Posts for Ticker ‘WCG’

Top Day Trader Alerts (ELRN, EXEL, LIFE, THQI, KG, BPSG, WCG, VPHM)

The following are some of the 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:

Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: ELRN) is among the top Nasdsaq gainers on strong volume, after one of its key product received a formal FDA clearance.

Exelixis Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) is rallying in the premarket on no news, perhaps hops of a deal coming its way.

Life Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: LIFE) is rising in the premarket following a large EPS beat.

THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) is down in active trade following weak revenue guidance.

King Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: KG) is lower in active premarket trading after the FDA is requiring more study of its Corvue candidate.

Broadpoint Gleacher Securities Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPSG) shares are trading lower following a stock offering.

Wellcare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE: WCG) is seeing a large percentage move higher following earnings.

ViroPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: VHPH) shares are up following an earnings beat.

ARM Holdings plc (Nasdaq: ARMH) shares are trading lower on active volume on a revenue shortfall.

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team

Posted on: July 29, 2009 – 9:09 am in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club (C)(CROX)(MSFT)(INTC)(WCG)(GE)

Sad_clownGE (GE) Concerns about dividend and financial services arm. Drops to $14.58 from 52-week high of $39.95.

Citigroup (C) Huge consumer lending portfolio becomes more of a time bomb. Drops to $8.27 from 52-week high of $37.50.

Crocs (CROX) Tremendously bad earnings. Falls to $.79 from 52-week high of $46.80.

Microsoft (MSFT) Signs of tech slowdown are everywhere. Drops to $18.74 from 52-week high of $36.72.

Intel (INTC) Cuts profit forecast. Sells off to $12.87 from 52-week high of $27.99.

Wellcare Health (WCG) Higher than expected medical costs. Down from $6.12 from 52-week high of $58.73.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: November 13, 2008 – 4:00 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AAUK, ACI, BBT, CETV, FCL, JKHY, MEE, WCG)

These are some of the top upgrades or positive calls we are seeing from analysts this Thursday morning:

  • Anglo American (AAUK) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P (late Weds. call).
  • Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • BB&T Corp. (BBT) Raised to Buy at S&P.
  • Central European Media (CETV) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Foundation Coal (FCL) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Jack Henry (JKHY) Cut to Hold at Needham; Cut to Neutral at D.A. Davidson.
  • Massee Energy (MEE) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • WellCare Group (WCG) Started as Buy at B of A.

Jon C. Ogg
August 21, 2008

Posted on: August 21, 2008 – 6:36 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

NYSE Delisting Candidates, Headed To The Pink Sheets?

With the sudden delisting of the Journal Register, it is interesting to look at who else is on the NYSE list of companies who could get delisted. The NYSE is generally very good about this and lets the companies have time to get into compliance. Below are the lists. They are grouped based on why the NYSE has problems with them.

Issuers that are noncompliant with its quantitative and corporate governance listing standards:

Fremont General Corporation (FMT)

Fremont General Financing I (FMTPR)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMH)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRB)

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRC)

Journal Register Co. (JRC)

Luminent Mortgage Capital, Inc. (LUM)

Medifast, Inc. (MED)

Milacron Inc. (MZ)

NIS GROUP CO., LTD. (NIS)

Scottish Re Group Limited (SCT)

Scottish Re Group Limited (SCTPRB)

Sun-Times Media Group, Inc. (SVN)

Zarlink Semiconductor, Inc. (ZL)

Companies as delayed in filing both Annual and Interim Reports:

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (BZH)
Diebold, Incorporated (DBD)
International Rectifier Corporation (IRF)
Penn Treat American Corporation. (PTA)

Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (SRZ)
Symmetry Medical Inc. (SMA)
VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (PAY)
W Holding Company, Inc. (WHI)
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WCG)

Companies as delayed in filing an Annual Report:

China Yuchai International Limited (CYD)
Fremont General Corporation. (FMT)
Fremont General Financing I (FMTPR)
Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMH)
    Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRB)
    Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (IMHPRC)
Mesa Royalty Trust (MTR)
Schawk, Inc. (SGK)

Some firms make it on to more than one list, and some, like JRC and FMT, have already left for the "pink sheets"

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: April 17, 2008 – 9:10 am in Exchange News, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pre-Market Analyst Calls (November 5, 2007)

ACA cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
ACW raised to Neutral at UBS.
AMSC started as Buy at Jefferies.
ATPG cut to Underperform at RBC.
BSC cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
BSY cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
CNP raised to Buy at Jefferies.
CPT cut to Neutral at B of A.
DRE cut to Neutral at UBS.
FSLR started as Sector Perform at CIBC.
GLF raised to Buy at Jefferies.
GNA raised to Outperform at CIBC.
HD cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
LLY cut to Underweight at HSBC.
LOW cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
MER cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
NLC raised to Neutral at UBS.
PDGI raised to BUy at Jefferies.
PVTB raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
TUES raised to Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
WCG raised to Buy at Jefferies.
WST raised to Buy at UBS.

Jon C. Ogg
November 5, 2007

Posted on: November 5, 2007 – 7:46 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WellCare Class Action Suits & More State Actions Leading Company To The Grave (WCG)

WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG) is falling under class action pressure and more investigations.  Unfortunately the company has yet to admit to or to convince Wall Street that it has a full grasp of the situation and the verdict is still out on whether the company has the wherewithal to get out of the grave.  In its most recent filing it said it will defend itself against class action suits, although based on how this has gone and based on the shareholder implosions it is a safe assumption that any investor trying to use the company’s balance sheet for guidance is relying on fictional analysis.

On October 26, 2007, a putative class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida against the Company, Todd Farha, the Company’s chairman and chief executive officer ,and Paul Behrens, the Company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, entitled Eastwood Enterprises, L.LC. v. Farha, et al. The complaint alleges that the defendants materially misstated the Company’s reported financial condition by, among other things, purportedly overstating revenue and understating expenses in amounts unspecified in the pleading in violation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The complaint seeks, among other things, certification as a class action and damages. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself against this claim.

On October 29, 2007, a putative shareholder derivative action supposedly brought on behalf of the Company was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida entitled Rosky v. Farha, et al. The action is asserted against all Company directors except for D. Robert Graham and also names the Company as a nominal defendant. The action primarily contends that the defendants allegedly allowed or caused the Company to misrepresent, in a manner unspecified in the pleading, its reported financial condition and asserts claims seeking damages and equitable relief for, among other things, the defendants’ supposed breach of fiduciary duty, waste and unjust enrichment. The Company intends to contest, among other things, the standing of the plaintiff to prosecute the purported claims in the Company’s name.

OCT. 30: Dreier LLP announced that a class action lawsuit was commenced in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of investors who purchased the common stock of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. during the period from May 8, 2006 through October 24, 2007.

OCT. 29: Law Offices of Brian M. Felgoise, P.C. announced that a securities class action has been commenced on behalf of shareholders who acquired WellCare Health Plans, Inc. securities between May 8, 2006 and October 24, 2007, inclusive.

Yesterday, Reuters was reporting that New York state regulators were also probing the company.  It’s a safe bet that every state WellCare operates in is already looking into the company.  That’s how this works because if there is money "to be taken back" then they all have to act fast.

WellCare shares closed down huge at $22.04 yesterday.  Earlier this week 24/7 Wall St. noted that an analyst call from Jefferies was either genius or just crazy, and it appears that the analyst there was crazy.

The manner that this company has handled the raids by confirming problems but not fully disclosing what the problems are will be a classic "F" grade for any business school case studies.  These guys really dropped the ball, and personal liability (civil and perhaps criminal) is a serious notion at this point.  Shares have lost roughly 80% of their value since the raids.

Jon C. Ogg
October 31, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he produces the Special Situation Investing Newsletter and does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: October 31, 2007 – 6:32 am in HI/LOW, Healthcare, Law,

The 52-Week Low Club

Wellcare Health Plans (WCG) Regulators keep asking for more info and class action suits are beginning. Shares fall to $21.41 from 52-week high of $128.42.

Qwest Communications (Q) Big telecom company turns in ugly forecast. Shares fall to $6.94 from 52-week high of $10.45.

Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) Still dogged by high costs and low margins on generic drugs. Falls to $3.80 from 52-week high of $6.74.

American Medical Systems (AMMD) Lowers outlook for the year and is hit with downgrade. Drops to $11.89 from 52-week high of $33.18.

Openwave Systems (OPWV) Still slipping after last week’s earnings. Drops to $3.86 from 52-week high of $10.58.

Divx Inc (DIVX) Deal the company has with Google (GOOG) gets unpleasant amendment. Share move down to $12.24 from 52-week high of $31.89.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 30, 2007 – 3:50 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , ,

WellCare Analyst Hopes….. Either Genius Or Just Crazy (WCG)

Shares of WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG) are up marginally in pre-market trading Monday.

Jefferies & Co. issued a report that, despite the FBI raids, the company probably won’t lose its Medicare contracts even though there will likely be a hit to that business  Since the company is only addressing these as "we are working with the agencies," instead of "We are under investigation because of X, Y, & Z, and we are doing X, Y, & Z."  We still don’t know the full scope of the raids, and there are many opinions out there as to what the full scope was.

It is also unclear if regulators in other states will join the pounce on WellCare.  It would seem a good bet that other state or other local agencies will also join in the investigations when the full scope comes out.  Shares lost over $80.00 in value last week and closed down at $31.36 Friday.  This morning shares are up by less than 1%.  Until more data is known, this is like catching a falling knife with a blindfold on.

Jon C. Ogg
October 29, 2007

Posted on: October 29, 2007 – 8:20 am in Analyst Calls, Healthcare,

The Week’s Best & Worst Analyst Calls (WCG, MSFT, NILE, BRCM)

Wall Street analysts get great kudos sometimes, and other times they get the leper treatment.  There were many movers this week, and some of these research notes are actually carryovers from the week before.

The best two calls this week belong to Goldman Sachs, and even though more analysts and traders focus on Microsoft the best call went to WellCare.

WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG) was an implosion this week we noted as having been on the Americas Sell List at Goldman Sachs since mid-February.  The FBI raid’s entire extent this week is still not fully known, but Goldman Sachs upgraded the shares today, or sort of.  The full note summary is here, but this was the biggest winner this week with a huge research driven profit for investors that followed the Goldman Sachs call. Kudos!

On Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), 24/7 Wall St. noted last week "with the conspiracy theory hat on" that Goldman must have glimmered the best data out there by taking the risk of upgrading Mister Softie (or Master Chief) to the "Americas Conviction Buy List" right before the Intel earnings were coming out.  We noted that this was very gutsy and it looks Sarah Friar has proved she can be every bit of or more what Rick Sherlund was there.  Kudos!

There were some calls that haven’t done so well, too.  Maybe there is some corporate trickery out of companies or the companies not being able to recognize trends in time.  Nonetheless there was some big drops this week that resulted in many firms getting blindsided.

Broadcom’s (NASDAQ:BRCM) performance will have accidentally qualified for a runner up status here.  The truth is that something was very wrong that had not been telegraphed.  You could blame the Texas Instruments tie or the Ericsson tie and there are of course others, but everything was indicating that the stock even if it didn’t go up on earnings would at least be in a much higher trading range.  Sometimes both the charts and the fundamentalists are wrong, and that was the case here.  It tricked us too (preview here).  Shares were above $42.00 and just last week had put in a new year high.  But Deutsche Bank, American Technology & Research, and Wachovia all ended up downgrading the stock after the earnings and outlook.  Just the week before Citigroup raised it from a Hold to Buy, so they get in the soup this week even though it was last week’s call.

And then there is the active trader analysis that is still an undecided verdict, but the analyst from Citigroup has hit this one right recently even though the firm’s position missed a huge move earlier this year.  This is on Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ:NILE)….. Today NILE was upgraded from a Sell to a Hold after shares closed at $78.13.  But the downgrades from a Hold to SELL was just on October 12, in the high-$80’s and just a couple or few days after this peaked above $100.00.  But back in mid-July they raised the stock from a Hold to Buy when shares were circa-$78 at the time.  But Citigroup downgraded this from a Buy to Hold back on January 12, 2007 when shares when shares were $38 to $39… That was after initiating coverage on March 6, 2006 when shares were around $33 to $34.  So it was just upside that was missed, and it was technically dead money for about 3 months after the call this January.  The verdict is out on this one, but active changes in analysis ahead of and after events (particularly when they make money like this) are worth noting.

Jon C. Ogg
October 26, 2007

Posted on: October 26, 2007 – 12:10 pm in Analyst Calls, The Week, , , ,

Pre-Market Analyst Calls (October 26, 2007)

ABK cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
ADVNA cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
BBY started as Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
BEN cut to Mkt PErform at FBR.
BG cut to Neutral at HSBC.
CC started as Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
CPS cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
ELX cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
ETEL cut to Mkt Perform at JMP Securities.
EXBD raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
FADV cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
FVE raised to Buy at Jefferies.
GIS raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
HES raised to Buy at B of A.
KND raised to Buy at Jefferies.
LVLT cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
LTM cut to Mkt Perform at Piper Jaffray.
MBI cut to Mkt Perform at FBR.
NILE raised to Hold at Citigroup.
ORCC cut to Sector Perform at CIBC.
PENN cut to Hold at Jefferies.
POWI cut to Hold at Citigroup.
RRI started as outperform at Wachovia.
SE started as Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
STD raised to Buy at Citigroup.
STLD cut to Neutral at UBS.
TRID too 3 downgrades: Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, and Oppenheimer.
TSM raised to Overweight at HSBC.
USU started as Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
WCG raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
October 26, 2007

Posted on: October 26, 2007 – 7:09 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Most Unusual Analyst Defense of WellCare (WCG)

Late on Thursday, Goldman Sachs has removed WellCare Health Plans (NYSE:WCG) from its Americas Sell List. While this sounds like an upgrade, it is merely a sensible research call.  The upgrade from a Sell to a Neutral reflects the intraday selling taking the shares down 62% from Wednesday’s halt/close and the lack of information regarding the nature and scope of the state and federal investigation (a.k.a. raid) makes any precision call extremely difficult.  You can say that again.  You can say that again.

Goldman Sachs now has established a 6-month target of $40 versus the prior $85 target when the Sell rating was present.  Shares are now down 45% since the mid-February downgrade and shares are down almost 30% over the last 12 months.

We may have said that this is an unusual defense of WellCare by Goldman Sachs, but in all honesty again this is really the right call.  Sometimes these research teams get incredible insight or an incredible vantage point that is different than the norm.  This is/was one of those cases.

WellCare did issue another press release after the close discussing the cooperation and business as usual stance and the hiring of a firm to assist, but there was no meat in it for analysts to chew on.  In fact, you’d have to be personal counsel to the FBI or state agency raiders to know what the full investigation is about.  24/7 Wall St. has heard multiple "explanations" but we don’t want to participate in any rumors or speculation when the truth has no way of being known.

In case you are wondering if this will be quickly resolved, the short answer is not just NO. HELL NO.  These sometimes actually do result in very little net effect to the business, but these are always quite disruptive and there is almost never a quick resolution nor is there ever a quick fix.

Jon C. Ogg
October 26, 2007

Posted on: October 26, 2007 – 4:57 am in Analyst Calls, Healthcare, Medical,

WellCare Braces For Stock Crash (WCG)

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) has on its website an audio transmission from its Chairman and CEO Todd Farha from Tampa headquarters.  Yesterday 24/7 Wall St. noted about how this was going to be painful for shareholders, and unfortunately there are still more questions than there are answers.  Farha gave just over a 2 minute audio update and some paraphrased comments are as follows:

  • "Wednesday morning officers from state and federal agencies showed with search warrants for documents and files." 
  • "we are cooperating and intend to cooperate"
  • "Essential services are operational and uninterrupted" 
  • "While some employees went home…Majority of associates remained on site while some went home to facilitate investigators access"
  • "Investigation having no impact on delivery of healthcare services"
  • "We continue to pay claims timely"
  • "We continue to answer customer calls"
  • "We expect stock trading will resume and November 5 conference call will proceed as scheduled"
  • "we cannot share additional details yet and will when appropriate"
  • "We remain committed to our mission"

Some indications early on for WCG shares put the stock between $59+ to $71+ versus the $115.17 halt price yesterday.  Unfortunately, there is not really any word or hint out of the company what the full scope of the raid was about.  Obviously the verdict from traders and shareholders is going to be a cruel one, but this is still going to be considered a pending issue.

Jon C. Ogg
October 25. 2007

Posted on: October 25, 2007 – 8:53 am in Law, Medical, Regulation, ,

WellCare Shares Punished For FBI Raid (WCG)

Shares of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) were trading down over an FBI raid at the company’s Tampa, Florida headquarters. Unfortunately there aren’t any details as to what it was about.  Obviously it’s not anything favorable, that much you can count on.  The company is a manged care services company that works for government sponsored healthcare programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare; and offers family health plans.

It also offers:

  • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) programs,
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs,
  • State Children’s Health Insurance programs (S-CHIP),
  • Family Health Plus programs (FHP).

At the end of last year it had roughly 2.258 million members through a network of 50,000 physicians, 600 hospitals, and approximately 15,000 other ancillary providers and skilled nursing facilities.  Unfortunately there is just not any information available

Shares had fallen 5.5% to $115.50 before the stock halt, and the 52-week trading range is $55.56 to $128.42.  With a P/E north of 25 and with it much closer to highs, if the news is as bad as other insurance and hospital system raids of the last few years it could be a really bad day for holders.  This has(had) just under a $5 Billion market cap.

It has been quite some time since we’ve seen FBI and insurance companies have the FBI conduct raids on headquarters, and this is a reminder of one of the risk aspects of these businesses.  We’d expect a comment out of the company soon.

Jon C. Ogg
October 24, 2007

Posted on: October 24, 2007 – 1:30 pm in Healthcare, Regulation, , ,