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The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index, The Companies With The Worst PR: March 16

247wallst — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:21:51 +0000

Healthnet was hammered on news that it “missplaced” data on 2 million customers. Toyota (NYSE: TM) remained high on the list due to concerns about Japanese production and sales. Regulatory problems and costs may crush margins at Massey (NYSE :MEE)

Note: The Flame Index scans thousands of news sites 24 hours per day and ranks companies getting the most negative press right now. The Flame Index Media Analysis Algorithm crunches the data for an up-to-the-minute ranking of the hardest-hit companies.
The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market

Rank	Company	Ticker	Score	Change in Rank	Comments
1	Health Net	HNT	50.89	+4	Loses data on 2 million customers
2	Fannie Mae	FNMAS	50.794	0	Investors frantic about stock losses
3	Toyota Motor Corporation	TM	42.803	+9	Japan earthquake
4	Consol Energy	CNX	36.695	0	Worries about companies with reactors
5	Massey Energy	MEE	36.304	+69	Regulatory costs could be huge after mine disaster
6	Lubrizol	LZ	35.914	-5	Buyout by Buffett riles investors
7	General Electric	GE	35.211	+3	Large reactor builder faces liability costs
8	Duke Energy	DUK	33.883	+5	Another nuclear facility operator
9	Bank of America Corp.	BOA	33.467	-2	Leaks of internal memos may embarrass
10	Freddie Mac	FMCC	33.137	+181	Mortgage problems and losses deepen

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

Filed under: General, Research Tagged: CNX, HNT, MEE, TM

The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: March 15 Toyota Earthquake

247wallst — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:48:23 +0000

Lubrizol (NYSE: LZ) is being bought by Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) for $9 billion. Investors seem to think that is too low. Toyota (NYSE: TM) is hurt by earthquake and interruption of supply. Con Ed’s nuclear facilities and their future status pose risks for investors

Rank	Company	Ticker	Score	Change in Rank	Comments
1	Lubrizol	LZ	40.529	+305	Buyout by Buffett. Investors don’t like price
2	Fannie Mae	FNMAS	40.325	-1	Concerns about liquidation
3	Health Net	HNT	37.1	+221	Losses data on two millions people
4	Consol Energy	CNX	35.313	+260	Nuclear business a negative
5	Berkshire Hathaway	BRK.A	35.287	+91	Buffett holders don’t like LZ deal
6	Toyota Motor Corporation	TM	27.008	-4	Earthquake supply threats
7	Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	26.753	-2	FDA clamps down on production
8	Bank of America Corp.	BOA	26.463	+1	Mortgage mess worsens
9	Chevron	CVX	26.404	-5	Latin American lawsuit
10	Rite Aid	RAD	25.57	+30	Trouble with Supreme Court ruling

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

Filed under: General, Research Tagged: BRK-A, CNX, HNT, JNJ, LZ

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ADI, ABX, BRCM, DVA, FTNT, GRS, GM, GG, HNT, HMIN, NEM, POT, SVVS, SPWRA, STP, X, YGE)

Administrator — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:40:40 +0000

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

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Reiterated Buy but raised target to $46 at Gleacher & Co.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) Started as Overweight at HSBC.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Buy at Gleacher & Co.
DaVita, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) Started as Neutral at Baird.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) Started as Buy at Needham.
Gammon Gold, Inc. (NYSE: GRS) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) Started as Hold at S&P Equity research (Details of the late Monday call).
Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) Started as Neutral at HSBC.
Health Net Inc. (NYSE: HNT) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (NASDAQ: HMIN) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) Started as Overweight at HSBC.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Raised target to $155 at TD.
SAVVIS Inc. (NASDAQ: SVVS) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Maintained hold but cut target to $11 at Auriga.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Maintained neutral but cut target to $8.50 at HSBC.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late yesterday call).
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) Maintained underweight and cut target to $8.10 at HSBC.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ABX, ADI, BRCM, DVA, FTNT, GG, GM, GRS, HMIN, HNT, NEM, POT, SPWRA, STP, SVVS, X, YGE

Despite Crash, Many Stocks Rose (ABVT, AOL, CBEY, CKP, CAAS, CI, CNK, CLWR, RDEN, HTRN, HNT, IO, ITMN, KERX, MED, PCS, PACR, PPO, TDC, TIE, ABCO)

Administrator — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:31:23 +0000

Yesterday was a Cluster-something or an outright debacle. The stock market was a sea of red, but outside of inverse-ETF products there were actually many winners. We tried to look for the active gainers and screen out most of the gainers from a merger because of the obvious and we also screened out the gold plays and other fund-related products. Here are the winners of 2% or more from Thursday despite a deadly stock market:

Abovenet Inc. (NASDAQ: ABVT) +5.2%
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) +2.6%
Cbeyond Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY) +3.6%
Checkpoint Systems Inc. (NYSE: CKP) +10.6%
China Automotive Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CAAS) +5%
CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) +2.9%
Cinemark Hldgs Inc. (NYSE: CNK) +4.4%
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) +5.7%
Elizabeth Arden Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEN) +5.7%
Healthtronics Inc. (NASDAQ: HTRN) +32%
Health Net Inc. (NYSE: HNT) +5.8%
Ion Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) +3.7%
Intermune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN)… although it imploded this week.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) +6.8%
Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) +7.8%
MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) +4.1%
Pacer International (NASDAQ: PACR) +10%
Polypore International Inc. (NYSE: PPO) +15%
Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) +3%
Titanium Metals Corp. (NYSE: TIE) +12%
The Advisory Board (NASDAQ: ABCO) +11%

Imagine how well some of these might have done had the market not been a blood-bath.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: HI/LOW, Trading Alert Tagged: ABCO, ABVT, AOL, CAAS, CI, CKP, CLWR, CNK, HNT, HTRN, IO, ITMN, KERX, MED, PACR, PCS, PPO, RDEN, TDC, TIE

CBO Pans Healthcare Plan

247wallst — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:10:53 +0000

Obama’s health care received perhaps its harshest criticism to-date Thursday, after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said it will “significantly” expand public spending in an already unbalanced budget.

The testimony puts serious doubt in the ability that a health care reform bill might be passed ahead of the August recess. In the near-term, that may be seen as a boon for private health insurance providers including Aetna Inc. (AET), Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), United Health Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) and HealthNet Inc. (NYSE: HNT).

Before the Senate Budget Committee, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf said the Democratic-sponsored health care bills making their way through the House and Senate would do nothing to curb skyrocketing health care spending; It would do the opposite, he said, and raise it at the federal level.

In his testimony, Elmendorf offered his own suggestions on the types of meaningful health care budget reform that’s needed. Among his suggestions is to tax employer-provided benefits, saying that it’s a “subsidy” that needs to be ended.

Elmendorf’s comment on taxing benefits may be reason enough for private insurers to catch a bid. It’s certainly not the type of thing that gets Congressional members re-elected.

The testimony is sure to raise additional questions in coming days about how the U.S. can afford health care coverage for all, even among those who think the government can’t afford not to provide it.

Mike Tarsala

Posted in Healthcare Tagged: AET, HNT, HUM, UNH

Health Net’s Major Loss.. Likely Lesson For All Insurers (HNT, HUM, AET, UNH)

247wallst — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:42:11 +0000

Health Net Inc. (NYSE: HNT) is one of today’s worse performers on the heels of losing its Pentagon health insurance contract. The Pentagon picked Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) for its Tricare health program for members of the armed forces, their families, and survivors. They will replace Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) and Health Net Inc. in 2010. There is an interesting take here, and it is one that all large health care insurers serving federal and local governments should pay close attention to now that the Administration is on the attack in the field of health care insurance.

Is it any secret that the Obama administration and Congress have a health care reform proposal coming? No it is not. The question to consider though is “Just how different will it be?”… After that will come the cost consideration for the public, and then how the gap will be paid for.

It now seems certain that the new plan is going to include the insurers and the large health care systems, but the heat is on for companies to cut costs on many fronts. That being said, there has to be a lesson here that the insurance companies may see more of the same.

Large government agencies are probably now better able to demand lower prices in the bidding for major contracts than they have been for at least the last eight years. Large insurance buyers are already able to make bids then go into competition with each other, particularly by giving an incumbent provider a last look on the bids. In the private sector, it is not uncommon for customers to tell their suppliers, “We want you widgets, but a competitor of yours is offering us widgets for 4% less.”

Aetna won the support contract for the north and will provide health care and services and UnitedHealth won the contract for the southern region. There is also an aspect that Aetna and UnitedHealth decided to back a government database plan. While the contract is supposed to be up for appeal, it seems that the government is telling these firms to play by their new rules or face the consequences.

Based on what we have been able to garner from this, this may be more of a blow to HealthNet and then to Humana more than it is a huge win for UnitedHealth and Aetna. Big insurers and providers of health care services have to be paying close attention to this case, because there is always the notion that this could become the norm. If the government wants to drive down the costs of health care but wants to still work through the insurers and the large health care systems, then one of the first steps might be using a ‘Last Look’ lesson in more of a stringent and harder Dutch auction process. The term “shadow pricing” has been used in the industry for years and this would be customer-generated “reverse shadow pricing.” That can save the government up front, but if he profits are entirely killed out of the sector then there is no incentive to stay in that business.

Our take is that is a huge blow to Health Net first and a secondary blow to Humana. It is very possible that other agency contracts could go the opposite direction or if there will be more awards to those deemed to be playing under the new administration’s rules. It is also too soon to know from the outside if today’s losers will be tomorrow’s winners on other contracts as they come up for bid, or if these firms are being targeted or singled out.

No industry can profitably drive costs down to zero. But large customers have been able to drive down supplier costs for years in years in many manufacturing and service operations. This may be the start of a new twist to the health care model. Pitting the competition against each other is not new and not new in health care, but with a new sheriff and a new administration it could become much more bloody than before.

What does that tell you about profit margins? At least the upside notion for today is that at these contracts still include the private health care providers.

Even after the day is half over, Health Net shares are down over 14% at $12.10. Humana is down 6% at $28.75. In support of the ‘race to zero’ thought, Aetna shares are now down 0.5% at $26.20 after having been up 2% earlier. Ditto for UnitedHealth, whose shares are down 1.3% after being up 2% earlier today.

If the race to cut costs does becomes a charade for an ultimate race to zero, it is not too bold of a statement to say that even the winners become losers.

JON C. OGG
JULY 14, 2009

Posted in Medical, Politics Tagged: AET, HNT, HUM, UNH

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (EAC, EQT, HNT, SOV, WFMI, XTO)

247wallst — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:45:01 +0000

These are some of the early upgrades we are seeing on Wall Street this Thursday morning:

Encore Acquisition (EAC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Equitable Resources (EQT) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Health Net (HNT) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Sovereign Bancorp (SOV) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Whole Foods (WFMI) Raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.
XTO Energy (XTO) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
November 6, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: EAC, EQT, HNT, SOV, WFMI, XTO

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AHII, NILE, FOSL, HNT, HSNI, IPCS, LPX, MCHP, PALM, PPCO, RJF, PCU)

247wallst — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:40:28 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades we are seeing this Wednesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

Animal Health (AHII) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Blue Nile (NILE) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Fossil (FOSL) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Health Net (HNT) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
HSN (HSNI) Started as Underweight at JPMorgan.
IPCS (IPCS) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) Cut to Neutral at Banc of America.
Microchip Technology (MCHP) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Palm (PALM) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Penwest Pharmaceuticals (PPCO) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Raymond James Financial (RJF) Cut to Underperform at Wachovia.
Southern Copper (PCU) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

Jon C. Ogg
November 5, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AHII, FOSL, HNT, HSNI, IPCS, LPX, MCHP, NILE, PALM, PCU, PPCO, RJF

The 52-Week Low Club (THC)(HLF)(HNT)(FCSX)

247wallst — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:01:01 +0000

Tenet Healthcare (THC) Misses numbers and forecasts. Down to $2.52 from 52-week high of $6.88.

Herbalife (HLF) Bad outlook equals three-year low. Falls to $17.23 from 52-week high of $51.09.

Health Net (HNT) Nice eight-year low on bad earnings and forecast. The daily double. Sells off to $9.57 from 52-week high of $52.96.

FCStone Group (FCSX) Last quarter hurt by commodities prices. Plunges to $2.90 from 52-week high of $53.25.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: FCSX, HLF, HNT, THC

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ELN, ESLT, LLNW, RDC, SLW, AIG, EAT, ENTR, HNT, INAP, NVS, OEH, PACR, TI )

247wallst — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:39:08 +0000

Upgrades and Positive Calls:

Elan (ELN) Raised to Equal-weight at Lehman.
Elbit Systems (ESLT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Limelight Networks (LLNW) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Rowan Cos. (RDC) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Silver Wheaton (SLW) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.

Downgrades or Cautious Calls:

American International Group (AIG) Started as Sell at Societe Generale.
Brinker (EAT) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Entropic Communications (ENTR) Cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Health Net (HNT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Internap (INAP) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Novartis (NVS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Orient Express (OEH) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Pacer International (PACR) Cut To Underweight at JPMorgan.
Telecom Italia (TI) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
August 6, 2008