24/7 Wall St. has compiled a log of companies which have already signaled in press releases that they will be presenting data or that data will be presented on their behalf at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting.  We have previewed more than 25 companies so far and that is not even including Big Pharma names.  As of May 18, the total abstracts submitted were 5,264 and of those there have been 2,744 which have been accepted for presentation at ASCO.  Of those accepted for presentation, some 1,859 are going to be ‘ePublication only’ for viewers.  The breakdown for the Abstracts shows that the oral presentation is currently 257 presentations and 2,487 are listed as poster presentation only.

The most presentations accepted (203) so far are focused on Genitourinary Cancer, which covers urinary tract and male genital tract as follows: Prostate cancer; Bladder cancer; Kidney cancer; Testicular cancer; Penile cancer; Nonmalignant tumors of the urinary tract and male reproductive system; and Von Hippel Lindau disease.  As of today, the fewest accepted presentations (93) cover Pediatric oncology.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), the largest independent biotech that there is, recently showed updated results from a Phase 2 study showing that treatment with blinatumomab helped achieve a high-rate of complete response in 72% of adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated in the study. This blinatumomab is the first of a new class of agents called bi-specific T cell engagers antibodies, which are designed to harness the body’s cell-destroying T cells to kill cancer cells.  Blinatumomab targets cells expressing CD19, a protein found on the surface of B-cell derived leukemias and lymphomas, such as ALL. Full results of the study will be presented during an oral abstract session on June 4 at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) recently sold off but will will have updated clinical data from the pivotal PACE trial of ponatinib, its investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on June 4.  The company said that the data will form the basis of its regulatory filings for marketing approval of Ponatinib for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblasatic leukemia.

ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) and Daiichi Sankyo, Co., Ltd. (Japan) will have an oral presentation at the ASCO Annual Meeting featuring Phase 2 trial data with tivantinib as a single agent investigational second-line treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma. ArQule announced that this randomized, double-blind study met its primary endpoint in January and will now present the full results from this trial, including positive data in the pre-defined c-MET high population. Additional clinical data with tivantinib will be featured in two poster discussions and two general poster sessions.

Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) has recently risen on its lung cancer and melanoma results.  The company has three oral presentations at the annual meeting after having already presented Phase 1 data on MEK162 in 28 patients with biliary tract cancer at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January 2012 showing that it was well tolerated and showed evidence of clinical efficacy in this patient population, including a complete response and a partial response. Stable disease was observed in 12 patients. The company has licensed selumetinib to AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and licensed MEK162 to Novartis (NYSE: NVS).

Canaccord’s Salveen Richter has maintained a SELL rating with a price target down at $12.00 per share.  This is important because Amylin closed at $25.73 and the 52-week trading range is $8.03 to $26.87.  The report is based in part on the notion that Bydureon sales are off to a slow start that was disclosed in the company’s earnings report yesterday.  The report was called a weak earnings report with Bydureon revenue of only $6.9 million versus $10.4 million expected.

The report may be very much of a standout because some of the companies which have been named as likely and/or potential bidders are Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN), Sanofi (NYSE: SNY), and Takeda.  We have also wondered perhaps whether or not Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) or Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) could be among the possible buyers, but these two seem to be dismissed elsewhere as likely buyers.

The report does caution about a floor from the buyout speculation: “That said, continued speculation on the company’s takeout potential will likely set a floor on Amylin shares at current levels, barring a potential E.U. partnership.”   Other notes as follows: Bydureon captured 5.9% of the GLP–1 market… Bydureon is being impacted by competition, healthcare reform and reimbursement/access… AMLN Q1/12 total revenue of $153.7 million was under consensus of $162.1 million… it is lowering FY12 Bydureon revenue estimate to $133.9 million from $209.5 million… firm is increasing its non-GAAP SG&A expense to $395.5 million from $356.3 million… firm is lowering FY12 GAAP EPS estimate to -$1.68 EPS from -$1.09 EPS.

Canaccord Genuity’s valuation puts its 12-month price target at $12.00 and it is based upon 20-times the firm’s fully taxed and fully diluted GAAP earnings estimate for 2016 of $1.55 EPS that is then discounted back to 2012 at a rate of 28%.

What is interesting is that the Thomson Reuters consensus target is only $18.10, so there is quite a takeover premium built into the stock.  Amylin may get acquired or it may not.  This is a bold call considering that the company even recently announced that Carl Icahn voluntarily dismissed his suit against the company.  It would seem that Carl Icahn believes that a premium buyout is headed Amylin’s way.

JON C. OGG

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 114 points to 13,204.70 (0.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 21 points (0.69%) to 3,050.61, and the S&P 500 rose 0.67% or more than 9 points to 1,399.99.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Morgan Stanley; ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) raised to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) maintained as ‘hold’ at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) is down -16.9% at $19.71 (our coverage here); Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is up 0.9% at $31.96 (our story here); Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) is down -0.3% at $66.44 (our story here); Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) is down -5.1% at $3.83 (our coverage here); Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is down -0.8% at $86.13 (our coverage here); Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is down -8.4% at $45.22; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -1.7% at $33.72; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is down -2.6% at $65.69; JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) is down -0.1% at $4.64; Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) is up 9.4% at $13.87; Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (NYSE: MJN) is up XX% at $XX; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is up 4% at $86.38 after posting a new 52-week high of $87.26n earlier today; Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) is down -2.8% at $21.00; Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is down -4.6% at $10.69; TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) is up 5.7% at $4.39; United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is down -1.8% at $78.25; and Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) is down -5% at $23.31.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Inergy L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) is up 17% at $19.71. The company is being acquired by Suburban Propane Partners LP (NYSE: SPH). More coverage here.

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down -20.2% at $6.16. The wireless carrier fell sharply on disappointing quarterly results. More coverage here.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is down -14.8% at $33.03. The technology provider beat estimates but issued weak guidance.

Stay tuned for Friday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – GDP report
• 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Paul Ausick

Ardea Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEA) is now worth about $1.2 billion and the stock’s prior 52-week high had been $29.06. Now shares are up at $31.58 and AstraZeneca buys a gout and cancer pipeline here.  The problem is that no one is expecting big earnings nor even big sales any time soon.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of -$3.64 EPS on only $13.4 million in revenue in 2012 and -$1.89 EPS on almost $56 million in 2013.  Ardea has just over 100 employees and its pipeline includes two gout treatments and two cancer treatments (one for pancreatic cancer and one for primary liver cancer.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) now has a $3.8 billion market capitalization rate.  With a fresh new diabetes drug approval and with prior speculation of a super-premium buyout, this one already has a lot of premium built in.  Shares went from about $11 to more than $17 early in 2012 and then from about $16 to over $24 over the last month before settling down around $23 of late.  Now there is talk that it has several interested bidders.  Amylin’s ongoing pipeline is concentrated around diabetes and obesity but its main products are BYDUREON and BYETTA.  Amylin is also expected to lose money in 2012 and in 2013, but its sales were $650 million in 2011 and are expected to rise to $688.4 million in 2012 and $852.9 million in 2013.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) reportedly made a bid for Amylin already, and newer reports have Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN), and Takeda all lined up as would-be potential acquirers.

It is very difficult to get an apples to apples comparison here when you consider that one company is in the development and clinical stage and the other is already in the product commercialization stage.  Ardea is of course a much larger unknown that Amylin.  Its price and market capitalization also reflect this.

JON C. OGG

One potential buyer is Sanofi (NYSE: SNY), the Paris-based drug company that is developing a similar treatment for diabetes. Amylin ended a long relationship with Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) last November, but still owes Lilly payments of $1.2 billion over the next several years. AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) is another drug maker believed to be on the look-out for an acquisition as is Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK).

Amylin’s diabetes drugs Byetta and Bydureon are both approved for use in the US. Byetta is a twice-weekly injection for Type 2 diabetes, while Bydureon, which was approved only in January, is a once-a-week injection for the disease. Diabetes affects some 300 million people worldwide and 26 million in the US alone. Drugs to combat the disease could be enormous sellers.

The market is very happy with the news from Amylin. Shares are up more than 10% in the pre-market this morning, at $25.15 in a 52-week range of $8.03.25.84.

Paul Ausick

The AFL-CIO reports that CEO pay rose 14% last year:

According to data released by the AFL-CIO today, CEOs of S&P 500 Index companies received an average of $12.9 million in pay in 2011 – a 14 percent raise. The ratio of CEO to worker pay is now 380 to 1. The newly designed Executive PayWatch, a searchable online database, provides direct comparison of top CEO pay to average wages of workers, such as a nurse, teacher, firefighter and others.

The figure cannot be complete, since not all 2011 proxies for S&P 500 firms are in yet.

The union also tried to humilate public corporations that “hoarded” cash last year and fired workers. This list includes Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), News Corp (NYSE: NWS),  Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) may end its deal with Current TV because of low ratings. (Reuters)

The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining stock exchanges for failing to disclose changes in their rules. (Reuters)

Worries about the eurozone increase because of a troubled debt auction by Spain. (Reuters)

New York State examines insurers for forcing products on homeowners. (WSJ)

As Russia joins the World Trade Organization, U.S. businesses have done little to exploit its markets. (WSJ)

Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA) set a movie rental deal. (WSJ)

The European Central Bank expresses concerns about inflation in the region. (WSJ)

Dynegy Holdings (NYSE: DYN) is close to a deal with bondholders that would take the value of equity to zero. (WSJ)

Carl Icahn attacks the board of drug maker Amylin (NASDAQ: AMLN) for rejecting a takeover offer from Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY). (WSJ)

The market for pooled junk bonds rises quickly. (WSJ)

JP Morgan’s (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon made $23 million last year, which is tops among bank chief executives. (WSJ)

A study by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics shows that Americans have cut use of doctors and prescription medications. (NYT)

An increase in U.S. crude stocks pushes oil prices down. (FT)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) meets with Moody’s in an attempt to stop a ratings cut. (FT)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) cuts 2,000 jobs as part of a restructuring. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Investors often speculate that drug partners (or competitors) will merge.  After all, if a big drug company can add on full revenues rather than partial revenues and can milk out cost efficiencies of the combined outfit, it only makes sense if the price is right.  That also could bring Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) into the mix if you look through recent press releases.  Amylin has been the subject of takeover rumors on and off over the last 8 years or so.  Frankly, any large drug company could be a potential acquirer of this company if the price is right.

Bloomberg has reported that Amylin rejected a $3.5 billion offer.  Bristol-Myers has a market value of nearly $57 billion.  Amylin shares are now up 48% at $22.62 and many investors believe that BYETTA can become a blockbuster drug as a new treatment for diabetes.  To prove the point, Thomson Reuters has consensus revenue targets of $688.12 million for 2012 and $845.3 million for 2013.

As a reminder, Amylin lists Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) as a strategic partner and noted on its partnership page “Amylin worked with Alkermes to develop the first once-weekly treatment for type 2 diabetes using Alkermes’ proprietary technology for long-acting medications.”

It also noted that Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited is a partner: “In October 2009, Amylin and Takeda entered into a worldwide exclusive license, development and commercialization agreement to co-develop and commercialize pharmaceutical products for the treatment of obesity and related indications.”

Biocon, Limited is the other partner listed: “In September 2009, Amylin and Biocon entered into an exclusive agreement to jointly develop, commercialize and manufacture a novel peptide therapeutic for the potential treatment of diabetes.”

We are treating this as a rumor only at this point, but we suspect that the company will either confirm the report or issue a statement that they are not going to comment on market rumors.  Either way, Amylin is one of the emerging biotech and biopharma players which seems like a shoe-in to be acquired soon or down the road.  The real question is what price, and ultimately when.

JON C. OGG

The Department of Justice is expected to widen its probe of mortgage-backed securities. (Reuters)

AT&T (NYSE: T) sets new standards that will impose penalties on those who download large amounts of data to wireless devices. (Reuters)

Western sanctions begin to hurt Iran’s oil export business. (Reuters)

Two companies will use Twitter data to sell marketers’ ads on the service. (Reuters)

Facebook to expand its credit line by $2.5 billion to cover taxes of some employees due to its IPO. (Reuters)

Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT) and other large retailers will establish a service to take advantage of mobile payment devices. (WSJ)

Eurozone ministers will wait to release bailout funds until they see implementation of Greek austerity measures. (WSJ)

Germany’s retail sales fall in January. (WSJ)

Yelp’s price is above its IPO range. (WSJ)

Sumner Redstone, Viacom’s (NASDAQ: VIAB) chairman, may miss its annual meeting. (WSJ)

Toyota’s (NYSE: TM) sales in China rise sharply in February. (WSJ)

Some members of Congress resist postal offices closures as the USPS tries to cut costs. (WSJ)

The eurozone’s unemployment rate reaches a 15-year high. (WSJ)

GM (NYSE: GM), Ford (NYSE: F) and Chrysler all post February sales gains. (WSJ)

A decision to approve an anticlotting drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is delayed until later in the year as experts review its effects. (WSJ)

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) will try to drill in the area north of Russia, if it can get government approval. (WSJ)

Rumors of a Saudi oil pipe break drive oil above $110. (WSJ)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will buy Ariel Reinsurance as it attempts to diversify. (WSJ)

Despite the ruling of a key body, Greek credit default swaps could still be triggered by a default. (WSJ)

Crude hits its highest level since records set in 2008. (FT)

Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) new privacy policy upsets European Comission regulators. (FT)

EU leaders will speed money to a permanent bailout fund meant to calm international capital markets. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 22 points to 12,734.63 (-0.18%), the NASDAQ fell about 13 points (-0.46%) to 2,805.28, and the S&P 500 fell -0.57% or nearly 7 points to 1,318.45.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer; Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) started as ‘perform’ at Williams Capital; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘underweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is down -3.66% at $77.29; Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) is up more than 19% at $28.40 after posting a new 52-week high of $29.20 earlier today; AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down -2.65% at $29.41; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -0.92% at $32.40; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is up 1.95% at $111.18; Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) is down more than -11% at $17.03; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is up 0.95% at $82.51; McCormick & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MKC) is up 0.90% at $78.55; Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is down more than -20% at $7.18; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is up 1.61% at $45.96; and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) is up 0.34% at $49.88.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

VIST Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: VIST) is up more than 62% at $11.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $11.50 earlier today. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Tompkins Financial Corp. (AMEX: TMP) in an all-stock deal at an 86% premium to last night’s closing price, or about $85 million.

RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK) is up more than 35% at $9.98. The digital media company has sold a video codec and a number of patents to Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) for $120 million.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) is down nearly -21% at $15.13. The biotechnology company lost its bid for an injunction against certain competitors.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up about 22% at $116.01. The digital video streaming and rental company reported a better-than-expected number of new subscribers after markets closed last night.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is down more than -19% at $12.51. The bank holding company will restate earnings for 2010 and the first three quarters of 2011 and expects to dilute 2010 earnings by half as a result.

Stay tuned for Friday. New York Fed President William Dudley is giving a speech in the morning. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – US GDP report
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Paul Ausick