3M Co. (NYSE:
MMM -
News) was downgraded to neutral from overweight at Prudential Equity Group, which said it will take some time for the stock to regain its valuation premium. Fears over the company's optical film business have been extinguished by strong third-quarter figures, but convincing investors to pay a premium for the company as economies in Europe and North America slow could take more time than originally anticipated, Prudential said.
Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE:
AEM -
News) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Merrill Lynch, which cited valuation. The broker said Agnico-Eagle is trading close to the upper end of the valuation range within which North American gold producers have historically traded. "Despite this downgrade, we still believe that the company has excellent long-term growth prospects," Merrill Lynch said. "Agnico-Eagle is in the midst of developing four gold projects that should convert the company into a multi-mine operator allowing the company to more than triple gold output."
American Ecology (NASDAQ:
ECOL -
News) said it sees 2007 earnings of 92 to $1.02 per share. The waste-services company also backed its view for 2006 earnings of 85 to 90 cents per share.
Biopure Corp. (NASDAQ:
BPUR -
News) agreed to sell 25 million new shares of common stock and warrants to acquire an additional 25 million new shares to underwriters. The price for one share and one warrant is 64 cents, the company said. The exercise price of each warrant is 80 cents. The transaction is expected to close on Dec. 13, resulting in net proceeds to Biopure of $14.4 million, assuming no warrant is exercised.
Central Garden (NASDAQ:
CENT -
News) said fourth-quarter net earnings fell to $6.02 million, or 25 cents a share, from $6.72 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same period last year, as expenses and income taxes rose. Excluding $9 million in increased brand building and strategic work, the Walnut Creek, Calif.-based producer and marketer of garden and pet supplies posted per-share earnings of 49 cents.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:
CHK -
News) is launching a public offering of 30 million shares of its common stock. The Oklahoma City-based natural gas producer said it has granted the underwriter, Deutsche Bank Securities, a 30-day option to buy up to 4.5 million additional shares to cover any over-allotments.
Consolidated Water Co. (NASDAQ:
CWCO -
News), which builds and operates seawater desalination plants, said it has priced a public offering of 1.5 million shares at $24.90 a share. The company said it expects the offering to generate net proceeds of $34.9 million. It added it expects to use the proceeds to repay existing debt as well as possible future acquisitions and investments.
Countrywide Financial (NYSE:
CFC -
News) shares slumped after Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of the mortgage giant to hold from buy. "Recent developments in the mortgage industry have significantly increased the risks in the sector," Stifel Nicolaus said in a note to clients. Analysts cited severe credit deterioration, decreased secondary market appetite and tightening underwriting standards. "We expect trends to worsen given our belief that housing has yet to bottom or even fully impact credit trends," analyst Chris Brendler said.
Shares of Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:
DUCK -
News) dropped after the Abilene, Kansas-based general merchandise retailer posted a wider loss for the third quarter. For the three months ended Oct. 29, the company lost $648,000, or 18 cents a share, compared to an equivalent year-ago loss of $187,000, or 5 cents a share. Sales from continuing operations rose 9.3% in the latest quarter to $110.1 million from $100.7 million in the same period a year earlier. Duckwall-ALCO said its gross margin declined in the quarter to 31.2% due to higher freight costs, lower margins on higher sales at its fuel centers, and higher than expected degree of seasonal markdowns for its horticulture and patio merchandise products.
Genta (NASDAQ:
GNTA -
News) shares dropped after the Berkeley Heights, N.J.-based biopharmaceutical company said a Phase III trial of chemotherapy with or without Genasense, conducted in older, previously untreated patients with acute myelogenous leukemia, failed to meet its primary endpoint of overall survival.
GTx Inc. (NASDAQ:
GTXI -
News) said a Phase II trial of its ostarine selective androgen receptor modulator met its primary endpoint of increasing lean body mass and a secondary endpoint of improving functional performance. Ostarine continued to demonstrate a favorable safety profile, with no serious adverse events reported, it added. GTx plans to initiate a Phase IIb ostarine clinical trial for cancer cachexia in the summer of 2007. GTx also intends to evaluate the ability of ostarine to treat chronic disease indications including end stage renal disease muscle wasting, frailty and osteoporosis. GTx has reacquired full rights to develop and commercialize andarine and all backup compounds previously licensed to Johnson & Johnson unit Ortho Biotech Products on a mutual agreement to terminate the deal
New Century Financial Corp. (NYSE:
NEW -
News) said its total mortgage loan production was $4.5 billion, a drop of 11.8% from the equivalent year-ago period. On a sequential basis, November's production slid 10% from October levels. "The decline in our loan production volume in November was in line with our expectations, particularly in light of overall mortgage market declines this quarter," said Brad Morrice, the company's president and CEO, in a statement.
PG&E Corp. (NYSE:
PCG -
News) was downgraded to neutral from overweight at J.P. Morgan, citing valuation.
Shares of Questcor Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:
QSC -
News) shares fell after the company said it's received definitive commitments from unaffiliated institutional investors to purchase 10.51 million shares of its common for $1.20 each. In addition, the Union City, Calif.-based Questcor said certain insiders have committed to purchasing 890,000 shares at $1.45 each.
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:
SWHC -
News) reported second-quarter net earnings of $2.85 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with $692,377, or 2 cents a share, in the same period last year, on the back of strong firearms sales.
Shares of Sprint Nextel (NYSE:
S -
News) fell as Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery said the company was at a "crossroads," with results falling below expectations set at the time of the Sprint-Nextel merger. "We see significant downside for the stock if management is not successful in stabilizing the business in the near term," Flannery said in a note to clients. He reiterated his underweight rating on the stock, and revised his price target from $18 at the end of 2006 to $19 at the end of 2007. "Recent comments by management appear to suggest that rising handset subsidies, tightened credit standards and increasing pre-paid competition will pressure fourth-quarter and early-2007 results, despite new handset launches and a re-branding campaign," Flannery added.
Unifi Inc. (NYSE:
UFI -
News) said it now expects its second-quarter earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be less than half of its previous forecast of $10 million to $12 million. The company said a September drop in volume has continued.
Witness Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
WITS -
News) said a special committee review found mistakes in the measurement dates of stock-option grants, although it did not find evidence of fraud or intentional misrepresentation.
Xilinx (NASDAQ:
XLNX -
News) said it now sees third-quarter sequential sales falling 2% to 5% due to weaker than anticipated turns business in November, particularly from communications customers. The company had expected a sequential increase of 2% to 5%.
Yum Brands (NYSE:
YUM -
News) was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wachovia. The firm cited slowing sales momentum in the U.S. and a potentially significant sales impact related to the recent E. coli outbreak at some of the group's Taco Bell restaurants. Wachovia added Yum's KFC chain is facing tough sales comparisons over the next couple of quarters, though it added it still holds a favorable view on the group's international and Chinese operations.
By Michael Baron
Labels: AEM, BPUR, CENT, CFC, CHK, CWCO, DUCK, ECOL, GNTA, GTXI, Hot Stocks, MMM, NEW, PCG, QSC, S, SWHC, WITS, XLNX, YUM
