Archive for April, 2010
(PHG) Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV Wins Healthcare Contract
Philips Healthcare, a division of Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (PHG), has been awarded a $77.2 million contract to provide patient-monitoring systems for the U.S. Department of Defense. Philips will supply the DOD with the systems along with accessories, consumables and...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SJR) Shaw Communications’ Earnings Report Meets Expectations
Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR) barely achieved the Zacks Consensus Estimate in its second quarter of fiscal 2010. Quarterly revenue of around $923 million was up 10.7% year over year and also above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $917 million. The year-over-year improvement was...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LMNX) Luminex Analyst Maintains Neutral Rating
We maintain our Neutral recommendation on Luminex Corp. (LMNX) with a target price of $18. Luminex boasts of a broad product portfolio. The company’s instrument base consists of the Luminex 100 (LX100), Luminex 200 (LX200) and FlexMap 3D systems. The Luminex 100 and 200 are...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BIIB) Roche to Expand Rituxan Label
Recently, Roche and Biogen Idec (BIIB) submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the label expansion of Rituxan (rituximab). The sBLA aims to expand the usage of Rituxan, approved for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HTH) Hilltop Holdings Upgraded by A.M. Best
On Thursday, A.M. Best Co. affirmed a stable outlook for Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH) by assigning it an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb+”. The rating agency also upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) of American Summit Insurance Company, an insurance subsidiary...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RGS) Regis Corporation Reports Third Quarter Sales Decline
In a pre-earnings announcement, Regis Corporation (RGS) has disclosed that its third quarter fiscal 2010 consolidated same-store sales has decreased by 1.8%. The company has reported a 2.7% decline in revenue from the prior-year quarter to $588 million. Consumer behavior has...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TAM) TAM S.A. Allies with Continental Airlines
TAM S.A. (TAM) has recently signed a reciprocal frequent flyer program agreement with Continental Airlines (CAL), member of Star Alliance. Based on the agreement, the members of the TAM Fidelidade program will have the right to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by Continental...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FTI) FMC Technologies Secures Total SA Subsea Deal
Oil drilling equipment maker FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) announced the receipt of a $210 million subsea infrastructure contract from French oil major Total SA (TOT). The deal calls for FMC Technologies to manufacture and supply subsea production systems to Total-operated Laggan-Tormore...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(INTC) Earnings Preview for Intel’s Fourth Quarter Highlights
Intel Corporation Inc. (INTC) is slated to announce its first quarter 2010 results on April 13, 2010, and analyst estimates for future periods have been going up. Fourth Quarter Highlights Intel reported very strong earnings in the fourth quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AES) AES Corporation Expanding Wind Assets
AES Corporation’s (AES) wholly-owned subsidiary AES Wind Generation acquired Your Energy Ltd, a U.K. based wind developer. The company also has signed an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in a wind portfolio from 3E, a Polish wind energy developer. AES Corporation is focusing...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(OMCL) Omnicell Analyst Upgrades Shares
We recently upgraded Omnicell, Inc. (OMCL) to an ‘Outperform’ with a target price of $15.50 based on a P/S of 2.2x our fiscal 2010 revenue estimate of $225 million. The company’s strong long-term outlook prompts us to upgrade the stock. Omnicell is a leading provider of...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ARO) Aeropostale Raises Earnings Guidance
Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) – a specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, targeting children, young men and women – recently raised its first-quarter 2010 earnings outlook. The mall based retailer, Aeropostale, now expects first-quarter earnings to be approximately...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STE) Steris Corporation – Earnings Estimates Moving Higher
Steris Corp. (STE) beat fiscal third-quarter EPS estimates by 46.8%. This Zacks Rank #2 stock has a dividend yield of 1.2% and an expected long-term EPS growth rate of 10.0%. Company Description Steris Corporation is a leading provider of infection prevention, contamination control,...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DPZ) Domino’s Pizza – Another Earnings Surprise
Domino’s Pizza Inc. (DPZ) topped Wall Street estimates once again. Even after breaking out to a new high, shares remain a good value. Company Description Domino’s Pizza has more than 9,000 locations world wide, generating almost $6 billion in annual revenues. The...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PRX) Par Pharmaceutical Companies – Earnings Surprised in the Fourth Quarter by 14%
Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. (PRX) has surprised on the Zacks Consensus Estimate 4 quarters in a row by an average of 47%. PRX is trading with a forward P/E of only 12.6. Company Description Par Pharmaceutical manufactures generic drugs and branded pharmaceuticals for the...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DLM) Del Monte Foods Company – Bull of the Day
Del Monte’s (DLM) long-term objectives are to achieve earnings growth in the range of 7% to 9% and topline growth in the range of 3% to 5%. However, the guidance for both earnings and revenues growth for fiscal 2010 exceed the long-term range, and are now expected to increase...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VLO) Valero Energy Sells Delaware City Refinery
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) has finally found a potential buyer for its Delaware City refinery. The company reached an agreement with PBF Energy Partners L.P. to sell this refinery for $220 million. In November last year, Valero permanently closed this refinery after failing to...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CTL) CenturyTel Incorporated – Bear of the Day
We downgrade our recommendation for CenturyTel (CTL), a leading rural telecom carrier, to Underperform based on management’s tepid outlook. Earnings for the last quarter beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate driven by the contributions from the Embarq Corp acquired in July...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(URS) URS Corp Gets U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Contract
URS Corp. (URS) announced that it received a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) for comprehensive technical design-build and construction services for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The contract vehicle can be used by all other Bureaus within the Department...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GE) General Electric Company Joint Venture Wins Order
CFM International, based in Evendale, a joint venture between General Electric Co. (GE) and Snecma of France, has won an order valued at $700 million from Virgin Blue, a low-cost airline based in Australia . The order involves delivery of 50 Boeing 737 aircrafts, powered by CFM’s...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SAM) Boston Beer Company – Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates
Boston Beer Company (SAM) fourth-quarter results from early March fell a pinch short of analyst expectations, but shares have since recovered and continue to trade near the 52-week high. Company Description Boston Beer Co. produces and sells low alcohol beverages Incorporatedluding...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CVX) Chevron Reports Bullish Downstream Update
U.S. energy behemoth Chevron Corp. (CVX) released its first-quarter 2010 interim update, covering the first 2 months of the quarter. On the whole, the update is on the bullish side, with earnings expected to be higher than the previous quarter. The company expects the upstream...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMT) Energy-Efficient Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Are The Future
In 2012, one of the most common household items will go the way of the dodo. Extinct. Instead of lighting up living rooms across America, the trusty incandescent light bulb will have a new home in the Smithsonian. Right next to Alexander Graham Bell’s original telephone...
9Apr2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(EVVV) ev3 Enters Agreement With MEDRAD
ev3, Inc. (EVVV) recently entered a new agreement with MEDRAD, Inc. Per the agreement, ev3’s SilverHawk and TurboHawk Plaque Excision Systems will be used in combination with MEDRAD’s Cotavance peripheral drug-eluting balloon angioplasty catheter for use in the DEFINITIVE...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COST) Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports Sales Climb
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), one of the leading U.S. warehouse club operators, recently reported better-than-expected sales results for the five-week period ended Apr 4, 2010 driven by robust sales in international locations. After portraying an increase of 9% in February 2010,...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MS) Morgan Stanley Analyst Downgrades Shares
Given the current critical sustainability factor, recently we downgraded our recommendation for Morgan Stanley (MS) to Underperform from Neutral. The company’s fourth quarter earnings were substantially behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate due to losses experienced in fixed...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FRX) Forest Labs Gets Blow From FDA Panel
The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory committee dealt a blow to Forest Labs (FRX) with the committee voting 10-5 against granting approval to Forest’s Daxas for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Forest shares...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LCC) US Airways and United Airlines Resume Merger Talks
Yet another round of talks between US Airways (LCC) and UAL Corp.’s (UAUA) United Airlines has been announced, as reported by New York Times. The talks about merger between the two carriers first started in May 2000, but the deal was nixed by regulators and labor unions....
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CTIC) Cell Therapeutics’ Pixantrone Denied FDA Approval
In a major setback, Cell Therapeutics (CTIC) has received a complete response letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Pixuvri (pixantrone dimaleate). The company has been seeking approval for pixantrone for the treatment of relapsed or refractory aggressive...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(YRCW) YRC Worldwide Gives First Quarter 2010 Update
Yesterday, YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW) provided its first quarter 2010 update. The company expects to incur $108 million of non-cash compensation charge related to stock awards for its union employees. YRC Worldwide also disclosed the quarterly preliminary shipment statistics for...
9Apr2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued