AdvancersAvanir Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM:
AVNR -
News) received an approvable letter and acceptable labeling from the FDA for a new formulation of its antipsychotic drug FazaClo.
Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA -
News) net income more than doubled in the fourth quarter, capping a year in which it set a record for airplane orders and setting the stage for higher growth in 2007, the company said.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:
BMY -
News) shares rose following a report in The Financial Times that the company has hired Lehman Bros., Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to help it field possible takeover bids. Earlier in the week, a report surfaced that the company had drawn acquisition interest from French conglomerate Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:
SNY -
News).
Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners (NasdaqGM:
CPRX -
News) was initiated with a buy rating at Stifel Nicolaus with a $9 price target.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (NasdaqGS:
CHRW -
News) reported fourth-quarter net income of $71.8 million, or 41 cents a share, up from $58.1 million, or 33 cents, a year ago. Quarterly revenue for the trucking company rose to $1.64 billion from $1.58 billion.
CheckFree Corp. (NasdaqGS:
CKFR -
News) reported a slight profit gain on advances in its core business. For its fiscal second-quarter, CheckFree said net income rose 4% to $35.3 million or 39 cents a share, compared to $33.8 million or 36 cents a share a year ago.
Corus Group Plc (NYSE:
CGA -
News) shares leapt after India's Tata Steel won a bidding war to acquire the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker for $12.1 billion.
EchoStar Communications (NasdaqGS:
DISH -
News) was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. The firm lifted its price target on the shares to $44 from $40.
Estee Lauder (NYSE:
EL -
News) shot up after the cosmetics giant said its second-quarter profit more than doubled amid robust sales of major lines coupled with cost cutting and a favorably currency exchange.
Frontier Oil (NYSE:
FTO -
News) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.
Harris Corp. (NYSE:
HRS -
News) said second-quarter net income rose, as revenue gained, to $94 million, or 67 cents a share, from $30 million, or 22 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year. Before items, quarterly per-share income rose to 68 cents from 52 cents in the prior year.
Harris Stratex Networks (NasdaqGM:
HSTX -
News) was initiated with a buy rating at Merriman Curhan Ford & Co.
Hologic Inc. (NasdaqGS:
HOLX -
News) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $16.1 million, or 30 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $5.7 million, or 12 cents a share. Revenue jumped 86% in the latest three months to $163.2 million from $88 million in the same period a year earlier. The Bedford, Mass.-based company attributed the higher earnings to an increase in product sales of its Selenia full-field digital mammography systems.
Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:
IR -
News) fourth-quarter earnings fell 24% as sales of its small earthmover Bobcat vehicle slumped due to weaker demand in the North American market, the company's financial results showed Wednesday.
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE:
JLL -
News) said fourth-quarter net income rose, as revenue gained, to $80.9 million, or $2.37 a share, from $66.9 million, or $1.99 a share, during the same period in the prior year. Analysts were looking for per-share income of $2.26.
Kinetic Concepts (NYSE:
KCI -
News) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
Levitt Corp. (NYSE:
LEV -
News) agreed to be acquired by BFC Financial Corp. (NYSEArca:
BFF -
News) for $286 million in stock. In addition, Levitt said preliminary figures show its home building division generated fourth-quarter revenue of $143.6 million, with 426 homes delivered in the quarter at a margin of 19.6%. Backlog at Dec. 31 was 1,248 units with a sales value of $438.2 million. New home orders totaled 204, but were partly offset by 122 cancellations. The company said it has entered into sales contracts to dispose of certain properties and is expected to realize a pre-tax loss of $9.0 million upon disposition, and will write-off $1.4 million in pre-acquisition costs for properties which will not be acquired.
Lone Star Technologies (NYSE:
LSS -
News) said its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $18.1 million, or 58 cents a share, from $70.9 million, or $2.28 a share, a year earlier, hurt by an income-tax expense. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average, quarterly earnings of 58 cents a share, before items. The Dallas oilfield pipe and tubing company's revenue for the quarter decreased to $334.8 million from $337.5 million a year ago. Wall Street expected quarterly revenue of $334 million.
New York Times Co. (NYSE:
NYT -
News) swung to a fourth-quarter loss after an $814 million charge for write-downs, staff-reduction costs and accelerated depreciation.
Omnicell (NasdaqGM:
OMCL -
News) shares jumped after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $3.8 million, or 13 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $2.2 million, or 8 cents a share. Revenue rose 26.4% in the latest three months to $42.3 million. The Mountain View, Calif., provider of patient safety technology products said its product backlog ended the quarter at $114.3 million, up 64.2% from the same period a year ago.
O'Reilly Automotive (NasdaqGS:
ORLY -
News) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse. The firm lifted its price target on the stock to $38 from $36.
Quicksilver Resources (NYSE:
KWK -
News) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse. The firm also boosted its price target on the stock to $47 from $43.
Panera Bread Co. (NasdaqGS:
PNRA -
News) said same bakery-cafe sales rose 0.8% in January from the same month a year ago. The St. Louis bakery-cafe chain said company-owned same-store sales rose 0.7% while franchise-operated sales were up 0.9%.
ProQuest (NYSE:
PQE -
News) said Alan Aldworth is leaving its chairman, president and CEO positions, effective immediately. The company named Richard Surratt president and CEO. Surratt had served as the CFO of the Ann Arbor, Mich., publishing company.
RedEnvelope Inc. (NasdaqGM:
REDE -
News) said third-quarter net income rose, as revenue gained, to $5.31 million, or 56 cents a share, from $4.1 million, or 43 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year. The branded online retailer said quarterly revenue rose to $57 million from $53 million in the prior year.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (NasdaqGS:
RRGB -
News) said it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the assets of 17 its franchised restaurants in California for $47.5 million, minus any assumed debt.
Sierra Health Services Inc. (NYSE:
SIE -
News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $39.3 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with $28.3 million, or 44 cents a share, in the same period last year, boosted by higher medical premiums revenue.
Sirf Technology Holdings Inc. (NasdaqGS:
SIRF -
News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $9.1 million, down from $10.23 million in the same period the prior year, mainly due to higher stock-based compensation and acquisition-related contingent payments.
U.S. Concrete (NasdaqGM:
RMIX -
News) said it sees fourth-quarter revenue of $211 million, compared with its prior view of $195 million to $205 million. The company cited stronger-than-anticipated sales volumes of ready-mixed concrete, partially attributable to relatively mild winter conditions. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial are looking for quarterly revenue of $204 million. U.S. Concrete said it sees a fourth-quarter net loss of 62 cents to 63 cents per share, a view that includes a 70-cent-per-share after-tax goodwill impairment charge associated with its Michigan assets. Excluding the charge, the company expects income for the fourth quarter of 7 to 8 cents per share, compared with its November outlook of 3 to 7 cents. Analysts are looking for per-share income of 5 cents.
Published by Michael Baron at MarketWatch
Labels: AVNR, BA, BMY, CGA, CHRW, CKFR, CPRX, DISH, EL, FTO, HOLX, HRS, HSTX, IR, JLL, KCI, SNY
