Archive for March, 2010
(MMM) 3M – Beat Earnings Estimates By 40.7% in Four of The Past Five Quarters
3M Co. (MMM) shares are essentially flat year-to-date, but that doesn’t fully reflect the company’s strong performance. Company Description 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. The company’s core strength is applying its...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MOT) Motorola’s Partners With Microsoft On Strategic Move in China
Motorola Inc. (MOT) has taken a strategic decision to enable the smooth sailing of its newly launched 3G smartphones in China. The company has entered into a global agreement with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to deploy the latter’s Bing services on its 3G smartphones. Users will...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNE) Sony’s New Game Device Named “PlayStation Move”
Sony Corp. (SNE) plans to launch its new motion-control video game device named ‘PlayStation Move’ in late 2010. The company displayed the new device at a Game Developer’s event in San Francisco . The shares of Sony surged 1.35% (or $0.50) following the company’s announcement. The...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CBRL) Cracker Barrel Old Country Store – Earnings Report 28% Ahead of Forecasts
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) recently hit a new 52-week high on the company’s better than expected Q2 results from late February and rising estimates. Company Description Cracker Barrel Old Country Store operates 591 breakfast restaurants and retail concepts...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BP) BP Acquires Devon Energy Assets
UK oil super major, BP plc. (BP) is buying a bunch of assets of US independent oil and gas producer Devon Energy (DVN) for $7.0 billion in cash. These include properties in offshore Brazil, Azerbaijan and the US deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Offshore Brazil assets include interests...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JWN) Nordstrom to Open New Rack Stores
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN), a leading fashion specialty retailer, recently announced plans to open a new 35,351 square feet Nordstrom Rack at Burbank Empire Center, a premier shopping center in California. Burbank Empire Center spans across 900,000 square feet of space and hosts leading...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($BAC) Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Edge Down
Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance fell by 6,000 this week to 462,000. However, the 4-week moving average, which is generally considered a better measure given the high degree of volatility in the weekly numbers, rose by 5,000 to 475,500. Starting about a year ago, when...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIG) American International Group Sees $490 Million From Sale of Transatlantic Holdings
American International Group Inc.’s (AIG) expects $490 million from its stake sale in the reinsurance company Transatlantic Holdings Inc. (TRH). Last Friday, the company announced its plan to sell its remaining 14% stake in Transatlantic owned by American Home Assurance Company...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TM) U.S. Trade Deficit Falls, However…
The nation’s trade deficit fell in January to $37.3 billion from a downwardly revised $39.9 billion in December. It did so, however, for the “wrong reason.” We saw a bigger decline in imports, which dropped by $3.1 billion or 1.69% to $180.0 billion, than we...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($TIVO) TiVo Analysts Raise Rating to Neutral
We are upgrading TiVo Inc. (TIVO) to Neutral from our previous Underperform rating on its better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2010 results driven by higher revenues. TiVo recently reported a net loss of 9 cents per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, 3 cents above the...
11Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EQT) EQT Corporation Raises Earnings Guidance
To accelerate development of its Marcellus and Huron/Berea plays’ properties, EQT Corporation (EQT) has announced 12.5 million shares of its common stock offering. Early last week, the company announced its intention to buy approximately 58,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BMY) Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Phase VI Study For Onglyza
Recently, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) announced that it has commenced a phase IV (post marketing) study for its type II diabetes drug Onglyza (saxagliptin). Bristol-Myers entered into collaboration with AstraZeneca plc (AZN) in Jan 2007 to research, develop and commercialize select...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MITI) Micromet Announces 10 Million Share Stock Offering
Recently, Micromet (MITI) announced a 10 million share offering of common stock. In Aug 2009, Micromet received net proceeds of about $75 million from a common stock issuance. We believe with the advancement of clinical trials, the company’s R&D costs are expected to increase...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(OMAB) Airport Operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte Reports Traffic Declines
Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V. (OMAB) reported a 12.5% decrease in passenger traffic at its 13 airports in February 2010, compared to February 2009. Domestic and international traffic declined 13.4% and 8.7%, respectively. Domestic...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RF) Regions Financial’s Morgan Keegan Faces Charges (revised)
Morgan Keegan, a securities brokerage unit of Regions Financial Corp. (RF), has been slapped with charges amounting to $3.6 million in relation with two arbitration cases that were filed against it by two bond investors. These investors, who had invested in the company’s proprietary...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FCN) FTI Consulting Analyst Lowers Stock to Underperform
We are downgrading our recommendation on FTI Consulting Inc. (FCN) to Underperform from Neutral as a dramatic deceleration is expected in Corporate Finance and Restructuring through the remainder of 2010. The company’s fourth quarter earnings of 71 cents per share came in only...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BRCM) Broadcom Corporation Completes Teknovus Acquisition
Broadcom Corporation (BRCM) announced that it has completed the acquisition of Teknovus, a leading supplier of Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) chipsets and software. EPON is a technology providing broadband service at up to 10 Gigabits per second over fiber optic cables....
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FGP) Ferrellgas Partners Reports Strong Earnings
Ferrellgas Partners L.P. (FGP) posted in-line results for the fiscal second quarter of 2010, primarily driven by higher propane sales volumes and lower costs. The partnership reported adjusted earnings of $1.10 per unit for the quarter, meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate and...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HAS) Hasbro Offers $500 Million in Notes
Earlier the week, Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) announced an offering of $500 million of the 6.35% notes due 2040. Interest on the notes will be paid twice each year on March 15 and September 15. The notes will mature on March 15, 2040. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BFB) Brown-Forman Reports Strong Sales
Brown-Forman Corp. (BFB), one of the leading producers and distributors of premium alcoholic beverages in the world, posted fiscal 2010 third-quarter earnings of $107.9 million or $0.73 per share, compared to $123.4 million or $0.81 in the year-ago quarter. The quarterly earnings...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DELL) Dell Analysts Revise Earnings Estimates Down
Earnings estimates for the computing major Dell Inc. (DELL) have taken a nosedive despite the company’s reporting decent fourth quarter 2010 numbers. Dell reported fourth quarter 2010 EPS of 28 cents, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents. However, EPS was...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($PG) Procter & Gamble Recalls Pringles Chips
Recently, The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) voluntarily recalled two flavors of Pringles Chips in response to the recommendation from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to protect consumers from potential salmonella exposure. The flavors were Pringles Restaurant Cravers...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($VZ) Verizon-Frontier Communications Deal Blocked by Illinois Judge
Frontier Communications’ (FTR) impending acquisition of the rural fixed-line business of Verizon (VZ) suffered a major blow as an Administrative Law Judge in Illinois has issued an order to block the transaction in the state. The concerned judge has proposed to the state regulator...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GOOG) Google Steps Closer to the Cloud Computing Rollout
Mountain View, California-based Google Inc. (GOOG), which is slated to introduce its cloud-based Chrome operating system later this year, took another step towards achieving this goal. The company has announced an online marketplace where software developers will be able to offer...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNY) Sanofi-Aventis and Merck Combine Efforts in Animal Health
Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Merck (MRK) have decided to combine their Animal Health businesses – Merial and Intervet/Schering-Plough to create a global leader in this segment. The joint venture, equally owned by the two companies is awaiting approval from certain regulatory authorities....
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ATSI) ATS Medical Analysts Downgrade The Stock
We recently downgraded ATS Medical, Inc. (ATSI) to ‘Underperform’ with a target price of $2.30 based on a P/S of 2.0x our fiscal 2010 revenue estimate of $82 million. ATS Medical recently reported fourth quarter and fiscal 2009 results. For the fourth quarter, loss per share...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JEC) Jacobs Engineering Group Wins $9.9 Million Contract
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) received a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Airbase Technologies Division to research and develop technologies for deployed airbase infrastructure, force protection and homeland defense operations. The potential value...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BVF) Biovail and Acadia Pharmaceuticals Continue Forward with Pimavanserin Study
Biovail (BVF) and Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) are moving forward with a 3-pronged strategy for pimavanserin. Acadia plans a phase III trial in Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP) and a phase II feasibility study in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis (ADP). Biovail plans a phase...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TIVO) TiVo Beats Earnings Forecasts on Higher Revenues
TiVo Inc. (TIVO) reported a net loss of 9 cents per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, 3 cents above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 12 cents per share but fell from the prior-year quarter. The company had reported a loss of 4 cents per share in the fourth...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDRX) Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Scores New Client
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX) recently entered into an agreement with a new client, Huntington Memorial Hospital, whereby the latter will offer the branded version of Allscripts’ e-prescribing solution under the name HuntingtonRx to its nearly 1,000...
10Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued