Archive for January, 2012

Vringo Inc VRNG surges on news of new technology for Nokia, Facebook

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Vringo Inc VRNG surges on newsShares of software provider Vringo Inc (AMEX: VRNG) were up as much as 35% from Mondays closing price of 1.16 after the company announced it has released a new version of Facetones™ customized for the latest mobile devices released by Nokia.

The Facetones app is integrated with Facebook and generates an automatic, visually exciting slideshow of photos displaying your friend’s face and other social content each time you communicate with that friend using your mobile device.  With Vringo’s latest version of Facetones , the application is now fully optimized for Nokia’s Symbian^3 operating system.

The free ad supported app has been a viral hit for Vringo and is closing in on one million downloads. VRNG monetizes this app using Google’s Admob mobile advertising service and it is currently generating 800,000- 900,000 ad impressions per day.

About Vringo

Vringo (AMEX: VRNG) is a provider of software platforms for mobile social and video applications. With its award-winning video ringtone application and other mobile software platforms – including Facetones™, Video Remix and Fan Loyalty – Vringo transforms the basic act of making and receiving mobile phone calls into a highly visual, social experience. Vringo’s video ringtone service enables users to create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere and turn it into their visual call signature. In a first for the mobile industry, Vringo has introduced its patented VringForward technology, which allows users to share video clips with friends with a simple call.  Vringo’s Facetones™ application creates an automated video slideshow using friends’ photos from social media web sites, which is played each time a user communicates with a friend using a mobile device. Vringo’s Video ReMix application, in partnership with music artists and brands, allows users to create their own music video by tapping on a Smartphone or tablet.  Lastly, Fan Loyalty is a platform that lets users interact, vote and communicate with contestants in reality TV series that it partners with, as well as downloading and setting clips from such shows as video ringtones. Vringo’s video ringtone application has been heralded by The New York Times as “the next big thing in ringtones” and USA Today said it has “to be seen to be believed.” For more information, visit: www.vringo.com

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Caterpillar Inc CAT profits soars to 60 percent

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Caterpillar Inc CAT Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported a 60 percent rise in quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations on record sales of construction and mining equipment, and projected growth for 2011. Fourth-quarter sales and revenues in 2011 were an all-time quarterly record at $17.243 billion, an increase of 35 percent compared with $12.807 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth-quarter profit was $1.547 billion compared with $968 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Profit of $2.32 per share was 58 percent higher than the $1.47 per share in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The growth of Caterpiller is a positive indicator in the strength of the global economy and in construction spending in the United States. Caterpillar credits the incredible growth to many of its customers replacing aging equipment and rapid growth in developing parts of the world.

“Our strategy is squarely focused on customers, and in 2011 our employees, suppliers and dealers delivered. We improved product quality, invested significantly in manufacturing capacity and product  development, and improved our market position.” said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman.

About Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. is a corporation which designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.  With more than US$70 billion in assets, Caterpillar was ranked number one in its industry and number 44 overall in the 2009 Fortune 500. Caterpillar stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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Inhibitex Inc INHX shares more than double on buyout news

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Inhibitex Inc INHXShares of  hepatitis C drug developer Inhibitex, Inc. (Nasdaq: INHX) were up more than 140 percent from Friday’s closing price in morning trading on Monday after it was announced over  the weekend that pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) made a $26 a share cash  to acquire Inhibitex.

The $26 cash offer for Alpharetta-based Inhibitex represents a 163 premium to Friday’s closing price of $9.87.

“The acquisition of Inhibitex builds on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s long history of discovering, developing and delivering innovative new medicines in virology and enriches our portfolio of investigational medicines for hepatitis C,” said Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb in a January 7 press release. “There is significant unmet medical need in hepatitis C. This acquisition represents an important investment in the long-term growth of the company.”

Inhibitex’s lead hepatitis C asset  is INX-189, an oral nucleotide polymerase (NS5B) inhibitor in Phase II development that has exhibited potent antiviral activity, a high barrier to resistance and pan-genotypic coverage.

“The addition of Inhibitex’s nucleotide polymerase inhibitor to our own promising portfolio, which includes other direct-acting antivirals, brings additional options to develop all-oral regimens with better cure rates, shorter duration of therapy and lower toxicity than the current standard of care,” said Elliott Sigal, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president, chief scientific officer and president, R&D, Bristol-Myers Squibb said in a statement.

The transaction is expected to be dilutive to earnings for Bristol-Myers Squibb through 2016, with an expected impact on earnings per share of approximately $0.04 in 2012 and approximately $0.05 in 2013, the January 7 press release stated.

About Inhibitex, Inc. (Nasdaq: INHX)

Inhibitex, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to prevent and treat serious infectious diseases. The Company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes two Phase 2 development programs for which it has retained all future rights: INX-189, a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic HCV infections, and FV-100, a nucleoside analogue in development for the treatment of shingles-associated pain. The Company also has additional HCV nucleotide polymerase inhibitors in preclinical development and has licensed the use of its proprietary MSCRAMM® protein platform to Pfizer for the development of a staphylococcal vaccine, which is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

For additional information about the Company, please visit www.inhibitex.com.

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