MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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6:39 PM VSE Corp. (VSEC) says it's been awarded a contract by the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, that could be worth up to $20B over the next 10 years. Under the terms of the agreement, VSEC will provide IT integration and outsourcing support services to the agency's Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center. Comment!
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5:38 PM An FDA advisory panel recommends against approval of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Xarelto blood thinner to reduce life-threatening blood clots. JNJ already markets the pill to treat irregular heartbeat and patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery. Comment!
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5:21 PM MediciNova (MNOV) -45.1% AH after announcing preliminary results from a Phase 2b clinical study failed to show significant improvement for patients treated with its MN-221 asthma treatment. Comment!
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5:12 PM Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX) takes a hit in the post session after releasing mixed preliminary results from randomized Phase 2b tests of CDX-011 antibody drug conjugate in patients with advanced, heavily pretreated breast cancer. Shares -8.5% AH. 3 Comments
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1:51 PM Incyte (INCY -2.7%) slips after Morgan Stanley says current consensus estimates don't reflect myelofibrosis competition, which could impact Incyte's Jakafi sales. Comment!
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11:02 AM Express Scripts (ESRX) CEO George Paz tells the WSJ that he would "love to do a deal with Walgreen (WAG)" to revive their contract, which expired a few months ago, "if they're willing to offer rates in line with everybody else." Of the Medco merger, Paz said that while Express Scripts is frugal, Medco "had a different culture with respect to spending money." 4 Comments
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8:55 AM GSK (GSK) ammends the conditions of its $2.6B tender offer for Human Genome (HGSI), requiring that the latter redeem or invalidate its poison pill. Comment!
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
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1:31 PM RBC Capital questions DaVita's (DVA -3.4%) $4.4B decision to merge with HealthCare Partners, saying it's unsure whether the merger will produce a company that's worth more than the sum of its parts. Comment!
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1:10 PM Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN +5.2%) pops after Standard & Poors announces it will replace Motorola Mobility (MMI) in the S&P 500 index after the close of trading on Thursday, May 24. Comment!
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12:15 PM Roth Capital takes advantage of a 66% price drop over the past year to upgrade Uroplasty (UPI -2.1%) to Buy on valuation. Roth says the company is well positioned for higher relative growth and has better margins versus its peers. Comment!
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11:53 AM CareFusion (CFN +0.2%) receives an FDA warning letter regarding a manufacturing site in Mexico where it found violations and that a company follow up dated February 13 was not adequate. The FDA claims that CFN's facility, Productos Urologos de Mexico SA, failed to uphold adequate procedures in regards to correcting issues related to device errors. Comment!
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11:48 AM Genetic Technologies (GENE) +39% after the Aussie biotech releases a positive business update for BREVAGen, which is used to test for certain genetic variations that are associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Comment!
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11:03 AM Hanger Orthopedic (HGR -1.2%) slips after saying its CEO Thomas Kirk, has decided to retire. In accordance with its succession plan, current President and COO Vinit Asar, has been appointed to succeed Mr. Kirk and has joined the board of directors. Comment!
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10:32 AM Humana (HUM +2.4%) gets a boost from an upgrade to Outperform on valuation at Wells Fargo. The firm says the company is well positioned to gain market share from Medicare Advantage, as well as the growing senior demographic. In addition HUM's niche business insulates it from the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on health reform, making it a less risky alternative compared to its peers. Comment!
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10:09 AM Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) +4.7% to $6.24 after it yesterday completed its secondary public offering and underwriters fully exercised their option to purchase additional stock. Arena sold almost 12.65M shares at $5.50 each, raising nearly $70M. Comment!
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9:56 AM FDA reviewers recommend rejecting Pfizer's Tafamidis for treating a rare neurodegenerative disease, as the data doesn't prove that the drug works well enough. An advisory panel is set to vote on Tafamidis tomorrow, after which the agency will make a final decision at a later date. Comment!
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7:50 AM Medtronic on (MDT) FQ4: Net profit rises to $991M from $776M, benefiting from growth across MDT's businesses and geographies - particularly in emerging markets - and strong product launches. Guidance: FY 2013 revenue growth 2%-4%, EPS of $3.62 to $3.70 vs. consensus of $3.66. Shares +2.65%. Comment!
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7:23 AM Medtronic (MDT): Q4 EPS of $0.99 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $4.3B (+3% Y/Y) beats by $70M. (PR) 2 Comments
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4:54 AM Bayer (BAYRY.PK) and Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) announce a Phase 3 trial of Nexavar tablets in patients with certain lung cancers did not meet its primary endpoint of improving overall survival. Comment!
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Monday, May 21, 2012
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6:28 PM After Allscripts' (MDRX) CEO refused to resign, Healthcor, one of MDRX's largest shareholders, announces it's suing and seeking a proxy fight. 1 Comment
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