Daily Archives: May 21, 2007

Invest in bananas? Sure, try Chiquita (CQB)

You know this sticker, I’m sure 90% of you have peeled it off before you bit into a tasty Chiquita banana. Of course those bananas can’t grow in the crappy climate of the United States, they come from warm wonderful weather found in South WKRPAmerica. Which is why Chiquita is headquartered in Cincinnati, no where near South America and home to WKRP. But back to Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE:CQB) because we could spend hours talking about Loni Anderson, I guess she never got those love letters I wrote her back in 81′, oh well.

Shares of Chiquita Brands International are up 19% in last month even after reporting a loss in Q1 07. Earlier this month Chiquita posted a net loss of $3.4 million, or 8 cents per share, compared to net earnings of $19.5 million, or 46 cents per share, in first-quarter 2006. Wall Street had expected a loss of 4 cents per share. Their revenues grew to $1.19 billion from $1.15 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had predicted revenues of $1.22 billion.

The quarter included a charge of $5 million, or 12 cents per share to to get out of several unprofitable farm leases in Chile but earlier this month Chiquita announced the sale of its cargo ship fleet for $227 million which will make the books positive for the remainder of the year.

Chiquita ProductsChiquita’s banana operation had net sales of $523 million, up 8 percent from the year-ago quarter, and operating income of $33 million, coFresh Expressmpared to $37 million a year ago. They continue to be affected by cost increases, and lower prices and higher tariffs in Europe. But Chiquita isn’t just about bananas, they operate Fresh Express and they’re moving into international markets with Fruit in a Bottle and Fresh & Ready packs (adding an extra week to bananas shelf-life). Since last summer they have managed to add a 5% value share in the chilled juices segments in Belgium and started to roll products out in Germany back in March. Holland and Switzerland are planned for September. They are facing growing pains in their Salad and Healthy Snacks (operating income was $1 million compared to $12 million a year ago) and Other Produce segments (net sales increased 3 percent to $378 million) but they are thinking big picture and long term growth, which is the right direction for shareholders.

Barron’s ran a piece (worth your time to read) on Chiquita over the weekend (5/19) and had this to say:
The push to transform the 107-year old company (Chiquita) "from a commodity produce supplier to a more value-added, healthy consumer products company" bodes well for profit growth, says Oppenheimer analyst Barry Sine, who expects per-share earnings to double to $1.50 next year from 75 cents in 2007… At about 54%, Chiquita’s debt-to-capital ratio is a tad high, and input costs are at the mercy of the weather and fuel prices. Salad profits also were hurt by an e. coli scare last fall, and will take time to recover. But given the steps that Chiquita is taking to reduce profit volatility, Oppenheimer’s Sine reckons that the company’s shares are worth $22.

That article helped move shares of Chiquita 4.5% today to close at $17.83. Hungry for a banana yet? It may be time to start thinking about your play on Chiquita.

Frank Lara Jr.

Frank Lara Jr. can be reached at franklara@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 6:47 pm in Uncategorized

Cramer’s Got 2 More Financial Service Buyout Picks (TSS, ADP, ADS, BSG, FDC, SNV)

Cramer came on MAD MONEY saying he thinks that Total Systems Services (TSS-NYSE) is one that can be taken over next in a sector and $40.00 would be a fair price based on Alliance Data prices.  Synovis (SNV) is the parent and Third point is now being an activist investor.  The earnings growth of 18% is reason enough to own this.  The only issue he has in the sector is that Automatic Data Processing (ADP) might be acquired first.  Alliance Data Services (ADS) was just acquired, First Data (FDC) is going private, and even Bisys Group (BSG) got gobbled up.  We’ll see, but investors need to keep in mind that some of the premiums in this sector have been pidly.  ADS was nearly a 20% stock jump, but BSG was a horrible low-premium buyout.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 5:53 pm in Cramer, Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , ,

Cramer’s DJIA Component Targets (AA, MO, AIG, AXP, BA, T)

Tonight on CNBC’s Mad Money, Jim Cramer said the S&P finally hit a new high after 7 years but he’s still saying the DJIA will still run another 1,000 points to 14,548.  Real Estate is no longer competing and international markets have been winning. Cramer is reviewing all 30 DJIA picks as far as how they are going, where the multiples should be and where the stocks will go.  They are all buying back stock galore and are all running great internationally.  Cramer thinks these are cheap and even some of these could be acquired.  This is also his ideal environment for DJIA components;  here are his first six DJIA component reviews:

Alcoa (AA) is on its way to $42 if it is its own takeover, but the Alcan (AL) tie-up may make it an oligopoly and this could go to $45 on its earnings alone with the earnings momentum.

Altria (MO) is only up 10% this year with more than a 4% yield that will still split up international from domestic.  MO can go to $86 on its own.

American Express (AXP) keeps delivering and it’s only 5% this year so far that is lagging MA and can go to $72.00 its own.

AIG (AIG) is still trailing too far behind and has a great business in China. It grows faster than MetLife (MET) but has a lower mutiple.  He thinks at the MET multiple it could go to $81.00 instead of today’s $71.00.

AT&T (T) is one he underestimated and it can go to $45.00.

Boeing (BA) is one of the aerospace bull-market themes that can keep winning against Airbus, he thinks this can go beyond $100.00 to $105.00.

Sometimes, you can love him and sometimes you can hate him.  He was right for his target in 2006, so we’ll have to see if all of these add-up right.  Picking an index is one thing, but calling for 30 unique price targets at a given date for a 7+ month horizon is a bit over the top.  The index call may end up being right, but you can be assured that on 30 names there will be some good hits and bad misses.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 5:26 pm in Cramer, , , , , , ,

Will China Buy Google And GE?

Reuters is speculating that the Chinese investment in Blackstone is just the beginning.

"The Blackstone deal is as much about education on how to invest as it is about the actual investment itself," Reuters quotes James Oberweis, president of Oberweis Asset Management Inc., who oversees an $800 million China fund as saying.

The Chinese have an investment pool of about $1.2 trillion. The would allow them to buy GE (GE) at $380 billion, Microsoft (MSFT) at $300 billion, and Exxon (XOM) at $470 billion.

Now, if the Chinese learn anything from Blackstone, it is that a fund does not use its own money. It borrows. In a typical buy-out, the private equity firm might put in 10%. So, the available capital may be $10 trillion or more. Chinese banks could loan the government the balance.

The Blackstone investment is set to touch off a $10 trillion stampede into the US buy-out market.

Maybe not.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 4:44 pm in Uncategorized

The 52-Week Low Club

Point Therapeutics (POTP) Late stage trials of key drug on hold. Down to $.13 from $3.27.

NetBank (NTBK) Online bank and mortgage company will sell some assets. Mortgage market is killing them. Drops to $.54 from 52-week high of $6.90.

PlanetOut (LGBT) Operator of gay media says turnaround is more than a year off. Down to $.95 from 52-week high of $7.95.

Atherogenics (AGIX) Failed drug trials and bad quarter. Won’t get off the list. Cry "uncle". Down to $2.16 from 52-week high of $20.03.

CalAmp (CAMP) Wireless equipment provider says it is heading for loss next Q. Down to $4.54 from 52-week high of $10.19.

Xinhua Financial Media (XMFL) Article in Barron’s points to problems with former CFO, and some key employees resign. Stock down to $8.31 from 52-week high of $13.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 3:48 pm in Uncategorized

ADM Buyout Rumor: Put It To Bed

Recently word has been circulating that there may be a buyout offer for Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the not too distant future. Let look at the possibility and price.
Currently ADM has a market cap of $25 billion and annual sales of $40 billion.  It is the one of the world’s largest processor of HFCS, ethanol, bio-diesel, cocoa and oil seeds.  It does business in 35 countries and has over 26,000 employees. Shares currently trade at 15 times this years earnings and 14 times forward earnings.  ADM has grown earning 21% in 2005, 40% in 2006 and should hit 21% in 2007 (year end June).  After years of leaving analysts and Wall St. in the dark about earnings, former CEO G. Allen Andreas commented before he retired last fall that the current unprecedented expansion will "substantially add to earnings in 2008".  This is the first comments I have every heard an Andreas publicly mutter on earnings. Current CEO  Patricia Woertz commented on the latest earnings call that she was "more enthusiastic about the future" of ADM than ever before.
That being said, if insiders are this optimistic at a company that has a storied history of playing it’s cards closer to it’s chest than la cosa nostra, one must imply from this that 2008 is shaping up to be a very good year.  Current estimates have ADM increasing earning next year only 9% in part due to the rise in corn costs. Yet the empirical data coming out suggests that this, far from being an issue may actually lead to more profits.  In the most recent call ADM said despite corn costs rising, corn processing earnings increased 15% .  Other ethanol producers also experience similar results.  Recently, Corn Products, who produces no ethanol, only HFCS and other corn products commented that they have easily been able to past cost increases along to end users.  The reason?   The economics of corn are such that end users of its byproducts have no substitute for them.  When you consider that 500,000 extra tones of HFCS will be sold into Mexico annually beginning in the fall of 2007, you have this increased demand further pressuring prices upward. Corn processors are also in the unique position to be able to easily hedge against price spikes, further insulating them from their effects.
Production increases mean ADM will increase it’s ethanol production 50% by 2008, it biodiesel production will double and it will add substantial cocoa production in the US.  HFCS production can be increased without the building of new facilities so the option to maximize anticipated demand increases is easily attainable. 
Currently June options have speculators positioning themselves to pay $40 to acquire shares before June 16th with call options out numbering puts almost 4 to 1 clearly leading to an upward bias in shares.  Currently ADM has an enterprise value of $30 billion or roughly $46 a share. With managements enthusiastic expectations for 2008, any offer to buy the company would have to be well in excess of that.  More realistic earning estimates for next year that put eps growth in line with the 20% increases each of the past 3 years put 2008 share price at $44 at the low end of the PE scale. All this means shareholders should expect shares to trade in the lower 40’s for FY 2008 that begins in July 2007 and any buyout offer should be at a minimum a premium to that putting shares easily into the $50 range.
Will it happen? There would be immense pressure on new CEO Woertz not to do a deal and she will likely not want to go down as the one who "closed shop" so to speak on a 115 year history by selling out to private equity, or worse, an oil company.  Insiders and shareholder have visions of ADM becoming the "Exxon of Biofuels" and a buyout would quell those dreams. The only offer that may receive support would be a management buyout that allowed current holders to retain ownership in a now private ADM with current management a vision.  The Andreas family had led the company for generations and as large shareholders would lead a revolt against a buyout by another firm.  This anticipated hostility to an offer means it will either be avoided, or, be one that it very hard for shareholders to resist. Either way, through results or a buyout offer, shareholders stand to prosper.   
Todd Sullivan
5/21/2007
Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 2:17 pm in Uncategorized

Cramer Still Blah on Tech

On today’s STOP TRADING segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer said you better pay attention to a natural gas call for it to go to $10.00 because the one that made it is right more often than not.  He was positive on Halliburton (HAL-NYSE), and Cramer is still positive on Transocean (RIG-NYSE).  As far as the S&P 500, 80% of the technology companies in the index are still down and the technology and pharmas are far behind the machinery stocks now.  Cramer was still positive on Deere (DE) and Foster Wheeler (FWLT).  He thinks that the worst part of tech is about to occur because it is only May on the calendar and noted how many investors are having to hope for the last little moves there.  Because tech is bad in summer and because the machinery names are the winners, he still wants you out of most tech names. 

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 1:51 pm in Cramer

Will NetBank, Inc. (NTBK) Survive The Year?

NetBank (NASDAQ:NTBK) is the nation’s oldest active Internet bank serving retail and business customers in all 50 states. They were rated a ‘Top 10 online banking site’ by the Keynote WebExcellence Scorecard for Banks so with the Web 2.0 making a comeback, you would think NetBank would be at the forefront – not quite. NetBank shares have fallen 84% in the last year, gone are the 2 cent dividends, and they can barley keep their share price above $1. Before the tech bubble burst, NetBank hit $57 a share, but today they are struggling to remain on the NASDAQ.       

Peter LeadsLast week NetBank received it’s second warning from NASDAQ to get their quarterly filings in order otherwise "hello OTC trading and get ready for Peter Leeds to talk it up as a penny stock." Tell me you’ve seen his ads, I know you have? He claims to be the "Penny Stock Professional", because nothing says investment genius better than the title of "Penny Stock Professional", do you think he puts PSP at the end of his name on his business cards? Its a wonder Warren Buffet or Eddie Lampert haven’t snatched up his talent but when you have your own infomercial and a $200 annual subscription for Penny stock picks, why would you do anything else but slap your ads all over the internet and go for broke? As an added bonus, when you visit Leed’s site you may notice the strategic and intense "investing music" running on a constant loop.  Wow, Leeds is "a Professional".  If only 247WallSt.com had that music, we’d be in business? Maybe the next upgrade.

Today shares of NetBank are down 45% after reporting this morning that they will record a loss of about $60 to $70 million on the sale of certain assets and transfer of deposit liabilities to EverBank, a unit of privately held EverBank Financial Corp. The deal should close in June and primary assets and liabilities in the transaction include the bank’s $2.5 billion core and brokered deposits, the NetBank brand & related trademarks and service marks. But why stop there? They didn’t, the deal also includes Netbank’s held for investment loan portfolio, and all assets and liabilities of NetBank Business Finance, the bank’s small business equipment leasing and financing operation.

Reuters today reported that Steven Herbert, NetBank’s CEO, said the company is actively evaluating long-term strategic alternatives for its mortgage servicing operation, along with its retail prime mortgage franchise, Market Street Mortgage, as well as those of the parent company as a whole.

I’m not sure what could come next, maybe a NetBank yard sale or an everything-must-go ONE DAY MORTGAGE SALE!!!! I’m sorry to say but NetBank isn’t going to make it to this year’s Web 2.0 awards, maybe next lifetime. But for Peter Leeds, here’s your heads up about NetBank, go get em’ tiger.        

Frank Lara Jr.

       

Frank Lara Jr.  can be reached at franklara@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in   the companies he covers.

24/7 Wall St. has covered this one before and was unable to come up with any positive valuation when the stock sat at $3.87 in January, and that is after panning it previously in July 2007 at almost $6.00.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 1:17 pm in Banking, Financial Stocks, Internet,

Cramer Sticks With Nike

On today’s Wall Street Confidential video , Jim Cramer says he’s sticking with Nike (NKE).  If you look at Foot Locker (FL) you’d get the wrong idea because they are missing the mark.  Nike is actually a way to play China, and this is a great growth stock that hasn’t seen its stock advance that much.  Cramer also addresses how Under Armour (UA) has been coming after them, but the near-term for Nike is better than expected and he thinks it should be at $60.00. Shares are up 2% at $54.30 on last look.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 12:54 pm in Apparel, Cramer, ,

Hertz Asks For $1 Billion More

This morning there was an SEC filing from Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ-NYSE) showing that the company is selling yet another 45 million shares, or at least its holders are.  The company is not receiving any of the proceeds, and all proceeds are going to affiliates of Merrill Lynch.

So with 45 million shares coming out and 320+ million shares outstanding after the offering, one would wonder why shares are only down 0.2% on that active trading volume.  The truth is that this has been anticipated and there may be even more shares in the coming months as insiders take their exits. 

The post-IPO shares have actually done very well having been up as much as 50% at one point before a recent sell off.  perhaps the most interesting point about Hertz is that the street has been looking to this as the classical private equity exit from a gone-private deal back into an IPO.  This was the classic "large club private equity deal" with the selling shares at the IPO being used to compensate the private equity groups and with a rather large pre-IPO dividend.  If companies this size are going to perform this way on a static basis then you might as well start expecting more of those 2005 and 2006 private equity buyouts to come public again.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 10:57 am in Secondary Offering,

Antigenics’ Oncophage Data Boosts Shares

Antigenics (AGEN-NASDAQ) saw its shares pop more than 20% as it released data in apress release regarding its Oncophage trials. The company’s follow-up ‘end of study’ data on Phase III therapeutic cancer cvaccines showed that in a substantial subset of patients at intermediate risk for disease recurrence, Oncophage demonstrated a clinically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival of approximately 45 percent; and for intermediate-risk patients there was a trend towards improved overall survival, the study’s secondary endpoint.

This data was presented at the American Urological Association and this may be the only such treatments approved for these patients.  This data may be new observations, but the cut off date was back in January of 2006.  Since the cut off date the survival rates have been better and the recurrence rates lower in Oncophage versus the observation arm.  Adverse events reported during the trial were generally mild and expected. The more frequently reported adverse events were mainly constitutional in nature or related to the actual injection.

This just goes to show that even if data from other companies was leaking out last week, investors will still follow and still chase certain untreated cancers for their speculative portfolios. AGEN shares are up more than 25% at $3.37 on three-times normal trading volume.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 10:33 am in Biotech,

Nortel (NT): Another Excellent Adventure For WiMax

WiMax, the broadband technology that can cover vast areas from just one base station has developed significant support in the US. Intel (INTC) and Motorola (MOT) have put money into developing the technology and invested heavily in recent IPO Clearwire (CLWR).

Sprint (S) is going to base its next generation broadband phone deployment on the tech.

Nortel (NT), the Canadian telecom equipment company, did not want to be left out. They have married up with Toshiba to build WiMax base stations for Japan. According to The Associated Press "the stations will be based on Nortel’s next-generation broadband wireless technology and Toshiba’s amplifier and miniaturization technology."

WiMax is still under-rated as competition for the broadband networks that most cellular companies are building. That is, of course, assuming that it works as well as advertising. Competing companies including Qualcomm (QCOM) have said that they are not overly impressed with how well WiMax works, but their stock is down over the last year, so they may want Wall St. to focus elsewhere.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 9:57 am in Uncategorized

IBM: Chips Ahoy

IBM (IBM) has come out with a new chip aimed at the server market. Oddly, it has not made more of a splash. The chip is called Power6. It has substantially more horsepower that Intel’s (INTC) best offering and, according to The Wall Street Journal it should allow companies to consolidate servers.

The announcement would seem important. The chip should make running enterprise server operations much more efficient. But shares in Intel and AMD (AMD) have not moved today. It may be that Wall St. does not think the chip has much of a market. Well, it sounds good anyway.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 9:44 am in Uncategorized

Why Wall St. Needs Analysts To Create Rumors

Another random buyout analysis from a small research firm hit the news this AM. Richard Greenfield of Pali Research said that Rupert Murdoch would get tired of waiting for Dow Jones (DJ) and would withdraw his offer. Dow Jones stock is down a little over 2%. Whether the drop has anything to do with the Pali analsysis is hard to tell.

Perhaps the small bank has talked to Mr. Murdoch. Pali describes itself this way: "Our mission is to be a global financial services firm that provides value-added products and services to our diverse but strategically targeted investor base in a way that exceeds our clients’ expectations."

Perhaps that means spreading pointless speculation.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 9:30 am in Uncategorized

3Com’s Existence After Citadel

3Com (COMS-NASDAQ) took a hit this weekend as Barron’s questioned how effective hedge fund operator Citadel would be in nudging the strugging 3Com after it took a large stake of 8.4% in the company.  The article questioned the balance sheet and strained cash position, but more importantly this noted the loss of a key distributor in China. 

Their other concern was actually an echo of what we were thinking in prior weeks when the H3C venture was entirely rolled up by 3Com: Huawei is already about one-third of the way through its non-compete term with 3Com.  When that ends, it is probably a safe assumption that Huawei will be trying to take back all of its business that it can.

There is a reason that this was listed as one of our "companies management can’t fix" and it only starts with what Barron’s covered.  3Com shares are actually still higher than the pre-Citadel investment.  Now we’ll have to see if management can benefit from some new billionaires showing them what to do.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 8:16 am in Technology Companies,

General Electric Finally Unloads Plastics Unit

General Electric (GE-NYSE) has confirmed that it is selling its plastics unit to Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ("SABIC").  The proceeds will be valued at $11.6 Billion in cash plus the assumption of liabilities.  The deal is of course subject to regulatory approvals and oversight committees since this is an international sale, but plastics is not exactly a GE supersecret that would have much in terms of national security issues.

The share buyback will likely be accelerated and is pegged at $6 Billion but could as much as $8 Billion.  GE will receive net after-tax proceeds from the sale of approximately $9 billion and will generate an approximate after-tax gain of $1.5 billion used to fund restructuring across GE’s businesses and the share repurchase.

This will be a good divestiture for GE in that it has one of the least focused operations to its conglomerate.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 7:49 am in Conglomerates,

Full Research Summary (MAY 21, 2007)

AMGN reitr Neutral at Baird.
AQNT cut to Hold at Kaufman.
ARS started as Buy at UBS.
CAT reiterated Neutral at Baird.
CFC cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
CI cut to Neutral at Prudential.
CLB cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
CLDN started as Buy at KeyBanc McDonald.
CMCSA raised to Buy at Citigroup.
CPLA started as Outperform at Baird.
CSE cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
CTRN raised to Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
CWTR started as Brean Murray.
HOLX raised to Buy at B of A.
INTU cut to Neutral at UBS.
NILE cut to Sell at Jackson.
OHB raised to Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
PGIC started as Buy at Jefferies.
RDY raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
SHFL raised to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
SIGM reitr Outperform at Baird.
SRP raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
TIF raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 7:07 am in Analyst Calls

Dendreon’s New Double-Twist

Dendreon (DNDN-NASDAQ) has an interesting twist this morning because of two issues.  Yesterday it announced some new study data on PROVENGE at The American Urological Association on Sunday.  The company’s board has also approved a lay off of 40 workers to save cash burn rates, so it has two new datapoints today.

The abstract, "Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients who Receive Sipuleucel-T followed by Docetaxel Have Prolonged Survival," was authored by Daniel P. Petrylak, M.D., associate professor of medicine at New York- Presbyterian Hospital at the Columbia University Medical Center.  It is based on an exploratory analysis conducted to assess the influence of the active cellular immunotherapy PROVENGE on the clinical outcome of patients who subsequently went on to receive docetaxel chemotherapy after primary treatment with PROVENGE. The analysis was conducted by evaluating data from two Phase 3 clinical trials of PROVENGE in patient with asymptomatic, metastatic, androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC). 

Petralyk is noting that this 82 patient study shows the potentiality that PROVENGE could be used in conjunction with first-lines of defense to treat prostate cancer.  According to the analysis, the patients who received initial treatment with PROVENGE followed by docetaxel had a median survival of 34.5 months compared to 25.4 months for those patients in the placebo arm who received treatment with docetaxel chemotherapy, a 9.1 month difference. In addition, an analysis of overall survival demonstrated that patients in the PROVENGE arm who received subsequent therapy with docetaxel had a 47 percent reduction in their risk of death compared to those in the placebo arm who received subsequent therapy with docetaxel.

The 40 layoffs will result in an 18% workforce cut and will result in $1.5 million in cash charges and about $300,000 in non-cash charges.  Shares of Dendreon are up close to 8% at $6.53 in pre-market activity.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 6:53 am in Biotech,

Pre-Market Stock News (May 21, 2007)

(ASD) American Standard is reaffirming guidance.
(AT) Alltel agreed to a $27.5 Billion buyout offer, or $71.50 per share.
(CATT) Catapult believes it will miss its earnings estimates for the quarter.
(CRM) Salesforce.com in talks for another technology integration pact with Google.
(CYTC) Cytyc being acquired by Hologic for $46.46 in cash and stock; stock up almost 30%.
(DNDN) Dendreon announces presentation of data at American Urological Association annual meeting; stock up 8%.
(EAGL) EGL announced that CEVA Group increased its offer to $47.50.
(ELN) Elan and Wyeth are starting Phase III clinical trial of Bapineuzumab in Alzheimer’s disease.
(FBN) Furniture Brands CFO is leaving to join ITT.
(GE) GE’s plastics unit sale could be announced as soon as today.
(GRRF) China Grentech announced its first bulk production order to supply TD-SCDMA RF power amplifier modules
(KO) Coca-Cola’s CEO was named the final transformational CEO by Cramer.
(NCTY) The9Ltd. in pact for sports games with Electronic Arts.
(NHY) Norsk Hydro is selling its polymers group.
(PFE) Pfizer CFO is leaving; head of R&D is retiring.
(PONR) Pioneer Companies being acquired for $35.00 per share in cash by Olin (OLN).
(QTWW) Quantum Fuel awarded diesel hybrid vehicle pact from US Army.
(RTLX) Retalix $0.09 EPS vs -$0.01e; unsure if comparable.
(TSL) Trina Solar $0.22 EPS vs $0.15e.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 6:37 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Earlybird Analyst Calls (May 21, 2007)

AMGN reitr Neutral at Baird.
CAT reiterated Neutral at Baird.
CFC cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
CSE cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
HOLX raised to Buy at B of A.
NILE cut to Sell at Jackson.
OHB raised to Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
PGIC started as Buy at Jefferies.
SIGM reitr Outperform at Baird.
SRP raised to Outperform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Posted on: May 21, 2007 – 6:18 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,