buyers, the FDIC is poised to start breaking up failed banks into good and bad pieces. The goal is to sell the most distressed parts of failed banks to private equity firms and other investors that are willing to take a larger risk on bad assets. The 'good' pieces of failed banks, including deposits and branches, could then be sold to traditional banks.
  • Sanofi buys out Merck's JV stake. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) agreed to buy Merck's (MRK) half of their joint Merial animal-health venture for $4B in cash, and said the companies may work together again in the future to form the world’s largest maker of animal treatments. Sanofi and Merck had collaborated on Merial for over ten years, building it into a company with $2.6B in annual sales. The deal should help Merck allay antitrust concerns over its proposed purchase of Schering-Plough (SGP). Premarket: SNY -0.9% (7:00 ET).
  • Mortgage fraud probe includes Goldman, Deutsche. A Senate panel reportedly subpoenaed financial firms including Goldman Sachs (GS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) in search of evidence of mortgage fraud during last year's market meltdown. The probe is focused on whether bankers had private doubts about the financial soundness of the mortgage-related securities they were publicly promoting. Washington Mutual, now largely owned by JPMorgan Chase (JPM), may also have been among the firms that received a subpoena.
  • Citi advances asset sales. Citigroup (C) is 'moving extremely fast' on asset sales, said CEO Vikram Pandit. Citigroup announced today it had agreed to sell its stake in a Japanese asset management unit to Sumitomo Trust & Banking, Japan’s fifth-largest bank, for ¥112.4B ($1.18B).
  • New help for homeowners. The White House is planning to announce new guidelines today to help homeowners struggling with Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages. The guidelines will narrow the gap between the FHA's mortgage-modification program and the White House's foreclosure-prevention plan, and will "offer borrowers an opportunity to stay in their homes, make payments that are manageable and defer [payment of] the money owed to a later time when, hopefully, home values have improved."
  • Fidelity signs IPO pact with Deutsche. Fidelity Investments struck a deal with Deutsche Bank (DB) allowing Fidelity's individual investors to participate in initial public offerings underwritten by Deutsche as of this week. Fidelity reached a similar deal last month with private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, but the Deutsche deal carries more weight because Deutsche is one of the 10 busiest underwriters of stock offerings in the U.S. For Deutsche, access to Fidelity's customers will broaden the range of IPOs it can land.
  • Beige Book sees recession moderating. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book was released yesterday, and noted the recession seems to be growing less severe. Some regions said the downturn's pace has moderated, and others reported that activity is stabilizing. Retail sales are still sluggish, and wages and benefits are steady or falling in most districts. (Read the Fed's Beige Book summary)
  • China seeks to reassure on monetary policy. In a volatile day of trading, Chinese stocks managed to close up 1.7% after China's central bank released a statement aimed at calming jittery investors. After the Chinese stock market fell 5% on Wednesday, its largest daily drop in eight months, the central bank pledged to maintain loose monetary policy in order to support an economic recovery and to ensure sustainable credit growth, seemingly without relying on a strict, central bank-directed quota system used in the past.
  • Boeing gets squeezed. British Airways (BAIRY.PK) is pressuring Boeing (BA) to renegotiate installment payments on its 787 Dreamliner orders. Predelivery payments can total tens of millions of dollars per jetliner, and as airlines find it increasingly difficult to bankroll the payments, plane makers like Boeing are getting squeezed. In other bad news for Boeing, a contractor said yesterday that the Dreamliner's braking system is still incomplete because of a dispute over who should pay for the work, and S&P downgraded Boeing's credit rating by one notch over concerns of additional production cuts due to airline order deferrals and cancellations.
  • PennyMac a few pennies short on IPO. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, the distressed-mortgage investment company run by former Countrywide No. 2 Stanford Kurland and 10 other former Countrywide officials, raised $320M in its initial public offering, $80M less than planned. The company sold 16M shares at $20 each.

Earnings: Thursday Before Open

  • AmerisourceBergen (ABC): FQ3 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $18.39B (+2.2%) vs. $18.11B. (PR)
  • Aon (AOC): Q2 EPS of $0.76 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.9B (-4%) in-line. (PR)
  • Art Technology Group (ARTG): Q2 EPS of $0.06 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $44M (+6%) in-line. Shares +3.2% premarket (8:20 ET). (PR)
  • AstraZeneca (AZN): Q2 EPS of $1.64 beats by $0.24. Revenue of $8B (+0%) vs. $7.8B. Shares +3.5% premarket (6:40 ET). (AstraZeneca's press release (.pdf))
  • Automatic Data Processing (ADP): FQ4 EPS of $0.45 in-line. Revenue of $2.1B (-4.5%) in-line. Issues downside guidance for FY '10, sees EPS of $2.29-2.39 vs. $2.44 consensus, sees revenue down 1-4%, or to roughly $8.51-8.78B, vs. $8.94B consensus. (PR)
  • Avon (AVP): Q2 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $2.47B (-9.7%) in-line. (PR)
  • Barrick Gold (ABX): Q2 EPS of $0.49 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $2B (+3%) vs. $1.9B. Shares +3.5% premarket (8:10 ET). (PR)
  • Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BDX): FQ3 EPS of $1.30 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.8B (-2%) in-line. (PR)
  • BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX): Q2 EPS of -$0.23 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $4.8M (+80%) vs. $4.1M. R&D expenses decreased to $11.2M from $13.4M a year ago. (PR)
  • CIGNA (CI): Q2 EPS of $1.14 beats by $0.18. Revenue of $4.5B (-8%) vs. $4.8B. (PR)
  • Cincinnati Financial (CINF): Q2 EPS of -$0.03 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $874M (-5%) vs. $912M. (PR)
  • CMS Energy (CMS): Q2 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.02. Reaffirms guidance for FY '09, sees EPS of $1.25 vs. $1.27 consensus. (PR)
  • Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL): Q2 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.75B (-5.5%) in-line. Gross margin increased 2 points to 58.8%, driven by easing raw and packaging material costs, and continued benefit from higher prices already implemented and its ongoing aggressive savings programs. (PR)
  • CONSOL Energy (CNX): Q2 EPS of $0.62 misses by $0.19. Revenue of $1.1B (-12%) in-line. (PR)
  • Covidien (COV): FQ3 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $2.5B (-3%) in-line. (PR)
  • Cummins (CMI): Q2 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $24.3B (+525%) vs. $2.5B. (PR)
  • Digital Realty Trust (DLR): Q2 FFO of $0.71 in-line. Revenue of $155M (+25.2%) vs. $161M. (PR)
  • Dow Chemical (DOW): Q2 EPS of $0.05 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $11.3B (-40%) vs. $13B. (PR)
  • Eastman Kodak (EK): Q2 EPS of -$0.71 misses by $0.34. Revenue of $1.77B (-28.9%) vs. $1.83B. Sees loss from continuing ops at the low end of its previous $200-400M range. Shares -0.9% premarket (8:00 ET). (PR)
  • Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP): Q2 EPS of $0.73 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $373M (+22%) vs. $358M. (PR)
  • ExxonMobil (XOM): Q2 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.18. Revenue of $74.46B (-46.1%) vs. $71.29M. Production was down 3%. Lower margins reduced earnings by $1B. Shares -1.8% premarket (8:30 ET). (PR (.pdf))
  • GrafTech International Ltd (GTI): Q2 EPS of $0.12 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $158M (-51%) vs. $143M. (PR)
  • International Paper (IP): Q2 EPS of $0.20 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $5.8B (-0.1%) in-line. (PR)
  • Iron Mountain (IRM): Q2 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $746M (-3%) vs. $741M. (PR)
  • KBR Inc. (KBR): Q2 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.1B (+17%) vs. $2.9B. (PR)
  • Kimco Realty (KIM): Q2 EPS of $0.31 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $189M (+3%) in-line. (PR)
  • Mack-Cali Realty (CLI): Q2 EPS of $0.87 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $173M (-3%) vs. $167M.
  • MasterCard (MA): Q2 EPS of $2.67 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $1.28B (+2.7%) in-line. Net revenue was up 7% on a constant currency basis. Gross dollar volume was down 0.6%; purchase volume was down 0.7%. Shares +7.2% premarket (8:30 ET). (PR)
  • Motorola (MOT): Q2 EPS of -$0.01 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $5.5B (-32%) vs. $5.6B. Issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees EPS of -$0.01 to $0.01 vs. $0.05 consensus. Shares +7.3% premarket (7:45 ET). (PR)
  • Mylan (MYL): Q2 EPS of $0.32 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.3B (+5%) vs. $1.2B. (PR)
  • Newell Rubbermaid (NWL): Q2 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $1.5B (-18%) in-line. (PR)
  • Noble Energy (NBL): Q2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $491M (-59%) vs. $588M. (PR)
  • NRG Energy (NRG): Q2 EPS of $1.56 vs. consensus of $0.74 (may not be comparable). Revenue of $2.2B (+70%) vs. $2.1B. (PR)
  • NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q2 EPS of $0.51 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.1B (+9.5%) in-line. (PR)
  • OfficeMax (OMX): Q2 EPS of $0.04 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.66B (-16.5%) in-line. "Given the projected weak economic climate and our anticipation of a soft Back-to-School season, OfficeMax remains very cautious in its expectations for the second half of 2009." (PR)
  • Oshkosh Truck (OSK): FQ3 EPS of -$0.30 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $1.23B (-36.1%) vs. $1.38B. "For Q4, we expect solid performance from our defense and fire & emergency segments, while we expect that our access equipment and commercial segments will both continue to face tough market conditions." (PR)
  • Parker-Hannifin (PH): FQ4 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.2B (-34%) in-line. Shares -1% premarket (7:50 ET). (PR)
  • Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN): Q2 EPS of -$0.12 in-line. Revenue of $161M (-69%) vs. $167M. (PR)
  • Regal Entertainment Group (RGC): Q2 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $789M (+17%) vs. $769M. (PR)
  • Rockwell Collins (COL): FQ3 EPS of $0.91 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1.1B (-9%) in-line. (PR)
  • Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): Q2 EPS of $0.62 vs. consensus of $0.93 (may not be comparable). Revenue of $63.9B (-51%) vs. $60.5B. Shares -0.65% premarket (6:50 ET). (PR)
  • Sally Beauty (SBH): FQ3 EPS of $0.16 in-line. Revenue of $673M (-0.5%) vs. $684M. (PR)
  • Sony (SNE): FQ1 net loss of ¥37.1B ($390M) vs. consensus of -¥110B and vs. a net profit of ¥35B a year ago. Still sees full-year loss of ¥120B. Revenue fell 19% to ¥1.6T. Shares +7.2% premarket (8:10 ET). (DJ)
  • Spirit AeroSystems (SPR): Q2 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.1B (-0.2%) in-line. Shares +2.3% premarket (8:00 ET). (PR)
  • Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Q2 EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.2B (-23%) in-line. (PR)
  • Travelers (TRV): Q2 EPS of $1.26 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $6.2B (-2%) in-line. (PR)
  • Tyco International (TYC): FQ3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $4.2B (+0.6%) vs. $4.3B. (PR)
  • Ventas (VTR): Q2 FFO of $0.68 beats by $0.06. "Our high-quality, diversified healthcare and seniors housing assets are performing very well due to demographic and need-driven demand." (PR)
  • Waste Management (WMI): Q2 EPS of $0.52 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $2.95B (-15.5%) vs. $3B. Company is changing its ticker symbol to WM as of August 5, 2009. Issues downside guidance for FY '09, sees EPS of $1.95-1.99 vs. $2.02 consensus. (PR)
  • Xcel Energy (XEL): Q2 EPS of $0.25 in-line. Revenue of $2B (-23%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)

Earnings: Wednesday After Close

  • AFLAC (AFL): Q2 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $4.3B (flat) vs. $4.7B. Announced planned acquisition of Continental American for $100M. (PR)
  • Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM): Q2 EPS of $0.01 misses by $0.11. Revenue of $139M (+58%) vs. $126M. EPS includes noncash currency loss of $0.12/share and stock option expense of $0.03/share. (PR)

  • Akamai Technologies (AKAM): Q2 EPS of $0.40 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $205M (-2.7%) vs. $211M. (PR)

]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:18:38 -0400 SA Editor Rachael Granby

  • Reactions to Microhoo. Reactions to the Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) search deal announced yesterday have been mixed. Some investors wondered why Yahoo agreed to a deal with no upfront fee, after previously saying any deal would be conditioned on 'a boatload of cash,' and doubts about the deal's benefits to Yahoo helped pull shares down 12% (Microsoft closed up 1.4%, and the deal may mark an important turning point for CEO Steve Ballmer). Still, others felt "dropping the dead weight of search isn’t a horrible idea" for a company that has no realistic chance of beating Google (GOOG). The deal could face antitrust concerns but will likely be approved.
  • TARP exit for AmEx. American Express (AXP) has officially exited TARP after repurchasing warrants from the government for $340M. The company said the warrant buyback, along with $74.4M of dividend payments it made, provided taxpayers with an annualized 26% return. Analysts noted the repurchase price was in line with the $1.1B Goldman Sachs (GS) paid, indicating the Treasury has indeed taken a tougher negotiating stance on the warrant purchases in light of congressional pressure.
  • FDIC to break up banks. In an effort to entice more buyers, the FDIC is poised to start breaking up failed banks into good and bad pieces. The goal is to sell the most distressed parts of failed banks to private equity firms and other investors that are willing to take a larger risk on bad assets. The 'good' pieces of failed banks, including deposits and branches, could then be sold to traditional banks.
  • Sanofi buys out Merck's JV stake. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) agreed to buy Merck's (MRK) half of their joint Merial animal-health venture for $4B in cash, and said the companies may work together again in the future to form the world’s largest maker of animal treatments. Sanofi and Merck had collaborated on Merial for over ten years, building it into a company with $2.6B in annual sales. The deal should help Merck allay antitrust concerns over its proposed purchase of Schering-Plough (SGP). Premarket: SNY -0.9% (7:00 ET).
  • Mortgage fraud probe includes Goldman, Deutsche. A Senate panel reportedly subpoenaed financial firms including Goldman Sachs (GS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) in search of evidence of mortgage fraud during last year's market meltdown. The probe is focused on whether bankers had private doubts about the financial soundness of the mortgage-related securities they were publicly promoting. Washington Mutual, now largely owned by JPMorgan Chase (JPM), may also have been among the firms that received a subpoena.
  • Citi advances asset sales. Citigroup (C) is 'moving extremely fast' on asset sales, said CEO Vikram Pandit. Citigroup announced today it had agreed to sell its stake in a Japanese asset management unit to Sumitomo Trust & Banking, Japan’s fifth-largest bank, for ¥112.4B ($1.18B).
  • New help for homeowners. The White House is planning to announce new guidelines today to help homeowners struggling with Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages. The guidelines will narrow the gap between the FHA's mortgage-modification program and the White House's foreclosure-prevention plan, and will "offer borrowers an opportunity to stay in their homes, make payments that are manageable and defer [payment of] the money owed to a later time when, hopefully, home values have improved."
  • Fidelity signs IPO pact with Deutsche. Fidelity Investments struck a deal with Deutsche Bank (DB) allowing Fidelity's individual investors to participate in initial public offerings underwritten by Deutsche as of this week. Fidelity reached a similar deal last month with private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, but the Deutsche deal carries more weight because Deutsche is one of the 10 busiest underwriters of stock offerings in the U.S. For Deutsche, access to Fidelity's customers will broaden the range of IPOs it can land.
  • Beige Book sees recession moderating. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book was released yesterday, and noted the recession seems to be growing less severe. Some regions said the downturn's pace has moderated, and others reported that activity is stabilizing. Retail sales are still sluggish, and wages and benefits are steady or falling in most districts. (Read the Fed's Beige Book summary)
  • China seeks to reassure on monetary policy. In a volatile day of trading, Chinese stocks managed to close up 1.7% after China's central bank released a statement aimed at calming jittery investors. After the Chinese stock market fell 5% on Wednesday, its largest daily drop in eight months, the central bank pledged to maintain loose monetary policy in order to support an economic recovery and to ensure sustainable credit growth, seemingly without relying on a strict, central bank-directed quota system used in the past.
  • Boeing gets squeezed. British Airways (BAIRY.PK) is pressuring Boeing (BA) to renegotiate installment payments on its 787 Dreamliner orders. Predelivery payments can total tens of millions of dollars per jetliner, and as airlines find it increasingly difficult to bankroll the payments, plane makers like Boeing are getting squeezed. In other bad news for Boeing, a contractor said yesterday that the Dreamliner's braking system is still incomplete because of a dispute over who should pay for the work, and S&P downgraded Boeing's credit rating by one notch over concerns of additional production cuts due to airline order deferrals and cancellations.
  • PennyMac a few pennies short on IPO. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, the distressed-mortgage investment company run by former Countrywide No. 2 Stanford Kurland and 10 other former Countrywide officials, raised $320M in its initial public offering, $80M less than planned. The company sold 16M shares at $20 each.

Earnings: Thursday Before Open

  • AmerisourceBergen (ABC): FQ3 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $18.39B (+2.2%) vs. $18.11B. (PR)
  • Aon (AOC): Q2 EPS of $0.76 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.9B (-4%) in-line. (PR)
  • Art Technology Group (ARTG): Q2 EPS of $0.06 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $44M (+6%) in-line. Shares +3.2% premarket (8:20 ET). (PR)
  • AstraZeneca (AZN): Q2 EPS of $1.64 beats by $0.24. Revenue of $8B (+0%) vs. $7.8B. Shares +3.5% premarket (6:40 ET). (AstraZeneca's press release (.pdf))
  • Automatic Data Processing (ADP): FQ4 EPS of $0.45 in-line. Revenue of $2.1B (-4.5%) in-line. Issues downside guidance for FY '10, sees EPS of $2.29-2.39 vs. $2.44 consensus, sees revenue down 1-4%, or to roughly $8.51-8.78B, vs. $8.94B consensus. (PR)
  • Avon (AVP): Q2 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $2.47B (-9.7%) in-line. (PR)
  • Barrick Gold (ABX): Q2 EPS of $0.49 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $2B (+3%) vs. $1.9B. Shares +3.5% premarket (8:10 ET). (PR)
  • Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BDX): FQ3 EPS of $1.30 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.8B (-2%) in-line. (PR)
  • BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX): Q2 EPS of -$0.23 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $4.8M (+80%) vs. $4.1M. R&D expenses decreased to $11.2M from $13.4M a year ago. (PR)
  • CIGNA (CI): Q2 EPS of $1.14 beats by $0.18. Revenue of $4.5B (-8%) vs. $4.8B. (PR)
  • Cincinnati Financial (CINF): Q2 EPS of -$0.03 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $874M (-5%) vs. $912M. (PR)
  • CMS Energy (CMS): Q2 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.02. Reaffirms guidance for FY '09, sees EPS of $1.25 vs. $1.27 consensus. (PR)
  • Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL): Q2 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.75B (-5.5%) in-line. Gross margin increased 2 points to 58.8%, driven by easing raw and packaging material costs, and continued benefit from higher prices already implemented and its ongoing aggressive savings programs. (PR)
  • CONSOL Energy (CNX): Q2 EPS of $0.62 misses by $0.19. Revenue of $1.1B (-12%) in-line. (PR)
  • Covidien (COV): FQ3 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $2.5B (-3%) in-line. (PR)
  • Cummins (CMI): Q2 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $24.3B (+525%) vs. $2.5B. (PR)
  • Digital Realty Trust (DLR): Q2 FFO of $0.71 in-line. Revenue of $155M (+25.2%) vs. $161M. (PR)
  • Dow Chemical (DOW): Q2 EPS of $0.05 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $11.3B (-40%) vs. $13B. (PR)
  • Eastman Kodak (EK): Q2 EPS of -$0.71 misses by $0.34. Revenue of $1.77B (-28.9%) vs. $1.83B. Sees loss from continuing ops at the low end of its previous $200-400M range. Shares -0.9% premarket (8:00 ET). (PR)
  • Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP): Q2 EPS of $0.73 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $373M (+22%) vs. $358M. (PR)
  • ExxonMobil (XOM): Q2 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.18. Revenue of $74.46B (-46.1%) vs. $71.29M. Production was down 3%. Lower margins reduced earnings by $1B. Shares -1.8% premarket (8:30 ET). (PR (.pdf))
  • GrafTech International Ltd (GTI): Q2 EPS of $0.12 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $158M (-51%) vs. $143M. (PR)
  • International Paper (IP): Q2 EPS of $0.20 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $5.8B (-0.1%) in-line. (PR)
  • Iron Mountain (IRM): Q2 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $746M (-3%) vs. $741M. (PR)
  • KBR Inc. (KBR): Q2 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.1B (+17%) vs. $2.9B. (PR)
  • Kimco Realty (KIM): Q2 EPS of $0.31 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $189M (+3%) in-line. (PR)
  • Mack-Cali Realty (CLI): Q2 EPS of $0.87 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $173M (-3%) vs. $167M.
  • MasterCard (MA): Q2 EPS of $2.67 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $1.28B (+2.7%) in-line. Net revenue was up 7% on a constant currency basis. Gross dollar volume was down 0.6%; purchase volume was down 0.7%. Shares +7.2% premarket (8:30 ET). (PR)
  • Motorola (MOT): Q2 EPS of -$0.01 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $5.5B (-32%) vs. $5.6B. Issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees EPS of -$0.01 to $0.01 vs. $0.05 consensus. Shares +7.3% premarket (7:45 ET). (PR)
  • Mylan (MYL): Q2 EPS of $0.32 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.3B (+5%) vs. $1.2B. (PR)
  • Newell Rubbermaid (NWL): Q2 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $1.5B (-18%) in-line. (PR)
  • Noble Energy (NBL): Q2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $491M (-59%) vs. $588M. (PR)
  • NRG Energy (NRG): Q2 EPS of $1.56 vs. consensus of $0.74 (may not be comparable). Revenue of $2.2B (+70%) vs. $2.1B. (PR)
  • NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q2 EPS of $0.51 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.1B (+9.5%) in-line. (PR)
  • OfficeMax (OMX): Q2 EPS of $0.04 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.66B (-16.5%) in-line. "Given the projected weak economic climate and our anticipation of a soft Back-to-School season, OfficeMax remains very cautious in its expectations for the second half of 2009." (PR)
  • Oshkosh Truck (OSK): FQ3 EPS of -$0.30 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $1.23B (-36.1%) vs. $1.38B. "For Q4, we expect solid performance from our defense and fire & emergency segments, while we expect that our access equipment and commercial segments will both continue to face tough market conditions." (PR)
  • Parker-Hannifin (PH): FQ4 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.2B (-34%) in-line. Shares -1% premarket (7:50 ET). (PR)
  • Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN): Q2 EPS of -$0.12 in-line. Revenue of $161M (-69%) vs. $167M. (PR)
  • Regal Entertainment Group (RGC): Q2 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $789M (+17%) vs. $769M. (PR)
  • Rockwell Collins (COL): FQ3 EPS of $0.91 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1.1B (-9%) in-line. (PR)
  • Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): Q2 EPS of $0.62 vs. consensus of $0.93 (may not be comparable). Revenue of $63.9B (-51%) vs. $60.5B. Shares -0.65% premarket (6:50 ET). (PR)
  • Sally Beauty (SBH): FQ3 EPS of $0.16 in-line. Revenue of $673M (-0.5%) vs. $684M. (PR)
  • Sony (SNE): FQ1 net loss of ¥37.1B ($390M) vs. consensus of -¥110B and vs. a net profit of ¥35B a year ago. Still sees full-year loss of ¥120B. Revenue fell 19% to ¥1.6T. Shares +7.2% premarket (8:10 ET). (DJ)
  • Spirit AeroSystems (SPR): Q2 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.1B (-0.2%) in-line. Shares +2.3% premarket (8:00 ET). (PR)
  • Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): Q2 EPS of $0.14 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.2B (-23%) in-line. (PR)
  • Travelers (TRV): Q2 EPS of $1.26 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $6.2B (-2%) in-line. (PR)
  • Tyco International (TYC): FQ3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $4.2B (+0.6%) vs. $4.3B. (PR)
  • Ventas (VTR): Q2 FFO of $0.68 beats by $0.06. "Our high-quality, diversified healthcare and seniors housing assets are performing very well due to demographic and need-driven demand." (PR)
  • Waste Management (WMI): Q2 EPS of $0.52 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $2.95B (-15.5%) vs. $3B. Company is changing its ticker symbol to WM as of August 5, 2009. Issues downside guidance for FY '09, sees EPS of $1.95-1.99 vs. $2.02 consensus. (PR)
  • Xcel Energy (XEL): Q2 EPS of $0.25 in-line. Revenue of $2B (-23%) vs. $2.6B. (PR)

Earnings: Wednesday After Close

  • AFLAC (AFL): Q2 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $4.3B (flat) vs. $4.7B. Announced planned acquisition of Continental American for $100M. (PR)
  • Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM): Q2 EPS of $0.01 misses by $0.11. Revenue of $139M (+58%) vs. $126M. EPS includes noncash currency loss of $0.12/share and stock option expense of $0.03/share. (PR)

  • Akamai Technologies (AKAM): Q2 EPS of $0.40 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $205M (-2.7%) vs. $211M. (PR)


Complete Story »]]> ABC ABX ADP AEM AFL AIZ AKAM AMKR AOC ARTG AVB AVP AXP AZN BA BAIRY.PK BARE BCRX BDX BMR C CBG CCI CDNS CERN CI CINF CL CLF CLI CMI CMS CNX COL COV CTV DB DIA DLR DOW DRE EK ELY ENDP EQR ESRX FISV FLEX FLS FMC GG GLD GMCR GNK GOOG GS GTI HBI HIG HIW HLX IP IRM JPM KBR KIM LNC LRCX LSI MA MOT MRK MSFT MTZ MYL NBL NRG NWL NYX O OI OMX ORLY OSK PH PTEN QQQQ RDS.A RGC RYL SBH SGP SNE SNY SPR SPY SYMC TER TRN TRV TSM TSO TYC UAM URI USO V VAR VTR WLL WM XEL XOM YHOO SA Editor Rachael Granby Health Benefit Providers Index Drops 14% on Reform Concerns http://seekingalpha.com/article/123327-health-benefit-providers-index-drops-14-on-reform-concerns?source=feed 123327 The accompanying table includes 38 companies in the ETF Innovators Health Benefit Providers Index, which was down sharply last week and has lost 14% of its market value to a level of $192,305 since I last wrote about the group five weeks ago.

The uncertain future for health insurers and benefit providers that I wrote about previously came to a head this week with plans by President Obama for healthcare reform aimed at cutting health costs by favoring generic drug makers and smaller Medicare Advantage payments to private insurers, along with smaller increases in Medicare Advantage reimbursement for 2010 than was expected.

]]> Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:25:48 -0500 Mike Havrilla Mike Havrilla submits:

The accompanying table includes 38 companies in the ETF Innovators Health Benefit Providers Index, which was down sharply last week and has lost 14% of its market value to a level of $192,305 since I last wrote about the group five weeks ago.

The uncertain future for health insurers and benefit providers that I wrote about previously came to a head this week with plans by President Obama for healthcare reform aimed at cutting health costs by favoring generic drug makers and smaller Medicare Advantage payments to private insurers, along with smaller increases in Medicare Advantage reimbursement for 2010 than was expected.


Complete Story »]]> AET AFL AMSF ASGR ESRX HUM MHS OCR PMC UAM UNH WCG Mike Havrilla Hedge Fund Tracking: Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital, Q3 2008 http://seekingalpha.com/article/107072-hedge-fund-tracking-lee-ainslie-s-maverick-capital-q3-2008?source=feed 107072 (Note: Before reading this update, make sure you check out the preface to the series we're doing on Hedge Fund 13F's here).

This is the Third Quarter 2008 edition of our ongoing hedge fund tracking series. We've already covered Whitney Tilson's T2 Partners, Peter Thiel's Clarium Capital, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, and Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital. Next up, we have Maverick Capital. Lee Ainslie started Maverick Capital back in 1993 with $38 million. Nowadays, the fund is worth $10 billion. Ainslie, like many of the other fund managers we've profiled, has a background rooted in learning from legendary great Julian Robertson at Tiger Management. These protégés (nicknamed 'Tiger Cubs') learned from the best and have had great success running their own funds. Some contacts over at Maverick have explained that its strategy is straight up stock picking, both long and short. The company made it clear though, that the company does not employ pairs trades, although, some of its long/short setups might be in the same sector.

]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:42:04 -0500 Market Folly Market Folly submits:

(Note: Before reading this update, make sure you check out the preface to the series we're doing on Hedge Fund 13F's here).

This is the Third Quarter 2008 edition of our ongoing hedge fund tracking series. We've already covered Whitney Tilson's T2 Partners, Peter Thiel's Clarium Capital, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, and Stephen Mandel's Lone Pine Capital. Next up, we have Maverick Capital. Lee Ainslie started Maverick Capital back in 1993 with $38 million. Nowadays, the fund is worth $10 billion. Ainslie, like many of the other fund managers we've profiled, has a background rooted in learning from legendary great Julian Robertson at Tiger Management. These protégés (nicknamed 'Tiger Cubs') learned from the best and have had great success running their own funds. Some contacts over at Maverick have explained that its strategy is straight up stock picking, both long and short. The company made it clear though, that the company does not employ pairs trades, although, some of its long/short setups might be in the same sector.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL AFN AMD AMGN AMX APOL ATHN ATVI AZZ BAX BBT BCSO.PK BFLY BNI BPW BRK.A BRK.B CAH CI COV CRBC CRM CTSH CTXS CVS CYPB DISH DKS DRIV DTV DUF DV FADV FCX FIG FIS FMD FSLR GILD GMKT GS HBHC HBI HCBK HMIN INFN JCG LAMR LEAP LMDIA LO LVS MMC MON MRVL MSA MXB NCC NEWS NTAP NTRI PALM PCLN PCS POT RIMM RMD RTN SCOR SGP SMTB SUSQ TMO TRBN TXT UA UAM UCTT VVUS WAMUQ.PK WMW WU WYE XTO YGE ZLC Market Folly Playing the Baby-Boomer Trade: JPM's Aging Population Index http://seekingalpha.com/article/104772-playing-the-baby-boomer-trade-jpm-s-aging-population-index?source=feed 104772 Baby Boomers may be a little further from retirement now that the stock market has tumbled, but they are still getting older.

In the United States, Baby Boomers are now all over the age of 44 and some are turning 62. They make up an estimated 25% of the population, with another 12.7% over the age of 65.

]]> Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:28:42 -0500 FP Trading Desk FP Trading DeskFP Trading Desk submits:

Baby Boomers may be a little further from retirement now that the stock market has tumbled, but they are still getting older.

In the United States, Baby Boomers are now all over the age of 44 and some are turning 62. They make up an estimated 25% of the population, with another 12.7% over the age of 65.


Complete Story »]]> AMMD CBRL CCL CELG CHS CNO CVH CWTR HCP HS HUM KND NHP OCR RCL SMG SUNH TLB UAM VAR WYN FP Trading Desk Is There Hidden Value in Universal American? http://seekingalpha.com/article/89456-is-there-hidden-value-in-universal-american?source=feed 89456 I have followed Universal American (UAM) ever since it was Universal American Financial (UHCO) and I even managed to own shares in the company from 2004-2005 during the stock’s great run up in preparation for the company’s entrance into the realm of Medicare supported insurance products for the elderly. 

One of the key instigators in my decision to sell my stake was my belief that the businesses that it was getting into, namely the PFFS (private fee for service) segment of the Medical Advantage, while capable of producing dramatically higher top line growth rates would fail to achieve corresponding increases in the company’s net income.  For the most part, this assessment has proven to be correct and the stock has fallen dramatically from it’s all time high in the mid 20s. 

]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:13:13 -0400 Prudent Speculations Prudent Speculations submits:

I have followed Universal American (UAM) ever since it was Universal American Financial (UHCO) and I even managed to own shares in the company from 2004-2005 during the stock’s great run up in preparation for the company’s entrance into the realm of Medicare supported insurance products for the elderly. 

One of the key instigators in my decision to sell my stake was my belief that the businesses that it was getting into, namely the PFFS (private fee for service) segment of the Medical Advantage, while capable of producing dramatically higher top line growth rates would fail to achieve corresponding increases in the company’s net income.  For the most part, this assessment has proven to be correct and the stock has fallen dramatically from it’s all time high in the mid 20s. 


Complete Story »]]> UAM Prudent Speculations Not All Financials Are Poison http://seekingalpha.com/article/86168-not-all-financials-are-poison?source=feed 86168 I am overweight financials, but I don’t own any banks, or entities where the primary business is credit risk.  I own a bunch of insurers, because they are cheap.  The first one to report came Monday after the close, Reinsurance Group of America.  They beat handily on both earnings and revenues.  They are the only pure play life reinsurer remaining.  Competition is reduced because Scottish Re is for all practical purposes dead.  They make their money primarily off of mortality, charging more to reinsure lives than they expect to pay in death claims.

This is a nice niche business, and a quality competitor in the space — well-respected by all.  And, you can buy it for less than book value.  Well, at least you could prior to the close on Monday.

]]> Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:22:17 -0400 David Merkel David Merkel submits:

I am overweight financials, but I don’t own any banks, or entities where the primary business is credit risk.  I own a bunch of insurers, because they are cheap.  The first one to report came Monday after the close, Reinsurance Group of America.  They beat handily on both earnings and revenues.  They are the only pure play life reinsurer remaining.  Competition is reduced because Scottish Re is for all practical purposes dead.  They make their money primarily off of mortality, charging more to reinsure lives than they expect to pay in death claims.

This is a nice niche business, and a quality competitor in the space — well-respected by all.  And, you can buy it for less than book value.  Well, at least you could prior to the close on Monday.


Complete Story »]]> AIZ CHIC HIG LNC MET NAHC RGA SAFT UAM David Merkel My Recession-Proof ETF http://seekingalpha.com/article/61482-my-recession-proof-etf?source=feed 61482 Amidst the backdrop of an economic slowdown and a possible recession in the US, I have developed an exchange-traded fund [ETF] designed to provide investors with market-beating returns in any economic environment. The fund concentrates on stocks with market caps over $1 billion that are growth leaders in their businesses and focused on products and services that people need regardless of the economy.

My Recession Proof ETF is based on the premise that people will continue to eat, drink, smoke, take medications, pay their utility bills, and maintain health/life insurance no matter how bad things get. My Recession Proof ETF contains a range of stocks from small-cap to mega-cap, with an average of just under $40 billion for the 22 active stocks chosen from among 30 eligible companies. The dividend yield of 1.8% for my fund mirrors that of the S&P 500 (SPY) ETF, but my fund has produced a gain of 11% over the last 52 weeks versus a loss of about 6% for the S&P 500 ETF.

]]> Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:03:37 -0500 Mike Havrilla Mike Havrilla submits:

Amidst the backdrop of an economic slowdown and a possible recession in the US, I have developed an exchange-traded fund [ETF] designed to provide investors with market-beating returns in any economic environment. The fund concentrates on stocks with market caps over $1 billion that are growth leaders in their businesses and focused on products and services that people need regardless of the economy.

My Recession Proof ETF is based on the premise that people will continue to eat, drink, smoke, take medications, pay their utility bills, and maintain health/life insurance no matter how bad things get. My Recession Proof ETF contains a range of stocks from small-cap to mega-cap, with an average of just under $40 billion for the 22 active stocks chosen from among 30 eligible companies. The dividend yield of 1.8% for my fund mirrors that of the S&P 500 (SPY) ETF, but my fund has produced a gain of 11% over the last 52 weeks versus a loss of about 6% for the S&P 500 ETF.


Complete Story »]]> CL HNZ LFC T UAM Mike Havrilla