Posts Tagged ‘buzz stocks’

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Nike Inc. (NKE) just does it, tops earnings guesses, stock rockets

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) shares rose 6.9% to $87.27 a day after the athletic-shoe seller reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Volume for the stock was 4.7 million shares, topping an all-day average of 2.7 million.

This morning, an article from the Associated Press stated that the sports gear maker said net income for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended May 31, rose 14% to $594 million, or $1.24 a share. Net income for the year ago period was $522 million, or $1.06 a share.

Nike was expected to earn $1.16 a share, according to the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $5.8 billion from $5.08-billion. Excluding currency movements, it increased 11%

Analysts expected $5.528 billion of revenue for the period.

The AP story quotes Matt Arnold, an analyst at Edward Jones as saying, “The best way to offset higher costs is to generate strong demand growth and Nike was able to do that.”

Futures orders, a closely watched measure of demand in coming months, came in ahead of Wall Street estimates. Orders for June through November jumped 15% to $10.3-billion. Excluding currency effects, orders rose 12%, Nike said.

Barclays Capital analyst Robert Drbul expected futures orders to be up 8 per cent to 10 per cent in constant dollars. Arnold was expecting future orders to be up at least 8%. Strong futures orders suggest Nike will be able to raise prices later this year, Arnold added.

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Posted in Consumer Discretionary Stocks | No Comments »

Payday lender Ezcorp Inc. (EZPW) rises on stock upgrade

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Pawn-shop operator and payday-loan chain Ezcorp Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW) shares rose 7.1% late Monday to $34.33, after Sterne Agee analysts raised the stock to buy from neutral. Volume for the stock of 802,000 more than doubled its daily average.

According to a story Monday on Forbes.com, Sterne Agee Analyst Henry J. Coffey Jr. raised his rating on Ezcorp to “Buy” from “Neutral,” and boosted his forecast for the company’s 2012 earnings per share to $3 from $2.75. He also estimates Ezcorp will post earnings of $3.55 per share in 2013.

The site goes on to say that, despite the heightened scrutiny on payday lending, Ezcorp has seen continued growth in the U.S. and elsewhere, Coffey wrote in a research note Monday.

In March, the company announced a joint venture with Cash Converters that will push loans, pawn lending and other services in several international markets. In April, Ezcorp acquired the Canadian Cash Converters franchise. It also plans to reposition its Cash Max stores as Cash Converters and build out about 20 Cash Converter stores per year.

Based in Austin, Texas, EZCORP is a leading provider of specialty consumer financial services. It provides collateralized non-recourse loans, commonly known as pawn loans, and a variety of short-term consumer loans, including payday loans, installment loans and auto title loans, or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans. At its pawn stores, the company also sells merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending operations.

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Posted in Financial Stocks | No Comments »

Icagen Inc. (ICGN) takes flight on hint of Pfizer takeover

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Icagen Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGN) shares rocketed 113.8% to $5.13 after drug manufacturer Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said in a regulatory filing late Friday that it was looking at a possible strategic alliance with the biopharmaceutical company. Volume for Icagen totaled 1.8 million shares in the early trading hours of Monday, compared to an all-day average of 71,000.

A news release was issued soon after the market closed on Friday, June 24. In the release, Icagen put out a statement in which it acknowledged that it is currently engaged in preliminary discussions with Pfizer regarding a potential strategic transaction, but, quote “no definitive agreement has been reached.

“There can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached,” the statement continued, “or that a transaction will be consummated. Icagen does not plan to make future announcements with respect to this matter unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a specific transaction or an extension or other modification of the existing collaboration agreement and it has entered into a definitive agreement or the current discussions have terminated.”

Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietary know-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities, Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ion channels.

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Posted in Health Care Stocks | No Comments »

Takeover target WPCS International Inc. (WPCS) leaps in price

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

WPCS International Inc. (Nasdaq: WPCS) shares gained 30.9% to $2.92 today after home-security and media-services provider Multiband Corp. (Nasdaq: MBND) signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy the communications-infrastructure firm for $3.20 a share. Shares in WPCS totaled 876,000, compared to average daily volume of just over 23,000.

The acquisition, which will be subject to customary due diligence, negotiation of a definitive merger agreement and other conditions, including the approval of the shareholders of WPCS, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2011. Multiband is offering $3.20 in cash per share for WPCS shares.

In conjunction with the LOI announcement, Multiband has entered into a separate agreement with a third party to acquire for cash at $3.20 per share approximately 710,000 shares of WPCS’s outstanding common stock, representing an approximate 10% interest in WPCS.

In the June 16 press release announcing the takeover, Multiband CEO James L. Mandel commented, “This strategic acquisition will be significant for Multiband, expanding our service offering across a similar geographic footprint to our current presence and creating opportunity for significant operational leverage through the consolidation of real estate, training, and overhead expenses.

“Once integrated, we expect the acquisition to be immediately accretive, adding more than $100 million in revenue and between $5-8 million in EBITDA, on an annual basis.”

The LOI with WPCS has been approved by the Board of Directors of Multiband.

WPCS, based out of Exton, Pa., is a design-build engineering company that focuses on the implementation requirements of communications infrastructure.

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MediaMind Technologies Inc. (MDMD) acquired by DG, stock soars

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

MediaMind Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MDMD) shares gained 38.2% to $22.03 a piece Thursday, after DG Fastchannel Inc. (Nasdaq: DGIT) said it would pay $418 million, or $22 a share, to buy the digital-advertising company. Volume for the stock topped 2.3 million shares, routing a daily average of just over 70,000.

A news release June 16 announced the definitive agreement, under which DG will acquire MediaMind in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition creates one of the premier global online and television advertising technology companies.

Upon closing, Gal Trifon, President and CEO of MediaMind, will serve as DG’s Chief Digital Officer, leading DG’s online advertising business. Additionally, Ofer Zadikario, MediaMind’s Chief Solutions Officer, will join DG in the same position.

“This is a game-changing transaction that provides DG with an unmatched global footprint, broad customer reach and an innovative platform in television and the fast-growing online advertising market,” said Scott Ginsburg, Chairman and CEO of DG in the same news release. “

In the release, Trifon was quoted thus, “We believe this transaction offers significant value for our shareholders and is the natural, next step for MediaMind. DG will provide us with the added scale and resources to continue to grow our platform and enhance the services we provide our customers. Working together with DG, we will provide a single solution for advertising creation, distribution, and monitoring for cross-platform campaigns.

“We are excited to partner with DG,” Trifon concluded, “to continue to increase our base of large advertisers and expand our global operations, and we are confident that our employees will benefit from the greater opportunities at the combined company.”

Headquartered in New York, MediaMind has 37 sales and representation offices covering 64 countries. In 2010, MediaMind delivered campaigns for 9,000 brand owners using approximately 3,800 media and creative agencies across 8,200 global web publishers in 64 countries.

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