Archive for April, 2011
(EIX) Edison International to Construct Wind Farm
Edison International (EIX) announced that its subsidiary Edison Mission Energy (EME) along with US Wind Force, LLC, has started the construction of a wind farm. The 23-turbine wind farm christened Pinnacle Wind Farm will be built on Green Mountain near Keyser, West Virginia. The...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VVUS) Vivus’ Qnexa Safety and Efficacy Information Published
Recently, encouraging data were published on Vivus, Inc.’s (VVUS) weight loss candidate, Qnexa, in the journal, The Lancet. The 56-week late stage study (CONQUER: n=2,487) evaluated the safety and efficacy of Qnexa in overweight/obese patients suffering from high blood pressure,...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PG) Procter and Gamble Raises Dividend
The Procter and Gamble Company (PG) raised its quarterly dividend by 9% to 52.5 cents a share from 48.18 cents a share earlier. The hike is applicable on the company’s common stock and on the Series A and Series B ESOP convertible Class A Preferred stock. The increased dividend...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MRK) Merck in Joint Venture with Sun Pharma
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) recently announced that it is setting up a joint venture (JV) with Indian multinational pharma company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The joint venture is for the development, manufacture and commercialization of new combinations and formulations...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DOW) Dow’s AgroSciences Seed Product Gets Environmental Protection Agency Approval
Dow AgroSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) announced that it has received the U.S. federal regulatory approval for Refuge Advanced, a corn seed product. The product, which is built on Dow’s popular SmartStax technology, has received approval...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(M) Macy’s Reports Higher Sales
Macy’s, Inc. (M), one of the leading department store retailers in the United States, recently posted sales results for the five-week period ended April 2, 2011. Macy’s comparable-store sales for March 2011 rose marginally by 0.9%, following an increase of 5.8% registered...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CA) CA Builds on Cloud Computing Virtualization
Cloud computing major CA Inc. (CA) is expanding its cloud services with the introduction of CA Service Catalog that combined with CA Virtual Automation and CA Oblicore Guarantee will help the independent functioning of physical, virtual and cloud services in a cost effective...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HAE) Haemonetics to Discuss Plans
Haemonetics (HAE) will hold its annual investor and analyst day on May 12, 2011 at its corporate headquarters in Braintree, Massachusetts. Other than guidance for fiscal 2012, the company will discuss issues such as the Plasma market scenario, status of IMPACT’s sales and an...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RAD) Rite Aid 2011 Fourth Fiscal Quarter Earnings Scorecard
The third largest retail drugstore in the U.S. based on revenues and number of stores, Rite Aid Corporation (RAD), recently posted its fourth-quarter 2011 results. Street analysts have had nearly a week to ponder the news. In the paragraphs that follow, we cover the recent earnings...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(OMC) Omnicom Expands in India
Ketchum, the global marketing and corporate communications consultancy arm of Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC), has acquired a majority stake in India-based Sampark PR. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Management...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CUTR) Cutera’s GenesisPlus Laser Cleared
Medical devices maker Cutera Inc (CUTR) has obtained the 510 (k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for its GenesisPlus laser for treating onychomycosis (nail fungus). The California-based company’s shares spiked following the news of the approval. Onychomycosis,...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LMNX) Luminex MAGPIX Wins MDEA
Luminex Corporation (LMNX), a developer of biological testing technologies, recently received the prestigious Medical Design Excellence Award (“MDEA”) for its MAGPIX analytical instrument. MDEA, organized by the leading business-to-business media company UBM Canon, is a premier...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(KLAC) Semi Equipment Nose-Diving
We have been watching the semi equipment stocks closely over the last few days and it seems as if our fears have been realized. Over the last five days, shares of KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Novellus Systems (NVLS) and Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) lost 5.9%, 5.9% and 3.8%, respectively. Moreover,...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BA) Boeing Maintains Deliveries in First Quarter
The international commercial airplane producer, The Boeing Co. (BA) maintained its delivery level in the first quarter of 2011 with deliveries of 104 airplanes versus 108 in the first quarter of 2010. Boeing is on course to meet its commercial airplane delivery target for 2011,...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RTN) Raytheon Company to Spearhead Next-Generation Aegis Missile
Raytheon Company (RTN) received a contract, worth $42 million, for the initial concept development and program planning for the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIB. The SM-3 Block IIB is the Missile Defense Agency’s next-generation Aegis missile. The SM-3 is being developed...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AA) Earnings Season Now Underway
The fourth quarter earnings season is over, and now the focus turns to the first quarter. While it “officially” kicks off after the bell today when Alcoa (AA) reports, we already have 26 (5.2%) first quarter reports in from the S&P 500. Alcoa, though, like the Master’s...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CMCSA) Comcast Signs A Deal With Microsoft
The largest cable MSO (multi-service operator) in the U.S, Comcast Corporation’s (CMCSA) subsidiary, the Platform recently entered into a contract with Microsoft Corporation (MSFT). As per the deal, Microsoft’s PlayReady digital rights management (DRM) and Internet Information...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MMP) Magellan Midstream Partners Bullishness on Recovery
Units of Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (MMP) hit a 52-week high of $60.72 on Friday, April 8. The oil pipeline and storage partnership has seen its unit price climb approximately 26% since the end of August last year, as investors have been buying the stock for its attractive...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PC) Panasonic Launches New Products
Panasonic Corp. (PC) launched a number of new products at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2011 show. The company unveiled a range of advanced high definition (HD) and 3 dimensional (3D) products in professional video, pro display and projection systems. Panasonic...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CLF) Cliffs Natural Resources Settles Dispute with ArcelorMittal
North America’s largest iron-ore producer,Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF), reached an agreement with steel giant ArcelorMittal (MT) to settle disputes over price reopener entitlements for 2009 and 2010 and pellet. Cliffs will get a payment of around $250 million to $270...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DRYS) DryShips Analyst Maintains Underperform on Shares
We reiterate our Underperform recommendation on DryShips Inc. (DRYS). The company’s fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 financial results were well below the Zacks Consensus Estimates. The drybulk shipping industry is facing serious challenges, where the vessel rate collapsed even...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CHT) Chunghwa Telecom Looking for Mainland China
Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. (CHT), the largest integrated telecommunications service provider of Taiwan, is gradually moving toward Mainland China for future growth. The company is all set to enter the Chinese wireless value-added services market in 2011. Chunghwa will establish...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GS) The Goldman Sachs Group Gets Ratings Upgrade from Fitch
On Friday, Fitch Ratings lifted its outlook on The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to ‘Stable’ from ‘Negative’. The rating agency is impressed by GS’s settlement of some of the legal and regulatory disputes that resulted in Negative rating outlook in May 2010. Fitch Ratings...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) Two U.S. Bank Failures Bring 2011 Tally to 28
After a week’s pause, U.S. regulators were back in action, shuttering two more banks in Illinois and Nevada. These pushed the number of failed U.S. banks to 28 so far in 2011. Looking back, there were 157 bank failures in 2010, 140 in 2009 and 25 in 2008. While the lifesaving...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIG) American International Group Buys Assets in Fed Auction
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has bought assets in the New York Federal Reserve’s auction of mortgage backed securities, which was acquired by Fed from the AIG during the height of the financial crisis. Further, BlackRock Inc. (BLK) managed the sales, though...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GS) The Goldman Sachs Group Buys 12% of Taikang Life Insurance
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) has acquired 12.02% stake valued more than $900 million in China’s Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Reuters reported on Thursday. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The primary intention of this acquisition was to gain from...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RDSA) Royal Dutch Shell Analyst Cuts Shares to Neutral
We have downgraded energy major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) ADRs to Neutral from Outperform purely on valuation grounds, as we see limited near-term price upside. With the economic rebound strengthening and with oil prices rallying, we expect integrated oil companies such as...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COST) Costco Wholesale Corporation Continues Sales Momentum
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), one of the leading U.S. warehouse club operators, recently posted healthy sales data for the five-week period ended April 3, 2011. The company sustained its sales momentum. After an 8% increase in February 2011, Costco’s comparable-store...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COV) Covidien’s Pipeline Device Cleared
Leading healthcare products maker Covidien plc (COV) has secured Premarket Approval (“PMA”) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) for its Pipeline Embolization Device for treating adults (22 years and above) with large, giant and wide-neck cerebral aneurysms...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EP) El Paso Corporation Analyst Rates Shares Neutral
We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on El Paso Corporation (EP) given the company’s high-grade Exploration & Production assets and large inventory of pipeline projects, which offer significant value in the long run. However, the delays and cost overruns at the Ruby...
13Apr2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued