Archive for June, 2011
(AIZ) Assurant Closes Reinsurance Deal
Yesterday, Assurant Specialty, a unit of Assurant Inc. (AIZ) has announced its comprehensive catastrophe (CAT) reinsurance program so as to shield itself from losses in 2011 that looms ahead as an above-average hurricane season. A reinsurance agreement is a kind of reimbursement...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(XRAY) DENTSPLY Grabs Astra Tech for $1.8 Billion
In a bid to bolster its foothold in the global dental market, leading dental products maker DENTSPLY International (XRAY) has agreed to buy Astra Tech, the dental implant division of multinational drug major AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), for $1.8 billion in cash. The Anglo-Swiss pharmaceutical...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GPS) Gap Reiterated at Neutral
We maintain a long-term Neutral recommendation on Gap Inc. (GPS). Gap is one of the leading players in the highly fragmented specialty retail sector offering a diverse range of clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies. Its flagship...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MS) Merck KGaA to Withdraw Multiple Sclerosis Drug
Merck KGaA (MKGAF) recently announced its plans to withdraw the regulatory applications filed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), seeking approval to market cladribine as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WMT) U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Up Again
Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance rose by 9,000 last week to 429,000. This was worse than the expected level of 413,000. Last week’s numbers were revised up by 6,000, so one could see it as a 15,000 increase. The trend in initial claims had been downward, though there...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ALNY) Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Analyst Maintains Neutral on Shares
We have maintained a Neutral rating on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY) with a target price of $9.50 per share. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics based on a biological breakthrough known as RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) interference...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMR) Airline Stocks by One-Year Forecast Returns – Rated by ValuEngine
Markets are down today on a variety of bad economic news. In addition, oil prices are down big after a decision to release 60 million barrels of crude from strategic reserves–30 million of which will come from the US–in order to deal with the ongoing crises in the...
23Jun2011 | valuengine | 0 comments | Continued(AMX) Follow Carlos Slim and Fatten Your Portfolio
by Carl Delfeld, Investment U Senior Analyst Thursday, June 23, 2011: Issue #1541 Do you know anyone who could be fined in the morning for a cool $1 billion for “monopolistic practices” and still have a great day? I do. He has built a portfolio of companies worth an...
23Jun2011 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(NUE) Nucor Analyst Maintains Neutral on Shares
We maintain our neutral recommendation on Nucor Corporation (NUE) as the company’s focus has been on profitable growth through acquisitions over the past several years. Nucor plans to continue to seek attractive opportunities to acquire businesses, forge joint ventures and...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TWC) Will TV on Tablets Become a Reality
Watching TV programs on tablets may become a reality. From last March, the entertainment industry is witnessing a new legal battle between cable operators and cable channels once Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) introduced a new application to stream TV programs on the Apple Inc....
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SID) Rio Tinto to Buy Tata’s Riversdale Stake
Recently, Rio Tinto plc (RIO) received a nod from the Indian Steel major Tata Steel to buy 26% stake in its coal mining company, Riversdale in an open offer of AUD 16.5 per share, or roughly $17.36 per share. The deal is valued at $1.1 billion. The deal is expected to give Rio...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BBBY) Bed Bath & Beyond Beats Estimates Yet Again
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) reported better-than-expected first-quarter 2011 results on the heels of high single-digit growth in sales and higher margins. Earnings rose approximately 38% to 72 cents per share from the year-ago quarter earnings of 52 cents a share, handily...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SYUT) Synutra International Reports Loss
Synutra International, Inc. (SYUT) reported a loss of 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2011, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of loss of 24 cents and the last quarter loss of 36 cents. However, fourth quarter earnings failed to beat the year-ago quarter earnings...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(XLE) Stock Market News for June 23, 2011 – Market News
Markets ended their four-day winning streak, tumbling in the late session, as the Federal Reserve slashed its growth forecast and provided no indications of further economic stimulus. All the benchmarks dropped by around 0.7% during a thin trading session, and investors were...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BHI) Since Last Year, It’s Been Nothing But “Drill, Baby, Drill”
by David Fessler, Investment U Senior Analyst Thursday, June 23, 2011 When Michael Steele first coined the phrase “drill, baby, drill” during a speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention, he suggested the United States needed to increase drilling for oil and gas...
23Jun2011 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(CAG) U.S. Labor Department Reports Weak Jobless Claims
Stocks will likely continue to reflect what Fed Chair Bernanke said, or didn’t say, on Wednesday even as we got another negative labor market report this morning. The weak growth picture emerging out of the Fed chief’s news conference and today’s Jobless Claims...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(IBM) IBM Unveils New Analytics Appliance
International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) has come up with a new analytics application, namely IBM Netezza High Capacity Appliance, which can analyze up to 10 petabytes of data within minutes. A petabyte is a unit of information which is equal to one quadrillion bytes or 1024...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EMN) Eastman Chemical to Buy Sterling Chemicals
Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) announced that it will acquire Sterling Chemicals Inc. (SCHI) for $100 million in cash in order to boost its plasticizer product line. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011. The transaction, which includes Sterling’s plasticizer...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CAG) ConAgra Foods Misses by a Penny
ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) posted an EPS of 47 cents in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, compared with 39 cents in the year-ago quarter. The improvement is attributable to lower incentive compensation expense and recent share repurchases. The results missed the Zacks Consensus...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ORCL) Oracle Fourth Quarter 2011 Earnings Preview
After the closing bell today, Oracle Corp. (ORCL) is scheduled to release its fourth quarter 2011 results. In the run up to the earnings results, we do not notice any substantial movement of analyst estimates for the quarter. Looking Back at 3Q11 Oracle, in its previous (third)...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JBL) Jabil Circuit Reports Mixed Third Quarter
Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) reported third quarter 2011 earnings of 49 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. However, earnings per share (EPS) increased 75.0% year over year from 28 cents (including stock-based compensation but excluding amortization)...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DGX) Quest Diagnostics Launches Gazelle on Android
Quest Diagnostics (DGX),a leading player in the diagnostic testing market, recently launched a new version of its mobile health platform, Gazelle. The company claims that this latest version will work in sync with Google’s (GOOG) fast-growing Android smartphone operating system....
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RHT) Red Hat Earnings Beat Expectations – Raises Outlook
A leading provider of open source solutions, Red Hat Inc. (RHT) reported strong first quarter 2012 results, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by two cents. Earnings per share (EPS) of 18 cents (including stock-based compensation expenses but excluding amortization) increased...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ACN) Accenture Third Quarter 2011 Earnings Preview
Accenture Plc (ACN) is scheduled to announce its third quarter of fiscal 2011 results on June 23 after market close. There have been some changes in analysts’ estimates post its second quarter 2011 results. Second Quarter Recap Accenture posted impressive second quarter results,...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(APOG) Company News for June 23, 2011 – Corporate Summary
• Shares of Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE:RBN) jumped 8.77% on strong fiscal third-quarter profits. The energy equipment supplier said strong customer demand and the recent acquisition of oilfield services has helped the company’s increase its profits • ...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SID) Companhia Siderurgica Nacional – ADR- Bear of the Day
We believe Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, or CSN (SID) has rising manufacturing costs, high cyclicality and growing competition in the industry. These remain major growth impediments for the company. In the first quarter of 2011, the company posted EPADR of $0.25, which was...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HUBB) Hubbell Incorporated – Bull of the Day
Hubbell, Inc.’s (HUBB) first quarter results beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. We were particularly encouraged by the strong growth in the industrial market, improving demand at utilities and pockets of recovery in the non-residential construction market. While the stronger...
23Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GCI) Gannett to Slash Headcount
Gannett Company Inc. (GCI) grappling with sluggish economic recovery and a slump in advertising demand plans to lower its headcount by 700 employees or 2% of its work force at its U.S. Community Publishing division, Associated Press reported. In the past five years, Gannett has...
22Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PX) Praxair Wins Hydrogen Contract
Praxair Inc. (PX) entered into a long-term agreement with Motiva Enterprises LLC to supply hydrogen to the latter’s refinery in Norco, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Recently, the industrial gas supplier has announced its decision to enhance its hydrogen capacity in Louisiana...
22Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ODP) Office Depot and OfficeMax to Merge?
Bloomberg reports that Office Depot (ODP), the second-largest U.S. office-supply chain, could merge with OfficeMax Incorporated (OMX). Intense competition among the office supply retailers coupled with a high unemployment rate may result in industry consolidation. As per the...
22Jun2011 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued