Month: May 2013

Energy exploration and production firm Marathon Oil Corp. ( MRO ) has confirmed that it has pulled out of talks with potential buyers regarding the partial sale of its 20% interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) in Alberta, Canada. The venture – involved in the extraction of bitumen (a sticky, tar-like form of petroleum) from sand formations – is a collaboration between the Canadian subsidiaries of Europe’s largest oil company Royal Dutch Shell plc ( RDS.A ), U.S. […]

The second-largest telecom carrier in the U.S. AT&T, Inc. […]

Bell Canada – a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc. ( BCE ) – unveiled Fibe TV Wireless Receiver in an attempt to boost the television (TV) viewing experience. […]

We remain Neutral on Panera Bread Co. ( PNRA ). […]

Merck ( MRK ) recently announced mixed news on the pipeline front. While the company received support from the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee for its insomnia candidate, suvorexant, Merck said that it will not pursue regulatory filings for its Parkinson’s disease candidate, preladenant. The company’s decision regarding preladenant was based on an initial review of data from three phase III studies which did not show evidence of efficacy compared to placebo. […]

Cisco Systems Inc. ( CSCO ) completed the acquisition of cellular-network-gear provider, Ubiquisys Ltd. for $310 million in cash and retention-based incentives. […]

The Dow Chemical Company ( DOW ) announced that it plans to use a part of a recent payment from the Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait (PIC) to pay down up to $2 billion in debt this year. Dow recently received $2.2 billion in cash as damages from PIC as the latter withdrew from a $17.4 billion joint venture ("K-Dow Petrochemicals") in 2008. Dow is looking for ways to reduce its debt and its actions are expected to deliver more than $100 million in annual interest expense savings once complete […]

Airgas, Inc. ( ARG ) has announced a change in the leadership of its South Division. Chuck Broadus will join the division as President, effective July 1, reporting to President and CEO of Airgas, Michael Molinini […]

We have maintained our Neutral recommendation on Occidental Petroleum Corporation ( OXY ). The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Why the Reiteration […]

Bayer ’s ( BAYRY ) HealthCare segment recently received encouraging news when the European Commission approved its oral anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) in combination with standard antiplatelet therapy. The combination is approved for the prevention of atherothrombotic events (myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death or stroke) after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in adults having elevated cardiac biomarkers. Bayer mentioned in its press release that with the approval, Xarelto became the only novel oral anticoagulant to be approved for the prevention of elevated cardiac biomarkers after an ACS event […]