Posts for Ticker ‘BSX’

The Twenty Companies That Wall St. Can Trust The Least

Wall St. likes financial statements that give it deep insights into a company’s operations, especially its liabilities. It likes boards that make sure shareholders get as complete a picture as possible of a firm’s balance sheet and details of its P&L, cash-flow, and other critical financial measurements.

bear24/7 Wall St. asked Audit Integrity to put together a list of companies traded on US exchanges with market caps of more than $3 billion that do particularly poorly in the areas  of corporate governance, detailed disclosure of high-risk events including M&A and restructurings, revenue and expense recognition, and asset and liability valuation.

Based on the Audit Integrity model, 24/7 created a list of the twenty companies that Wall St. can trust the least.  Among the companies that the analysis flagged are Altria (NYSE:MO), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), GE (NYSE:GE), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT),  Wells Fargo (NYSE:WMT), and Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW)

The list:

Read More »

Posted on: October 27, 2009 – 5:31 am in Corporate Governance, Research, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (AMZN, BAC, BA, BSX, F, LEAP, PCS, SPR, UA, WEN)

These are this Tuesday’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls which we have seen early in the morning:

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) Raised to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Metro PCS (NYSE: PCS) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE: SPR) Cut To Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Wendy’s/Arby’s (NYSE: WEN) Cut to Neutral at UBS; Started as Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

Jon C. Ogg
October 20, 2009

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 7:45 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest (10/20/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) beat earnings forecasts.

Reuters:   The IRS is probing some homebuyers’ tax credit gains.

Reuters:   The US is ready to bring more insider trading cases.

Reuters:   More US companies are cutting bonuses. Read More »

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 4:02 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Major Market Movers (9/30/2009) (JNJ)(CIT)(HOKU)

Volume Spike Investor is watching some stocks which should move at the open.

These include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) (details), CIT (CIT) (details), Hoku Scientific (HOKU) (details), China-Biotics (CHBT), and and TerreStar Networks (TSTR) (details).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: September 30, 2009 – 8:16 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , ,

Media Digest 9/30/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NY Times, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China celebrated 60 years of communist rule as a capitalist economy.

Reuters:   The IMF cut global debt write-offs to $3.4 trillion.

Reuters:   CIT (CIT) is close to a deal to give the company to bondholders. Read More »

Posted on: September 30, 2009 – 4:04 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades (BSX, DWA, ETFC, FSLR, LVS, MSFT, MOS, POT, UPS, UA)

These are the top 10 analyst calls for upgrades and downgrades seen early this Monday morning from Wall Street research firms:
Boston Scientific (BSX) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
DreamWorks Animation (DWA) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
E*TRADE Financial (ETFC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
First Solar (FSLR) Cut to Sell at Soleil.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Raised to Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Microsoft (MSFT) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Mosaic (MOS) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
UPS (UPS) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Under Armour (UA) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 14, 2009 – 8:18 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (ALKS, LLY, SNY, MRK, SPPI, LXK, BSX, JDAS, IDIX, PKG, CVBF, WERN)

These are some of this morning’s top stocks to watch for active trading today based on pre-market and after-hours volume activity. There are links through to more detailed coverage and volume analysis at VSInvestor.com:

Alkermes Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKS) shares are ones to watch for volume upside following positive study results that may also affect shares of Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) and Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY).

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) shares are up over 3% after it beat EPS by 6 cents a share and reaffirmed fiscal 2009 guidance.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI) shares are rising in premarket trade after getting FDA fast-track status for a bladder cancer candidate.

Lexmark International Group Inc. (NYSE: LXK) shares are ones to watch for volume downside after it missed expectations by 5 cents a share and guided Q3 EPS lower.

JDA Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq: JDAS) are ones to watch for volume upside after it posted  a 17-cent a share EPS beat.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: IDIX) shares are ones to watch for volume downside after it missed EPS expectations by 3 cents a share.

Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG) shares are ones to watch for volume upside following a 12-cent EPS beat.

Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) is up strongly in early premarket trade on stronger-than-expected earnings.

CVB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: CVBF) shares are ones to watch for downside after it announced a stock offering.

Werner Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: WERN) are ones to watch for volume downside on concerns about a revenue miss.

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team

Posted on: July 21, 2009 – 7:40 am in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 6/26/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters: Bernanke denied putting pressure on Bank of America (BAC) over the deal to buy Merrill Lynch.

Reuters:   GM said a bankruptcy delay would destroy suppliers.

Reuters:   Nominees have started to emerge for the panel to examine the Wall St. meltdown.

Reuters:   UBS (UBS) said the $3.5 billion it is raising in not attached to individual needs.

Reuters:   Palm’s (PALM) Pre helped earnings. Read More »

Posted on: June 26, 2009 – 3:01 am in Airlines, Banking, Consumer Electronics, Earnings, Financial Stocks, Internet, Management Change, Media, Oil & Gas, Old Media, Press Digest, Retail, Satellite, Wireless, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Another 24/7 Wall St. CEO To Go Goes Away (BSX)

Burning Money PicBoston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is finally getting free from President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Tobin.  This was one our top 10 CEO’s to go for 2009 as his tenure has been bad.  It almost seemed that his need to go was going to be masked by the recession, but Tobin’s lack of execution, or his team’s lack of execution under his oversight, had problems long before the recession came along. As we noted in our original summary:

Posted on: June 25, 2009 – 8:01 am in Management Change, Medical,

Top Analyst Upgrades (ARMH, ASML, BSX, CLX, GR, IFX, LAZ, SKS, SNIC, VICL)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Friday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

ARM Holdings (ARMH) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
ASML Holding (ASML) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Boston Scientific (BSX) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Clorox (CLX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Goodrich (GR) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Infineon (IFX) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Lazard (LAZ) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer; removed from Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
Saks (SKS) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Sonic Solutions (SNIC) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Vical (VICL) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: June 12, 2009 – 6:31 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 5/19/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Twitter will release business tools in an attempt to make money.

Reuters:   A GM (GM) bankruptcy is seen as nearly inevitable.

Reuters:   American Express (AXP) will cut 4,000 jobs.

Reuters:   Obama will unveil aggressive car fuel standards.

Reuters:   Madoff trustee sues Fairfield Group for $3.5 billion

Reuters:   Mail blue collar workers are losing ground in employment and compensation. Read More »

Posted on: May 19, 2009 – 2:53 am in Autos, Banking, Buffett, Casinos, Drug companies, Economy, Internet, Media, Oil & Gas, PC Companies, Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 4/21/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaper19According to Reuters, the government will give Chrysler and GM (GM) new aid.

Reuters reports that IBM (IBM) revenue fell more than expected.

Reuters writes that the Treasury’s plan to get toxic assets off bank balance sheets may be subject to abuse.

Reuters reports that TI’s (TXN) first quarter revenue and second quarter forecast topped estimates.

Reuters reports that Apples (AAPL) investors are looking beyond earnings to new products and Jobs’ health. Read More »

Posted on: April 21, 2009 – 3:00 am in Press Digest, , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AKAM, BSX, CLX, CVA, ESRX, MCRS, PRXL, PFE, QSII, SGMS)

Money_stack_picThese are some of the top analyst upgrades and positive calls we are seeing this Monday morning:

  • Akamai (AKAM) Raised to Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Boston Scientific (BSX) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Clorox (CLX) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Covanta (CVA) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Express Scripts (ESRX) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Micros Systems (MCRS) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • PAREXEL (PRXL) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Pfizer (PFE) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Quality Systems (QSII) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • Scientific Games (SGMS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
February 2, 2009

Posted on: February 2, 2009 – 7:48 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ARAY, AZN, SAM, BSX, CNX, MLM, TER, TWX)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen on Wall Street this Friday morning:

  • Accuray (ARAY) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • AstraZeneca (AZN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Boston Beer (SAM) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Boston Scientific (BSX) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • CONSOL Energy (CNX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Martin Marietta (MLM) Raised to Neutral at UBS.
  • Teradyne (TER) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Time Warner (TWX) Started as Buy at Collins Stewart.

Jon C. Ogg
January 30, 2009

Posted on: January 30, 2009 – 7:55 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 1/16/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

EmpireAccording to Reuters, Bank of America will get a huge financial aid package from the government.

Reuters reports that Congress is advancing legislation to release the balance of the TARP funding.

Reuters says that Intel (INTC) sees margins improving in the second half.

Reuters reports that the Minneapolis Star Tribune filed for Chapter 11.

Read More »

Posted on: January 16, 2009 – 4:07 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , ,

10 CEOs To Go In 2009 (BSX, C, DDS, EK, GM, NT, RAD, SNDK, SIRI, JAVA)

It is that time of year where companies should have been evaluating their plans for the year ahead.  Each year we come out with a list of companies who should get rid of their CEOs or which should make some strategic changes inside the company that revolve around the CEO and management.  Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK), General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), and Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) are all on this year’s list. 

With so many stocks down 50% and more, we want to stress that the list could have had hundreds of management teams on the list if stock prices were the sole criteria.  Our criteria for change is far more than just poor stock performance.  The list is broken down individually below and summarized with links to the full story on each individual.

Read More »

Posted on: December 7, 2008 – 5:26 pm in Management Change, , , , , , , , , ,

10 CEOs To Go In 2009: James Tobin of Boston Scientific (BSX)

Generally speaking, we do not like to bring CEOs back from a past "list of CEOs to go."  James Tobin of Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) has somehow managed to hang on to his job and continue to destroy shareholder value.  This is not just a poor job on his part, but it is becoming a poor job on part of the board of directors who have a fiduciary duty to do what is best for the company. Tobin deserves no reprieve for even more reasons than we outlined before.

Read More »

Posted on: December 5, 2008 – 11:04 am in Management Change, Medical, , ,

Drug-Eluting Stent Data Shows More Promise (BSX, ANPI, JNJ, SRDX, MDT, ABT)

Stent_imageThe Massachusetts Department of Public Health funded a study which is showing further evidence to support the use of drug eluting stents over bare metal stents in heart attack patients.  This study measured stent use in diabetic patients. 

While the study did not show which exact stents were under comparison, it does at least give some timeframes.  The larger historic drug-eluting stents and their makers are Taxus by Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) with Angiotech (NASDAQ: ANPI) as the molecule maker for Taxus, and  Cypher by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) with SurModics (SRDX) as the molecule maker for Cypher.

Read More »

Posted on: November 11, 2008 – 12:01 pm in Medical, , , , , ,

Margin Calls Hit Execs Left & Right (AIV, BSX, CPE, CHK, DNR, LTM, PROV, PHM, SPA, STRL, WSM)

Burningmoney_2There are many C-Suite executive from Wall Street to main Street that didn’t exactly get their stock priorities right.  Many company executives are getting margin calls and are being forced to liquidate their stocks.  Some are for stocks in their own company, some are for stocks and general, and some are just forced to sell to meet margin calls for entirely different reasons unrelated to their companies.  below is a partial list of margin call victims from this week:

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Posted on: October 31, 2008 – 8:06 pm in Insider Activity, , , , , , , , , , ,

Another CEO Joins Margin Call Selling Mayhem (DNR, BSX, CHK, CBS, VIA, AIG)

Burningmoney_2Gareth Roberts, CEO of Denbury Resources (NYSE:DNR) was forced to sell 513,000 shares of the company’s stock to meet a margin call "pursuant to a real estate based loan." That was about 15% of his holdings.  This is not at all the first CEO in this boat, and it isn’t just smaller company CEO’s caught up in the margin call mayhem.

Read More »

Posted on: October 30, 2008 – 10:49 am in Insider Activity, , , , , ,