AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMAG-$39.34) is awaiting FDA approval on its lead product candidate, Ferumoxytol, an intravenous iron replacement therapy for iron deficiency anemia in chronic kidney disease patients. In February, the stock was unfairly pilloried, says Mad Money host Jim Cramer, after the FDA rejected a rival drug candidate, made by Daiichi Sankyo Co, based on safety issues—that AMAG doesn’t have—and a rookie analyst [Merrill Lynch] downgraded it to neutral (which Cramer called a joke). "AMAG is now too cheap to pass up." The FDA is expected to make a decision on Fermuxytol by Oct. 19.Arrhythmia Research Technology (HRT-$7.19) reported disappointing results for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, late Friday, with net income falling 67 percent to $186,000 on a 23 percent drop in revenue to $4.62 million. In after-hours trading, the share price plunged 41 percent, or $2.94 a share, in value as investors expressed their impatience with management’s slow pace in moving away from continued dependence on its historical core business of conductive sensors for the disposable medical electrode industry.
Shares of Bonso Electronics International (BNSO-$2.16) were trading higher—by as much as 34 percent—in after-hours trading on Friday on rumors that Nam Tai Electronics, Inc (NTE-$9.63) was interested in buying the telecommunications products manufacturer.
America's second-largest hamburger chain, Burger King Holdings, Inc (BKC-$27.35), is planning to launch a hipper, targeted-market version of its restaurants this year, called the Whopper Bar, aiming to maximize the sales margin of its signature burger- the whopper.
Cal-Maine (CALM-$37.83) the largest U.S. egg producer, reports fiscal third-quarter earnings on Monday. Two portfolio managers who own Cal-Maine stock estimate it earned at least $2 a share in its most recent quarter, bolstered by lofty egg prices in a moderately supplied market. And, with supplies tight, demand remaining strong, egg prices show no signs of cracking soon.
China is inching closer towards the long awaited launch of internet services on mobile phones after China Mobile (CHL-$74.80) said it would start trials of 3G wireless technology in eight cities on April 1. The trials involving up to 60,000 China Mobile customers are considered a test of TD-SCDMA, the 3G mobile technology that is favored by the Chinese government but is not commercially proven.
Clear Channel Communications Inc (CCU-$29.20) said its board has decided to defer its first-quarter dividend payment. The decision is in response to a request from Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners to defer the payment date given the delayed closing of Clear Channel's merger with CC Media Holdings Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS-$49.34), the world’s largest video game maker, extended its $2 billion hostile bid for Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO-$25.33), pushing back the bid's expiration date by a week, to April 18.
"The stock of Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD-$29.09), a holding company for energy - sector services companies, is simply way too cheap," said host Jim Cramer to his Mad Money viewers on Friday evening. "Throw in a beautiful 6.9% dividend yield – this is the year of natural gas and EPD is right in the sweet spot."
Extra Space Storage Inc (EXR-$15.85) lowered its first-quarter funds-from-operations guidance due to a $2.6 million loss on the liquidation of the company's auction rate securities. The real estate investment trust said it expects funds from operations, after the impact of its development program, of 24 cents to 25 cents a share, compared with FFO of 27 cents, on average, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Fiserv Inc (FISV-$47.76) is largely immune to the woes of its banking-industry clients. Baring a long recession or major acquisition problems, shares in the provider of information technology services to the financial industry could rise by 30% or more in the next year, according to a weekend story in Barron's.
Federal and state banking regulators have given Fremont General Corp (FMT-$0.52) sixty-days to raise new capital or sell its banking subsidiary, the financial services company said Friday.
A month-long strike at an axle supplier will force General Motors Corp (GM-$18.67) to close a car plant in Detroit on Monday, an indication the work stoppage may take a heavier toll on the auto maker than previously believed.
HB Fuller (FUL-$21.29) should report first-quarter earnings of 33 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research. Expect investors to react to management's guidance on how rising oil prices and sluggish growth in the U.S. and Europe will affect the specialty chemical maker's recovery in 2H:08.
IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI-$20.49) Chairman Barry Diller won a significant victory in his legal dispute with Liberty Media (LCAPA-$15.80) Chairman John Malone, as a Delaware court ruled Mr. Diller could move ahead with his plan to split IAC into multiple companies.
Mounting inventories of wrinkled suits—425 days of inventories, at last report—and softening sales are red flags for Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc (JOSB-21.93). The suits at the menswear retailer never go out of style, but its common stock has, with a short ratio of 20.9 days, as of February 26. "If this company issues any news that is good or just not so bad, calling the short covering action here as being "Spring-Loaded" would be an understatement," commented 24/7 Wall Street in a recent report.
Newspaper owner Lee Enterprises Inc (LEE-$10.76) expects a net loss in its fiscal second-quarter ending March 30 (and fiscal year ending September 28) because of a non-cash impairment that could total $500 million to $700 million.
U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEH-$37.87) appears to have been a victim of a fraud in which swindlers used forged documents from one of Japan's biggest trading companies to bilk it out of as much as $250 million.
Merck’s (MRK-$44.51) asthma and allergy drug, Singulair, may see a decline in prescriptions due to recent concerns about suicidality, but many physicians opine that the drop-off will likely be limited to high-risk patients (with a personal or family history of depression).
Northwest Airlines Corp (NWA-$8.76) executives are pitching a new deal to Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL-$8.61) that would allow the airlines to go ahead with the stalled merger, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter. The new Northwest proposal would give less generous terms to pilots, the newspaper said.
Pall Corp (PLL-$38.25) said late Friday its second-quarter net income rose to $48 million, or 39 cents a share, from $44.3 million, or 36 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding restructuring and other charges, adjusted earnings were 46 cents a share compared with 35 cents a share in the same quarter last year. Revenue in the latest quarter totaled $625.8 million, up from $544.9 million in the year-earlier period.
Riskmetrics (RMG-$20.14) is forecast to post earnings of 2 cents a share in the fourth-quarter. Shares have climbed more than 30 percent in the last two weeks on analysts' comments that forward revenue and earnings visibility for the provider of risk management and corporate governance services is unlikely to be clouded by the loss of Bear Stearns’ business.
Standard & Poor's said Friday it may raise the ratings of global auctioneer Sotheby's Holdings Inc (BID-$27.78) based on the company's performance. The rating agency said it placed its Sotheby's ratings, including the company's BB+ corporate credit rating, on CreditWatch with positive implications.
Bell Boeing, an alliance between Textron Inc.'s (TXT-$54.62) Bell Helicopter unit and Boeing Company (BA-$73.47), received a $10.4 billion, five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for 167 Osprey aircraft.
Thornburg Mortgage Inc (TMA-$1.65) said late Friday that it received a second extension through Monday to raise up to $1.4 billion in new capital (seven-year notes with an initial interest rate of 18 percent) as part of a financing agreement with a group of lenders. The beleaguered real estate investment trust must convince holders of its preferred stock on the merits to trade in their shares for one-fifth of face value (successful redemption would drop the notes to a more manageable 12 percent yield).
UBS AG (UBS-$27.77) planned to mark down the value of auction-rate securities in brokerage accounts Friday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter. UBS will mark down the securities from a few percentage points to more than 20% and inform clients online, according to the Journal.
Randy Harl, CEO of Willbros Group Inc (WG-$29.63), told Jim Cramer on Friday's Mad Money show that the engineering company (to the oil sector) suffered from a couple of "legacy projects" that hurt its backlog and ate into earnings last quarter, but he is more bullish on the rest of 2008. "The market got this one wrong," Cramer said. "One earnings miss does not tell the story of a company on the cusp of profiting from a worldwide infrastructure boom."
Editor David J. Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.
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