Archive for March, 2010
(FCX) Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Earns Positive Rating From Fitch
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) shares rose 1.6% or $1.26 to close at $79.17 in after-trade hours after Fitch Ratings Services affirmed the issuer default rating and debt ratings of the world’s largest publicly traded copper company. Fitch has retained its...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNPS) Synopsys Declares CoWare Aquisition Complete
Leading electronic design automation (EDA) company Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) recently declared the completion of its acquisition of CoWare, Inc., which is also in the business of selling software and services for electronic systems design. The company expects this acquisition to...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GHDX) Genomic Health Announces New Distribution Deal
Recently, Genomic Health, Inc. (GHDX) announced that it has agreed to distribute its breast cancer assay Oncotype DX with Palex Medical S.A. in Spain and Portugal. The company also announced encouraging data on Oncotype DX at the 7th European Breast Cancer Conference in Barcelona. The...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DTV) DIRECTV Analyst Downgrades to Neutral
We downgrade our recommendation for DIRECTV (DTV) to Neutral, which means the stock will perform mostly in line with the broader market. The company is facing both intra-industry threat as well as inter-industry threat. Ongoing global economic downturn negatively impacted the...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NOK) Nokia Corporation Enters Agreement to Acquire Novarra
Nokia Corp. (NOK), the largest mobile phone manufacturers of the world, entered into an agreement to acquire full ownership control of Novarra, Inc., a privately-held company based in Chicago. Novarra specializes in developing high speed mobile web browsers. Novarra’s offerings...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) JPMorgan Chase’s Washington Mutual Repay Thwarted by FDIC
On Sunday, the Reuters reported that the federal regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has taken back its support in the bankrupt company, Washington Mutual Inc.’s (WaMu) 18-month long case with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and FDIC, whereby accordingly to...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SINA) SINA Analyst Downgrades Stock to Underperform
We are downgrading SINA Corporation (SINA) to Underperform, indicating that the stock would be trading below the industry average. The company’s five-year EPS growth rate of 14.2% is below the industry average. Our lower price target of $35.00, represents a P/E multiple of...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JWN) Nordstrom Opens New Full-Line Store in Massachusetts
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN), a leading fashion specialty retailer, recently opened a new full-line store spanning 150,000 square feet at South Shore Plaza, an enclosed shopping mall in Braintree, Massachusetts. With the new addition, Nordstrom currently has four full-line stores in...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CIT) CIT Group Being Targeted by Australian Bank?
On Mar 28, the Australian Financial Review reported that CIT Group Inc.’s (CIT) Australian and New Zealand ‘s vendor finance business units are being targeted for acquisition by the Australia ’s Bank of Queensland. CIT Australia’s lending book is worth about A$500...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMB) Williams Companies Analyst Keeps Neutral Rating
We are maintaining our Neutral recommendation on Williams Companies (WMB) with a target price of $23. We like Williams’ strong business mix, attractive growth opportunities in its low-risk upstream model and relatively stable fee-based midstream services. The company’s high...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SNP) China Petroleum and Chemical’s 2009 Net Doubles
Today, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (SNP), aka Sinopec, reported its annual results for year ended December 31, 2009. Earnings per ADS in 2009 were $10.38, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.76 and 2008’s earnings of $4.17. Net income for the period...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DYN) Dynegy Spends to Cut Emissions From Its Power Plants
Dynegy Inc. (DYN) recently reported that to date it has spent $600 million to cut emissions of pollutants at its power plants in Illinois. Dynegy expects total investment to be approximately $1 billion. Work has been completed at Dynegy’s five out of eight coal-fired units...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMAT) Personal Income Increases – Savings Slip in February
In February, Personal Income increased by $1.2 billion from January. That is essentially unchanged, as the increase does not even round to 0.1%. In contrast, personal consumption expenditures, also know as PCE or personal spending, rose by $34.7 billion or 0.3%. If spending rises...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JEC) Jacobs Engineering Group Continues Growing Their Order Book
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) has received a five year contract from the City of Killeen, Texas to provide professional services for the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport and Robert Gray Army Airfield. However, the value and the terms of the contract have not been disclosed. According...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DVAX) Dynavax Technologies Announces Favorable Data on Heplisav
Dynavax Technologies Corp. (DVAX) has announced that it intends to present a detailed analysis of safety data on Heplisav, the company’s most advanced pipeline candidate. Dynavax provided encouraging data on Heplisav’s safety profile. The company reported that the candidate’s...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | ContinuedI’m Hearing Bull From Dollar Bears
Our Investment U Conference in San Diego two weeks ago was dedicated entirely to contrarian investment ideas. Yet, astonishingly, I was the only speaker among a flurry of “currency experts” to take a bullish stance on the dollar. Of course, genuine contrarianism – by...
29Mar2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(APOL) Apollo Group’s Revenues Surge
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL), one of the world’s largest private education providers, reported net revenues of $1070.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to $869.5 million in the year-earlier quarter – an increase of 23.1%. The increase in the revenues was...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LVS) Casino Stocks Feel Macau Limits on Gaming Growth
Recently, the Macau government announced its plan to limit casino growth in the region. According to the plan, new projects would not be approved while only 500 new gaming tables will be allowed in the next three years. The Macau government, which derives nearly 70% of its revenue...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RTN) Raytheon Eyes Incremental Dividends and Share Repurchases
Raytheon Company (RTN) has kept its focus on shareholder value through incremental dividends and share repurchases. The company increased its annual dividend payout rate by 21% from $1.24 to $1.50 per share. Shareholders of record as of the close of business on Apr 6, 2010 will...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VVUS) VIVUS Obesity Drug Application for Qnexa to Get FDA Review
Recently, VIVUS, Inc. (VVUS) announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for its obesity candidate, Qnexa, will be reviewed by the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tentatively on July 15, 2010. The US regulatory...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDCO) The Medicines Co. Challenges U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Decision
In a continued attempt to get its Angiomax patent extended, The Medicines Co. (MDCO) recently filed yet another lawsuit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This time,...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SHPGY) Shire Presents Positive Data on Vpriv
Shire Plc. (SHPGY) recently presented positive phase III data on its Gaucher disease product, Vpriv. The trial was conducted to study the safety of switching patients from Genzyme’s (GENZ) Cerezyme (imiglucerase) to Vpriv. Results showed that both adult as well as pediatric...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(QCOM) Qualcomm Wins 3G CDMA Femtocell Contract
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) has won its first contract for 3G CDMA femtocell. The company recently entered into a development agreement with Chinese network infrastructure solutions provider ZTE Corp. ZTE plans to target the Chinese as well as North American markets with its 3G CDMA...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDRX) Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Earns New Client – Stays Neutral
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc. (MDRX) recently entered into an agreement with a new client, North Florida Surgeons. Per the agreement, North Florida Surgeons has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management solution to automate and...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DD) E. I. Du Pont de Nemours – S&P 500 Stock Review
On Financial Tides I started looking for a good S&P 500 stock to review. I use Barchart to screen for the S&P 500 stock with the best relative price strength and good old Du Pont (DD) rose up near the top of the list. E.I. DuPont de Nemours (DD) is involved in science...
29Mar2010 | Shawn | 0 comments | Continued(GSK) GlaxoSmithKline’s Vaccine Temporarily Suspended
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced the temporary suspension of GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, as it is contaminated by porcine circovirus 1 (PCV-1). The virus was detected by the company itself as well as an independent research...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DAL) Delta Airlines Faces Penalty
Delta Airlines (DAL) has been slapped with charges amounting to $1.45 million for non-compliance with safety standards. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicted Delta for a lack of proper windshield wiring on 32 of Northwest Airlines’ Boeing 757s that were flown from...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PXP) Plains Exploration & Production Company Announces $300 Million Offering
Independent oil and gas company Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) commenced an offer of senior notes due in 2020 in an underwritten public offering. The offering is priced at an interest rate of 7 5/8% and the total value of the offering aggregates $300 million....
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GGB) Gerdau S.A. Relies on Industrials
Recently, Gerdau S.A. (GGB) posted results for the fourth quarter and 2009. Gerdau recorded a net income of R$643.5 million (US$367.7 million) in the quarter compared to R$655.1 million (US$348.5 million) in the previous quarter. EPS was R$0.45 or 26 cents compared to R$0.46...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SLXP) Salix Pharmaceuticals Earns FDA Approval for Xifaxan
Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (SLXP) received a huge boost recently with the US approval of Xifaxan 550 mg. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for the use of Xifaxan 550 mg in reducing the risk of the recurrence of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in adult...
29Mar2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued