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TOP 7 ISSUES THIS WEEK (JUNE 8, 2007)

247wallst — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:16:35 +0000

This Week’s Top Seven Issues (June 8, 2007)

1) THE ROLLER-COASTER MARKET
Thanks a lot Bill Gross. You’re sounding more like Greenspan now that you have him on your advisory board at PIMCO. Depending on how you look atthe sell-off, Gross either was an exacerbation or just noise. The market recovered late Friday on rumors that US Steel (X) was in-play. Technicians had an identity crisis because today should have needed a big gap down before the "Ah-Ha Epiphany." If you are a bull, a chicken-bull, or a real bear, we came up with a revised list of stocks to look at depending on your flavor.

2) FOUR NEW TECH PICKS, LIKE YOU DIDN’T KNOW THEM
Cramer actually came out with a NEW FOUR HORSEMEN OF TECHNOLOGY, albeit this could have been done much sooner and Amazon.com (AMZN) was the only one that was a bit of a surprise.

3) MERGERS & PRESSURES
Biomet (BMET) is done, deal accepted. Bye-bye. TD AMERITRADE (AMTD) needs to tell S.A.C. & JANA Partners to take their shares and put them somewhere else. The FTC is actually trying to stop Whole Foods (WFMI) from buying Wild Oats (OATS), amazingly enough a deal is under scrutiny. Amgen (AMGN) tries diversifying via acquisition, but at what cost?

4) TWO BEST CULT STOCKS WITH MAJOR NEWS
CMGI, Inc. (CMGI) took a bit of a hammering this week after earnings. If you believed it in it before earnings, then nothing has really changed and the glass may be more half-full than half-empty. Dendreon (DNDN) priced its $75 million offering. Since their back was against the wall and they really needed money, the terms that could have been much more expensive actually look like they got the cash for close to nothing.

5) KEY OFFERINGS
Limelight Networks (LLNW) came public, priced more share at a higher price, and still went up almost 50% on the debut date. Einstein Noah (BAGL)…it’s back, no more NWRG-PINKSHEET ticker It wasn’t an IPO, but sort of a Re-PO. This one will be interesting. SIRIUS Satellite Radio (SIRI) received a $250 million term loan

6) OPEC CRIES WOLF
OPEC actually threatened that it would stop spending money for new technology and on exploration if we keep pushing for more and more biofuels. Sounds to me like they are feeling pinched. Oddly enough, ethanol names were looking horrible yesterday.

7) RETAIL IS SOFT, BUT SOME WINNERS
There were actually some winners in retail. If Bed Bath & eyond (BBBY) had to stupe down to an earnings warning, you knew it was going to be a messy retail report since its buyers are supposed to be insulated from soft economics.

Have a great weekend!

Jon C. Ogg
June 8, 2007

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

Biomet Capitulates In Merger Fight, Accepts $46.00 Private Equity Buyout

247wallst — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 08:40:31 +0000

Biomet, Inc. (BMET-NASDAQ) has recived and accepted a higher buyout price for shareholders. The company announced that it has unanimously recommended to shareholders an increased offer from a private equity consortium to acquire Biomet for $46.00 per share in cash. This $11.4 Billion deal is a sweetened offer from the private equity consortium including affiliates of the Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG. This will commence on June 14, 2007.

Morgan Stanley provided the Board of Directors with its opinion that the revised merger agreement is fair from a financial point of view to holders of Biomet common stock. Completion of the tender offer is subject to the condition that at least 75% of the Biomet common shares have been tendered in the offer, which is the same percentage approval requirement as with the previous merger structure.

As a result, Biomet announced that it has cancelled the special meeting of shareholders previously scheduled for Friday, June 8 to consider and vote on the original merger agreement AND has agreed not to pay its annual dividend. Sharesare trading up 3% at $25.60 in pre-market activity, which is a new 52-week and 24-month high. It is also at the high-end of an old trading range from back in 2004, so this new improved merger price will essentially make just about all shareholders whole.

Jon C. Ogg
June 7, 2007

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

Pre-Market Stock News (June 7, 2007)

247wallst — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:20:54 +0000

(A) Agilent reiterated guidance after completing Stratagene buyout.
(ADCT) ADC Telecom trading up 3% after posting $0.35 EPS vs $0.24 estimates.
(ANN) Ann Taylor May s-s-s -4.6% versus -3.1% estimate.
(ATVI) Activision will take $66.7 million non-cash and pre-tax charge for options back-dating.
(BEBE) Bebe Stroes May s-s-s -3% versus -2.8% estimate.
(BHI) Baker Hughes rig count rose 23 to 1,007 versus April and up from 920 in May 2006.
(BMET) Biomet’s private equity buyout raised to $46.00.
(CALL) CallWave announced the ‘industry’s first’ Visual Voicemail gadget for Google Personalized Homepage.
(CHINA) CDC Corp. appointed two new directors.
(COST) CostCo s-s-s were +7% in May, above 5.5% estimates.
(DJ) Dow Jones may have some interest from owner of Philadelphia Inquirer.
(DSCO) Discovery Laboratories initiated a Phase II clinical trial evaluating the use of Surfaxin in children up to two years of age suffering from Acute Respiratory Failure.
(ESLT) Elbit Systems awarded $110 million order by Thales UK to provide ISTAR capability for UK armed forces.
(FINL) Finish Line guided Q1 earnings below estimates and now sees a loss.
(HGSI) Human Genome Sciences shows positive final results Of Phase 2b trial of Albuferon
(IDEV) Indevus Pharmaceuticals reports positive data from Phase III NEBIDO trial for development for the treatment of male hypogonadism.
(INFN) Infinera Corp. IPO priced 14M shares at $13.00, above the 410.00 to $12.00 range.
(IMMC) Immunicon has released highlights from podium presentations made at ASCO meeting.
(JOSB) Jos. A. Banks may s-s-s +13.5% versus +4% estimate.
(JCP) JC Penney May s-s-s -2% vs +0.3% estimates.
(JWN) JW Nordstrom’s May s-s-s +6.3% versus +2.6% estimate.
(LTD) Limited Brands May s-s-s _2% vs -1% estimate.
(MSFT) Microsoft has entered a cross license pact with LG Electronics for further development of current and future product lines.
(OPTT) Ocean Power Tech awarded a $1.7 million Navy order for its PowerBuoys.
(SFD) Smithfield Foods $0.34 EPS vs $0.34e; named new CFO.
(SHRP) Sharper Image May s-s-s -8% vs -13% estimate.
(UTIW) UTI Worldwide $0.18 EPS vs $0.16e.
(WMT) Wal-Mart s-s-s +1.1% vs 1.2% estimate; sales were +1.3% after fuel.
(YANB) Yardville National gets $35.00 buyout from PNC.

Jon C. Ogg
June 7, 2007

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