24/7 Wall St. » THC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AA, CBI, ADSK, CVC, TWC, DG, HITK, CHKR, BTH, PBY, UEC, SFSF, ATHX, TLEO, THC, RECV)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:11:21 +0000

The equity markets opened strong this morning, with the Dow trading in narrow band around 140 points up all morning until about 1:30 in the afternoon. Hopeful economic news from Europe started things going in the morning, and even somewhat weak reports on non-manufacturing supply and factory orders didn’t deter traders. The sharp drop in the afternoon came after S&P warned Germany and other AAA-rated Eurozone countries that may lose their rating as a result of the turmoil in the economic and political climate. That warning also sent the dollar to a slight gain against the euro and the British pound. WTI crude is trading down about -0.2% in the late afternoon at $100.75/barrel, after rising to a gain of more than 1% earlier in the day. Gold is also down about -1.3%, at $1,724.00/ounce, it’s lowest level of the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 78points to 12,097.83 (0.65%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 29 points (1.10%) to 2,655.76, and the S&P 500 rose 1.03% or nearly 13 points to 1,257.08.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) cut to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’at Goldman Sachs. Other ratings action include Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (NYSE: CBI) removed from ‘Conviction Buy List’ at Goldman Sachs, but maintained at ‘buy’; Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) cut to from ‘outperform’ to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) raised to ‘outperform’ from ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo. We include Cablevision and Time Warner in our story today about tomorrow’s release of new software for the Xbox from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is up more than 1.6% at $40.59, after posting a new 52-week high earlier today of $41.25; and Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: HITK) is down more than -9% at $38.75, after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $44.58. Earnings releases have slowed significantly this month, but there are some noteworthy reports coming after markets close today: Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE: CHKR), Blyth, Inc. (NYSE: BTH), Pep Boys-Manny, Joe, and Jack (NYSE: PBY), and Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC).

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

SuccessFactors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFSF) is up more than 51%, at $39.71. The cloud-based software maker is being acquired by SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) for about $3.4 billion ($40/share). We have more coverage on this story here.

Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX) is up more than 27%, at $2.11. The stem-cell research firm, which uses adult cells not embryonic cells, is apparently back in favor after falling to a 52-week low of $1.00 just over two weeks ago.

Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO) is up more than 21%, at $39.99, after posting a new 52-week high of $41.23. Another cloud-based solution supplier, Taleo is one of a number of cloud developer stocks jumping today on the halo effect from SAP’s acquisition of SuccessFactors.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is up more than 11%, at $4.66. The health care facilities operator fell more than -10% on Friday, when investors over-reacted to some downgrades in the entire sector; today’s gains are just a reaction to last week’s over-reaction.

Recovery Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: RECV) is up more than 22%, at $5.34. This small oil & gas E&P holds 137,000 net acres in the Denver-Julesberg basin in northwestern Colorado, and began trading on the Nasdaq just about one month ago.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. We have noted Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on the Dodd-Frank bill. Here are other noteworthy events scheduled for Tuesday (all times Eastern):

7:45 a.m. – International Council of Shopping Centers/Goldman Sachs weekly sales report
8:55 a.m. – International Council of Shopping Centers Redbook

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AA, ADSK, ATHX, BTH, CBI, CHKR, CVC, DG, HITK, PBY, RECV, SFSF, THC, TLEO, TWC, UEC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AA, AMGN, ADSK, CVC, CBI, LFC, INCY, LNKD, THC, TWC, TIVO)

Administrator — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:29:18 +0000

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

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Amgen Corporation (NASDAQ: AMGN) named as value stock of the day by Zacks.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Cut to Sell from Neutral with new $32 target at Goldman Sachs.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) downgraded to Market Perform from outperform at Wells Fargo.
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) maintained as Buy but removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) maintained Underperform with $35.00 price target and named as Bear of the Day by Zacks.
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Raised to Equal-Weight at Evercore; Reiterated “Hold” on growth versus valuation and overhang concerns by Argus.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) Raised to Outperform with $5.50 target by Zacks and named as the key Bull of the Day.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) Raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Started as Buy with $13 price target at UBS.

Here is a summary of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades from this weekend in a summary format for last week’s top (and a few lousy) Wall Street research calls.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, ADSK, AMGN, CBI, CVC, INCY, LFC, LNKD, THC, TIVO, TWC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (LULU, CLF, DPZ, WNR, SINA, GES, BIG, ZUMZ, RY, BNS, YRCWD, WDC, RIMM, THC, JASO)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:12:02 +0000

Stocks got off to a good start this morning following the Labor Department’s report on non-farm payrolls, up slightly less than expected at 120,000 new jobs, and an unexpected drop in US unemployment from 9% to 8.6%. Also supporting prices this morning was news that the European Central Bank would lend 100-200 million euros to the IMF to hand out to debtor nations in the Eurozone. Gains peaked in the early morning and have remained up only modestly since about noon. The dollar strengthened against both the euro and the yen, keeping gains for both crude oil and gold at under 1%. Crude oil is trading at $100.83/barrel and gold is trading at $1,747.10/ounce just before today’s close.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down less than 1 point to 12,019.42 (-0.01%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.03%) to 2,626.93, and the S&P 500 fell 0.02% or less than 1 point to 1,244.28. Folks, that’s flat!

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) raised to ‘buy’ at KeyBanc. Other ratings action Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) started as ‘hold’ at KeyBanc; Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; and Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading:
Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is down -8.6%% at $36.34; Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is up 23.9% at $28.95; Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is up 3.4% at $47.82; and Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS) is down -3.1% at $48.08.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCWD) is up 29.7% at $12.61. The freight hauler concluded a 1-for-300 reverse split that drove the share price to $9 from $0.03.

Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) is up about 7% at $31.30. The computer disk drive maker announced that it was resuming operations at one of its flooded Thai plants and raised its revenue estimate for the current quarter. More details here.

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down about -9.6% at $16.79. The smartphone and tablet maker announced an inventory writedown of $485 million for unsold PlayBook tablets and said that full-year earnings would be lower. Detailed coverage here.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is down more than -10% at $4.20. The health care facilities operator likely is suffering from a lowered target price from BMO Capital Markets with rating of ‘market perform’.

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is down nearly -7% at $1.74. The solar PV maker is likely giving back gains made over the past two days. The was little reason for the gain in the first place, so that investors are taking it back should be no surprise.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted a speech due from Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans and short-term Treasury bill auctions in the morning. Here are other noteworthy events scheduled for Monday (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Census Bureau factory orders report
10:00 a.m. – Industrial Supply Management non-manufacturing index

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: BIG, BNS, CLF, DPZ, GES, JASO, LULU, RIMM, RY, SINA, THC, WDC, WNR, YRCWD, ZUMZ

John Paulson’s Big Stock Changes (BAC, C, AEM, AU, COF, GFI, GRFS, JPM, LIFE, NYX, RAH, THC, WFC, GLD, NWSA)

Administrator — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:08:54 +0000

No money was injured while filming

Billionaire and hedge fund manager John Paulson of Paulson & Co. and of Paulson Management is a widely followed equity hedge fund manager for whale watchers. He has made billions of dollars, but 2011 is proving to be a very tough year. We have tracked some of the more obvious portfolio changes in the Paulson 13F filing from this evening (as of June 30):

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) has been trimmed to about 60.4 million shares, down from about 123.6 million from March 31, 2011. It is likely that Paulson has trimmed even more as the price tanked, unless he bought more last week during the panic. Keep in mind that there are some additional warrants for 29 million shares expiring in 2019 and some 9.68 million warrants expiring in 2019. Both warrant positions are smaller than the May 16 filing as well for the March 31 cut-off date.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was also cut to 33,505,002 shares and there are warrants for another 225,000 shares. The split adjusted shares on March 31 were 41.2 million shares.

A partial list of the standout changes we saw are as follows…

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM) is a new small position listed as 700,0000 shares as of June 30 that was worth some $44.2 million at the time.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) is a lower ADR stake as the June 30 position was listed as 39,935,382 versus what was listed 41,046,974 on March 31.

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is one that Paulson actually grew to 21,100,000 as of June 30 versus 18,000,000 as of March 31.

Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) was down slightly listed as 24,700,000 shares on June 30 versus 26,050,000 on March 31.

Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ: GRFS) is a new position for Paulson and the ADR’s worth was $107.1 million for the 14,266,995 shares as of June 30.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was cut to 47 million shares as of June 30 versus 50 million shares as of March 31.

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) was listed as a new position of 7,520,000 shares as of June 30. That stock has been pounded since June 30 when shares were above $50.00 versus $38.84 today.

NYSE Euronext Group Inc. (NYSE: NYX) was a new position of 3,000,000 shares as of June 30, implying he is ready to profit from the buyout (merger).

Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH) is a much higher position as Paulson must think the buyout merits are there… This was listed as 3,692,000 shares at June 30 versus only 400,000 back on March 31. Nice gains have been made since.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is one where Paulson must think a buyout will ultimately come because he has added Tenet as a pick whereas it was not on there before. The new position was listed as 20,000,000 shares.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was listed as being 33,600,000 shares as of June 30, but this is a gain compared to the 20,500,000 shares as of March 31.

The big surprise is that the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) was kept static at 31,500,000 shares worth some $4.59 billion as of June 30. What is interesting is that if he has stuck by the position he is up more.

Trouble is apparently no obstacle, if Paulson stuck with this position. News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) was listed as a new position with some 10.4 million common shares.

If you want to see the change in the total value of Paulson’s holdings, it is being confirmed that his value fell. It was listed as $29.05 billion in total for the funds under the filing as of June 30, 2011. The figure total was $34.27 billion on March 31.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Activist Investor, Mutual Funds Tagged: AEM, AU, BAC, C, COF, GFI, GLD, GRFS, JPM, LIFE, NWSA, NYX, RAH, THC, WFC

What Did HCA Know and When Did It Know It? (HCA, THC, HMA, UHS, LPNT, CYH)

247wallst — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:36:37 +0000

When HCA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HCA) came public again in March, the shares priced at $30, and the company raised about $3.79 billion, and set a record for a private-equity backed IPO. HCA did have a few problems, though, and given events of the past day or so, it’s reasonable to ask if some of the warnings about the company shouldn’t have gotten a little more respect.

Yesterday HCA posted second-quarter EPS of $0.43, down -35% from the same period a year ago, and badly missing forecast earnings of $0.59. Revenue rose, but still missed estimates. The report weighed down other stocks in the health care sector, included Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC), Health Management Associates Inc. (NYSE: HMA), Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS), LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT), and Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH).

The HCA IPO came after it was quite clear that the brunt of the health care reforms passed into law last year would fall on insurers, not providers. But the fee-for-service system, on which hospital profits are based, are going to be revamped as well over the next several years. Because HCA employs relatively few physicians, it will have to begin hiring doctors in order to take advantage of some of the reform act’s new payment structure.

The company’s structural inadequacies were known and even referred to in the IPO prospectus. Perhaps they were not sufficiently considered by investors, but that’s a long term story.

HCA’s earnings report does note a drop in the complex surgeries that the company has relied on to boost revenues and profits. Instead, hospitals treated less severe cases that are not as costly.

The company also lowered its forecast for growth-adjusted earnings to a range of 3% to 5%, down from a prior estimate of mid-single-digit growth.

HCA should have been able to forecast that its business was going to undergo some change as a result of the health care reforms enacted last year. If insurers are going to pay less, then patients are going to forgo anything except critically needed treatment. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

HCA, and its underwriters, could have been more explicit in describing the risk related to HCA’s business. Here’s what the prospectus claims:

“During periods of high unemployment, governmental entities often experience budget deficits as a result of increased costs and lower than expected tax collections. These budget deficits at federal, state and local government entities have decreased, and may continue to decrease, spending for health and human service programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and similar programs, which represent significant payer sources for our hospitals. Other risks we face during periods of high unemployment include potential declines in the population covered under managed care agreements, patient decisions to postpone or cancel elective and non-emergency health care procedures, potential increases in the uninsured and underinsured populations and further difficulties in our collecting patient co-payment and deductible receivables.”

That description is so generic that it resembles placebo. Inpatient and outpatient surgeries have been declining slowly since 2006 and reached their lowest point in 2010.

Another weight on HCA is the end of its lock-up period in September, when 383 million more shares of stock will be eligible for re-sale. The company issued around 124 million shares at its March IPO.

Health Management Associates reports earnings tomorrow, and if it has the same issue with surgeries that hit HCA, the whole hospital sector is in for another beating. If HMA avoids the issue, then HCA may fall even further on its own.

HCA shares posted a new post-IPO low of $26.96 in early trading today, but the shares have come back to around $27.89 at mid-day. The post-IPO high is $35.37.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: CYH, HCA, HMA, LPNT, THC, UHS

Week’s Biggest Winners, JC Penny And Nine Others

247wallst — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:48:14 +0000

Shares in JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) rose 14.5% for the week as the faltering retailer appointed Ron Johnson, who has run Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) retail stores as its next CEO. The market should be troubled by the role that long-time chief Myron Ullman will play as executive chairman. The description of his duties is vague enough to beg the question of who is in charge.

Shares of Lorillard (NYSE: LO) moved higher by 10% because it appears that regulations of menthol cigarettes will not tighten. Shares of VF Corp (NYSE: VFC) also rose 10% as it bought retailer Timberland for $2 billion.

Douglas A. McIntyre

S&P 500 WEEK TOP 10 (10 JUN – 16 JUN)	Ticker	Weekly Price Change (%)	Close Price 16Jun11	Close Price 10Jun11	Market Cap ($Mil)
J. C. Penney Company Inc.	JCP	14.5	34.27	29.92	7405.7
Lorillard Inc	LO	10.0	109.85	99.85	15786.0
V.F. Corp	VFC	10.0	100.96	91.80	11044.8
CarMax Inc	KMX	7.2	28.76	26.84	6495.5
Tyson Foods Inc.	TSN	5.6	18.08	17.12	5595.6
Best Buy Co. Inc.	BBY	5.6	30.01	28.43	11665.4
Tenet Healthcare Corp	THC	5.4	6.23	5.91	3049.9
Fastenal Co	FAST	4.8	32.46	30.97	9571.2
HCP Inc	HCP	4.7	36.69	35.03	14897.1
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp	COG	4.5	60.43	57.83	6312.9
Source: Capital IQ

Filed under: Research Tagged: BBY, FAST, GOG, HCP, JCP, KMX, LO, THC, TSN, VFC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARCO, CPB, CRZO, CIM, CYH, EWBC, ENER, FGP, HPQ, HUM, KBR, MOS, MYL, PAAS, CRM, THC, ZIP)

Administrator — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:35:49 +0000

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

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ARCO) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; started as Buy at Citi; Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Community Health Systems. Inc. (NYSE: CYH) Reinstated as Outperform with $35 target at Credit Suisse.
East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: EWBC) Cut to Neutral with $21 target at Credit Suisse.
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) Cut estimates and target to $1.50 at Credit Suisse.
Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
KBR INc. (NYSE: KBR) Added to Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Reinstated as Outperform with $85 target at Credit Suisse.
Mylan Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) Raised to Buy with $29 target at Argus.
Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) Reinstated as Outperform with $7.50 target at Credit Suisse; Started as Neutral at BofA/ML.
Zipcar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIP) Started as Outperform with $30 target at Oppenheimer; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

You are invited to 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: ARCO, CIM, CPB, CRM, CRZO, CYH, ENER, EWBC, FGP, HPQ, HUM, KBR, MOS, MYL, PAAS, THC, ZIP

Key Stocks To Watch This Coming Week, The Unusual Suspects (AIG, ACOM, BAC, BRK-A, BRK-B, BMTI, C, CROX, GPRE, SLV, LULU, NBG, PG, RAH, CAG, SNE, THC, CYH, X)

Administrator — Sun, 08 May 2011 15:42:28 +0000

We have a very busy week ahead for equity investors, even outside of earnings season. This coming week’s key events, what we call The Unusual Suspects, is non-earnings related and includes the following: American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG); Ancestry.com Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOM); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B); BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI); Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C); CROCS Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX); Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE); iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG); Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH); ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG); Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE); Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC); Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH); and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X).

We have given much more detail on these individually and we have outlined specifics on each. In some cases, we have even included what the expected impact could be to the shares if it is a price-changing event.

We created a separate detailed earnings calendar with full previews already and that can be accessed. We also have to watch for key inflation data this week as outlined in our economic summary for the key issues to watch this week from government scores on economic data. Also, here is a list of the Top 7 Analyst Calls of Last Week with big predictions or controversial calls.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was highlighted in Barron’s as a “Moment of Truth” due to the current share sale that has run into issues. The Treasury wants closer to current prices, but investment bankers think more of a discount has to be offered due to the dilution. Consider this the second week of a five or six-week ordeal.

Ancestry.com Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOM) is expected to have its secondary price this week, perhaps Tuesday) for 3.75 million shares. At $40.95 on Friday, this one has a 52-week range of $15.23 to $45.79. Keep in mind that this is from selling holders rather than from the company, but the company did commit to buying $25 million of its stock directly from the holders as part of its $125 million share buyback plan.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) may offer more light on its dividend and on its mortgage putback fears as its annual meeting is Wednesday. Shares have not been holding up well, particularly when you consider that Bank of America is now well under its book value.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) turned in its official earnings for the first quarter on Friday and the $966 EPS per A-Share was under a $1,149 per share consensus from Bloomberg. This was in the news, but we already knew that the net income was going to be stunted due to losses from natural disasters in its insurance operations. The data had mostly been released the weekend before at the Annual Shareholder Meeting.

BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI) is rather small at $371 million in market cap and it is by and large at the pre-revenue stage. It is also thinly covered by analysts. This coming Thursday will begin a FDA Advisory Panel meeting with a consideration for the company’s new bone graft product.

Filed under: ADR, Banking, Calendar, Economy, Editor's Picks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Shareholder Issues, Stock Splits, The Week, Trading Alert Tagged: ACOM, AIG, BAC, BMTI, BRK-A, BRK-B, C, CAG, CROX, CYH, GPRE, LULU, NBG, PG, RAH, SLV, SNE, THC, X

M&A Watch: The Good & Bad Of Tenet Getting Higher Buyout Price (THC, CYH)

Administrator — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:33:36 +0000

Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) has good news and bad news this morning. Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) has done what many expected by raising its buyout offer for Tenet. The company raised its offer to $7.25 per share from $6.00 in an all-cash offer.

Where the deal gets a bit convoluted is that this offer is “the best and final offer based on information currently available.”

Community Health also said that it if Tenet does not begin good-faith discussions for a merger by 6:00 PM EST on May 9, 2011, then this new offer will expire and the company will also withdraw its proposed nominees it wanted elected to Tenet’s Board of Directors.

This is now called a 69% premium to the unaffected stock price when Community Health made its offer public. What is interesting is that Tenet holders and M&A speculators had always treated this as though a higher price was coming. The current belief is that Tenet will reject this offer as well.

Tenet shares closed at $6.93 on Friday against a 52-week range of $3.92 to $7.70. The pre-market trading indication have Tenet shares down over 7% at $6.42 on more than 4 million shares. Community Health shares closed at $30.73 on Friday and we have yet to see any real moves in the shares.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Healthcare, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: CYH, THC

The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: April 20 Companies With The Worst News

247wallst — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:10:06 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) took a big hit in the news as shareholders sued over Sokol trades in Lubrizol. American Electric Power and NRG both pulled bad press over nuclear power facilities. Harley Davidson was hammered by the press because of bad earnings

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	Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	56.24	0	Good earnings
2	Berkshire Hathaway	BRK.A	36.304	+634	Shareholders sue over Sokol Lubrizol trades
3	Bank of America Corp.	BOA	31.831	0	Modest earnings
4	Citigroup	C	31.405	0	Poor earnings
5	Community Health Systems	CYH	29.549	+1	Legal fight over Tenet takeover continues
6	Transocean Ltd	RIG	27.116	+68	Still embroiled in Deepwater disaster
7	Texas Instruments	TXN	24.581	+18	Mediocre earnings
8	Goldman Sachs Group	GS	23.021	+73	Better than expected earnings as firm shrinks
9	Tenet Healthcare	THC	22.835	+3	Fight with CYH continues
10	American Electric Power	AEP	22.801	+83	Plagued by nuclear power worries
2	Berkshire Hathaway	BRK.A	36.304	+634	Sokol insider trading problems
10	American Electric Power	AEP	22.801	+83	Nuclear power fears
14	NRG Energy	NRG	21.88	+693	Kills two planned nuclear power facilities
18	Harley-Davidson	HOG	20.595	+636	Earnings miss Wall St. estimates
23	Bank of New York Mellon Corp.	BK	19.647	+496	Extremely poor earnings news

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

Filed under: General, Research Tagged: AEP, BOA, BRK-A, C, CYH, GS, JNJ, NRG, RIG, THC, TXN