24/7 Wall St. » NVO

One Big Disbelief of an Amylin Buyout… Worth Only $12 Per Share? (AMLN, BMY, MRK, AZN, SNY, PFE, NVO)

Administrator — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:15:28 +0000

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is supposed to be acquired by a larger drug company. It is one of the biggest public merger rumors out there. At least that is the belief of Wall Street. Canaccord Genuity is out with a report which may minimize this effort or at least may take out some of the fervent beliefs that this company is all but already sold.

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

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Biotech, Drug companies, Healthcare, Mergers and Buy Outs, Pharmaceuticals, Rumors Tagged: AMLN, AZN, BMY, MRK, NVO, PFE, SNY

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIG, BV, BIIB, BX, CIEN, IBM, MCD, NVO, SNDK, SON, LUV, SBUX, SYY, TLAB, UAL)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:24:39 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Wednesday.

American International Group (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.

Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank..

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) added to Top Pick list at Citigroup.

Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) removed from Conviction Buy List but maintained as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Cut to Outperform at RBC.

Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON) Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Added to Conviction Buy List as Goldman Sachs.

Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) Started as Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIG, BIIB, BV, BX, CIEN, IBM, LUV, MCD, NVO, SBUX, SNDK, SON, SYY, TLAB, UAL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APC, CFN, CBI, COLM, DRYS, ENR, HMC, IDIX, JACK, MGLN, MON, NSM, NVO, SPW, TM, VFC)

Administrator — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:22:38 +0000

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Carefusion Corporation (NYSE: CFN) Cut to Neutral but kept $30 target at BofA/ML.
Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ: COLM) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
DryShips, Inc. (NYSE: DRYS) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Jack In The Box. Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Magellan Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN) Started as Underperform and $50 target at BofA/ML.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; Cut to Neutral at Gleacher.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
SPX Corporation (NYSE: SPW) Started as Outperform with $100 target at Credit Suisse.
Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: APC, CBI, CFN, COLM, DRYS, ENR, HMC, IDIX, JACK, MGLN, MON, NSM, NVO, SPW, TM, VFC

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMD, AVGO, EGO, EFX, HAL, INTC, NVO, PFE, SLB, SPLS)

Administrator — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:11:00 +0000

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

Advance Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Neutral at Macquarie.
Avago Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: AVGO) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE: EGO) Raised to Sector Outperform at CIBC.
Equifax, Inc. (NYSE: EFX) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised to Outperform at Macquarie.
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) Cut to Neutral at BofA-Merrill Lynch.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMD, AVGO, EFX, EGO, HAL, INTC, NVO, PFE, SLB, SPLS

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (A, MT, AUO, CMCSA, COP, K, KFT, LDK, NVO, PLD, RIMM, STX, STRA)

Administrator — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:17:25 +0000

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

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Kellogg Inc. (NYSE: K) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Raised to Buy at Needham.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Strayer Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: A, AUO, CMCSA, COP, K, KFT, LDK, MT, NVO, PLD, RIMM, STRA, STX

Top Day Trader Alerts (AAPL, MRNA, NVO, LLY, AMLN, VMW, CTXS)

247wallst — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:06:21 +0000

These are the top day trader and active trader alert stocks. We have more details and analysis via a link to each story over at VSInvestor.com:

Apple Inc.(NASDAQ: AAPL) is one we are watching the stock around key moving averages on the charts since it did not gap up huge.

MDRNA, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) was up 20% on a Chinese patent for cancer.

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) is up after the FDA approved Victoza for Type-2 diabetes, but this also has gins for Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) up with it.

VMWare, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is up over 15% this morning after posting solid earnings and raising Q1 and 2010 guidance. Interestingly enough, this has Citrix Systems, inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) higher and it saw very unusual options trading based upon this news expectation.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, AMLN, CTXS, LLY, MRNA, NVO, VMW

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMD, CMA, EGO, INTC, NVO, OMX, POT, PAYX, RTP, SAP, SPLS)

247wallst — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:48:55 +0000

These are Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Comerica (NYSE: CMA) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) Raised Target to $19.25 from $17.25 at Raymond James.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity; Reiterated Buy and $29 Target at Broadpoint AmTech; Target Raised to $30 from $27 at Credit Suisse.
Novo Nordisk AS (NYSE: NVO) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) Raised to Outperform at JPMorgan.
Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT) Raised Target to $150 from $125 at RBC Capital.
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) Cut to Sell at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP) Cut To Hold at Citigroup.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) Raised to Outperform at JPMorgan.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls, Trading Alert Tagged: AMD, CMA, EGO, INTC, NVO, OMX, PAYX, POT, RTP, SAP, SPLS

Defensive Stocks Offering No Haven (WMT, PEP, KO, TAP, KFT, CAG, CPB, HRL, MCD, MO, VGR, RAI, PG, CL, MRK, JNJ, NVO)

247wallst — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:31:49 +0000

Wasn’t it just last week that we were up eight days in a row on the DJIA? And now we have a sell-the-news reaction to the recent growth numbers. Maybe it is because we ran too far too fast and because we started pricing in robust growth rather than muted growth. But generally when equities have stayed hot and then start to sell off in profit taking or in case things got too heated, you at least see a migration into some of the defensive stocks. That is not the case. In our normal 16 Defensive Go-To Stocks, only ONE was up. If you throw in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) as the ultimate defensive stock like we usually do, then you have only TWO of 17 trading up on the day….

PEPSICO INC (NYSE: PEP) $56.1805.. Down $0.4895; -0.86%
COCA COLA CO (NYSE: KO) $48.58.. Down $0.19; -0.39%
MOLSON COORS CO. (NYSE: TAP) $47.01.. Down $0.37; -0.78%
KRAFT FOODS INC. (NYSE: KFT) $28.08.. Down $0.27; -0.95%
CONAGRA FOOD INC. (NYSE: CAG) $20.13.. Down $0.40; -1.95%
CAMPBELL SOUP CO. (NYSE: CPB) $30.86.. Down $0.50; -1.59%
HORMEL FOODS CORP. (NYSE: HRL) $37.00.. Up 0.05; +0.14%
MCDONALDS CORP. (NYSE: MCD) $55.72.. Down $0.51; -0.92%
ALTRIA GROUP INC. (NYSE: MO) $18.13.. Down $0.16; -0.83%
VECTOR GROUP LTD. (NYSE: VGR) $15.71.. Down $0.07; -0.44%
REYNOLDS AMERICAN (NYSE: RAI) $45.17.. Down $0.54; -1.18%
PROCTER GAMBLE CO. (NYSE: PG) $53.05.. Down $1.06; -1.96%
COLGATE PALMOLIVE (NYSE: CL) $71.82.. Down $0.89; -1.21%
MERCK CO INC. (NYSE: MRK) $31.79.. Down $0.64; -1.97%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON (NYSE: JNJ) $59.88.. Down $0.56; -0.92%
NOVO NORDISK (NYSE: NVO) $60.024.. Down $0.986; -1.62%

Oddly enough, Wal-Mart is the ONLY one of the DJIA 30 components trading higher this afternoon.

JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

Posted in Defensive Stocks, Trading Alert Tagged: CAG, CL, CPB, HRL, JNJ, KFT, KO, MCD, MO, MRK, NVO, PEP, PG, RAI, TAP, VGR, WMT

Is The New Nordic ETF For You? (GXF, ERIC, NOK, NHY, NVO, STO)

247wallst — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:58:56 +0000

NYSE Euronext has begun trading a new ETF this week that is meant to track the large companies throughout the Nordic region. This seeks to track the FTSE Nordic 30 Index, which is comprised of the 30 largest and most liquid companies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. The ETF launched is called the Global X FTSE Nordic 30 ETF (NYSE: GXF) and it is sponsored by Global X Funds.

You might even think of this as the Nordic-Dow. Some of the key ADR stocks in the index that you will easily recognize are LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHY), Novo-Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), and StatoilHydro ASA (NYSE: STO).

Here is a full list of the 30 constituents.

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 20, 2009

Posted in ADR, ETF Tagged: ERIC, GXF, NHY, NOK, NVO, STO

The War On Diabetes Heats Up (NVO, AMLN, LLY, MNKD, PFE, VVUS, BMY, AZN, ARNA, GERN, STEM, OREX, GNBT, SPEX, ORMP, HDIX, PODD)

247wallst — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:56:19 +0000

Diabetes is becoming an epidemic in the U.S. and the Western World. The ties to obesity are often direct, so the potential treatments are often directly tied as well. We did a recent dig down for the next $170 billion opportunity for eight different major diseases and conditions, and now we have conducted a much deeper dig down specifically in the field of diabetes over at BioHealthInvestor.com. We have recent and upcoming FDA action and data being presented from Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD), Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Alkermes Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN). There is a mini-race going on between some of the later stage studies from obesity and diabetes candidates from Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA), VIVUS, inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS), Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN). Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) and StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) were noted as two of the stem cell hopes, although stem cells may later rather than sooner.

Generex Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ: GNBT), Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ: SPEX) and Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCBB: ORMP) were all noted in the much smaller or emerging plays. Home Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HDIX) and Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ: PODD) have both recently had key events as the interest in test equipment companies continues to remain high.

FULL STORY with much more detail at BioHealthInvestor.com.

Posted in Biotech, Drug companies, FDA, Healthcare, Medical Tagged: AMLN, ARNA, AZN, BMY, GERN, GNBT, HDIX, LLY, MNKD, NVO, OREX, ORMP, PFE, PODD, SPEX, STEM, VVUS