24/7 Wall St. » CVH

Endless Mergers… More to Come! (CBST, ADLR, HS, CI, CVH, MAT, RNOW, ORCL, SLE, SJM, ANDS, NYX)

Administrator — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:24:45 +0000

Monday is called “Merger Monday” for a reason and this morning is a classic example of its namesake. We have seen multiple deals and news outstanding on pending deals. We recently noted that far too many companies in technology have been rumored as takeover targets, and not a single one of the deals announced was in the most recent technology rumor mill.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) is pulling a rabbit out of its hat. Cubist was once believed to be a solid acquisition candidate when its share price was much lower, but now the company has come out and announced that it is acquiring Adolor Corporation (NASDAQ: ADLR) for about $190 million in a deal that could rise to $225 million if certain milestones are achieved. Adolor loves the price as the shares are up 129% at $4.40 today. That is above the $4.25 buyout price, but the possible upside for the milestones is why.

HealthSpring Inc. (NYSE: HS) is being acquired for $3.8 billion by CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) in a $55 buyout offer in close to a 35% premium. Insurers continue to consolidate. Elsewhere in healthcare, Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH) was listed as one which could be acquired by Barron’s over the weekend and its shares are up almost 6% at $31.66 in conjunction with healthcare consolidation news and on hopes for more pin action.

Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) is acquiring HIT Entertainment in a $680 million acquisition from Apax Partners and a private equity consortium. Mattel’s market cap is $9.6 billion. The deal locks up the Thomas & Friends toys.

Rightnow Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW) is much more well known ”right now” since Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) has announced a buyout of the company. This $1.5 billion purchase comes to $43.00 per share and the stock hit a new all-time high of $42.92. RightNow is in cloud-based customer experience software products and services.

Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE: SLE) is a company that has been a rumored (and hoped for) buyout target for longer than one can easily recall in the food sector. The company is selling off the majority of its food service coffee and tea operations to J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) for about $350 million. Considering it is a $10.5 billion company by market capitalization, this is no real game-changer.

Elsewhere in M&A news, Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDS) is at a year high of $3.68 and it now has a formal class action suit filed against the merger where Roche is set to pay out $3.70 per share. This was a $10 and higher stock in 2006.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) and its Deutsche Bourse merger is still hanging in the wind. The merger has a hearing in the European Union on October 27 to address some of the concerns brought up by regulators. At $26.70 today, this is way down from the highs above $41.00 over the last year.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Healthcare, Mergers and Buy Outs, Software Tagged: ADLR, ANDS, CBST, CI, CVH, HS, MAT, NYX, ORCL, RNOW, SJM, SLE

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AAP, ALU, ATK, BWEN, BRCD, CLWR, CVH, CUB, DISH, EOG, INTC, MET, PCS, SPG)

Administrator — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:04:51 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Brocade Communication Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
MetroPCS Communications (NYSE: PCS) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAP, ALU, ATK, BRCD, BWEN, CLWR, CUB, CVH, DISH, EOG, INTC, MET, PCS, SPG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALU, AEP, ARNA, BYD, CHL, CHU, KO, CVH, SJM, FCS, GENZ, ITRI, MU, STM, TXN)

Administrator — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:25:37 +0000

There are many big analyst calls this Monday. These are some of this morning’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Maintained Neutral but target lowered to 2.40(EUR) at Goldman Sachs; Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
China Unicom Hong Kong Limited (NYSE: CHU) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.
The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE: FCS) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) Cut to Underperform at Macquarie.
Micron Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Cut to Neutral at Baird; Reiterated Buy at Auriga.
STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Texas Instrumenst Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEP, ALU, ARNA, BYD, CHL, CHU, CVH, FCS, GENZ, ITRI, KO, MU, SJM, STM, TXN

52-Week High Club (X, AET, CI, AA, HGSI)

247wallst — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:17:40 +0000

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) rose over 6.5% to a yearly high of $52.47 after the United States objected to a requestion by China that the World Trade Organization make a ruling on President Obama’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese tires. The U.S. imposed duties on steel-pipe imports from China in November. Titanium Metals Corp. (NYSE: TIE) also hit a yearly high of $12.27 on the news.

Health insurers rose on news that the Senate will give them a year before the start of a new tax on the industry. Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH), and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) all hit yearly highs today.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) rose over 9.5% to a yearly high of $15.98 after the aluminium producer was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley, who set a target price of $22 for the company.

Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) rose over 6.4% to a yearly high of $29.98 after the biopharmaceutical company was upgraded by Morgan Stanley, who set a target price of $40 for the company.

ScanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) rose over 6.9% to a yearly high of $26.81.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted in Analyst Calls, Biotech, Healthcare, Metals, Pharmaceuticals, Technology Companies Tagged: AA, AET, CI, CVH, HGSI, SNDK, TIE, Trade, UNH, X

Top Analyst Downgrades (ADBE, ABX, CVH, FCL, MSO, MIR, S, VZ)

247wallst — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:18:46 +0000

These are this Wednesday’s top pre-market analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street firms:

Adobe Systems (ADBE) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Barrick Gold (ABX) Started as Reduce at Nomura.
Coventry Health (CVH) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Felcor Lodging (FCL) Started as Sell at Citigroup.
Martha Stewart (MSO) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Mirant (MIR) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Sprint Nextel (S) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Verizon Communication (VZ) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ABX, ADBE, CVH, FCL, MIR, MSO, S, VZ

Health Care Companies Play Let’s Make A Deal (CI, AET, HUM, UNH, WLP, CVH, THC, HLS)

247wallst — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:21:08 +0000

Managed health care company stocks are rising Tuesday despite press reports that hospitals will contribute $155 billion over 10 years toward insuring the nearly 50 million Americans who do not have coverage.

The cuts would largely come from the amount the insurers receive as reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.

Shares of Cigna corp. (NYSE: CI), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM), and UnitedHealthGroup Inc (NYSE: UNH) each are up more than 4 percent in early trading, with shares of WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) and Coventry Health Care Inc. (CVH) also on the rise.

Medicare Winners Under New Healthcare Plans (MRK, PFE, AET, CI, CVH, HUM, UNH, WLP)

247wallst — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:21:12 +0000

Everyone is trying to figure out who the winners and losers are likely to be under a watered-down healthcare program under the Obama administration and with a Democratic Congress. What is certain is that changes to the old way of healthcare are coming, yet the uncertainty is becoming just how far away from the existing model this will get. Mike Tarsala contributed a a brief round of explanations for the way this will likely impact drug giants Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). There is also a solid take on how companies like Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM), Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE: CVH), Cigna corp. (NYSE: CI), United Health (NYSE: UNH), WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) and Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET) are likely to be viewed.

More details of this can be seen at BioHealthInvestor.com.

Posted in Drug companies, Healthcare, Medical, Politics Tagged: AET, CI, CVH, HUM, MRK, PFE, UNH, WLP

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ARMH, BIIB, CAT, CVH, HCBK, LEN, MOH, TTEK)

247wallst — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:21:04 +0000

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

ARM Holdings (ARMH) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Biogen-Idec (BIIB) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Caterpillar (CAT) Raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
Coventry Health Care (CVH) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK) Started at Overweight at Barclays.
Lennar (LEN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Molina Healthcare (MOH) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Tetra Tech Inc. (TTEK) Started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
January 27, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ARMH, BIIB, CAT, CVH, HCBK, LEN, MOH, TTEK

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AFL, AMGN, BBY, CHTT, CVH, HNT, KMB, PCLN, RDC)

247wallst — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:30:58 +0000

These are not all of the upgrades or positive calls we have seen, but these are some calls moving shares this Monday morning:

AFLAC (AFL) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
Amgen (AMGN) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Best Buy (BBY) Raised to Buy at Banc of America.
Chattem (CHTT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Coventry Health (CVH) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Health Ney (HNT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Pricleine.com (PCLN) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Rowan (RDC) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
July 28, 2007

The 52-Week Low Club (SIRI)(XMSR)(TMA)(HUN)(CVH)(UNH)(MOT)

247wallst — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:55:36 +0000

Thornburg Mortgage (TMA) Worries about going out of business. Down to $.22 from 52-week high of $27.82.

Huntsman (HUN) Apollo walks on buy-out deal. Falls to $12.15 from 52-week high of $28.40.

Coventry Health Care (CVH) Cuts guidance. Sells off to $30.10 from 52-week high of $64.

Unitedhealth Group (UNH) Concerns about slowdow in the health insurance sector. Dives to $26.94 from 52-week high of $59.46.

Motorola (MOT) Competition keeps coming out with strong products. Falls to $7.61 from 52-week high of $19.68.

XM Satellite (XMSR) Goldman says merger with Sirius (SIRI) will not help company’s prospects. Plunges to $7.95 from 52-week high of $16.44.

Sirius (SIRI) sells down to $1.97 from 52-week high of $3.94.

Douglas A. McIntyre