Month: January 2015

On Jan 2, 2015, we issued an updated research report on FirstEnergy Corp. ( FE ). A growing transmission business and a modest improvement in the economy of FirstEnergy’s service territories are expected to boost earnings going forward. […]

Security and protection services provider The ADT Corporation ( ADT ) recently announced a 5% year-over-year hike to its dividend payout. The quarterly dividend now comes to 21 cents or 84 cents per share on an annualized basis. The increased cash dividend is payable on Feb 18 to shareholders of record as of Jan 28 […]

Shares of Republic Airways Holdings Inc . ( RJET ) gained in excess of 2% to close the Jan 8, 2015 trading session at $14.24, following traffic data reported by the company for the month of Dec 2014. Traffic – measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) – came in at approximately 952 million, up 3% from 926 million recorded in the comparable month a year ago […]

In a bid to expand further and meet the increased demand for air-travel during the summer of 2015, low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. ( JBLU ) announced its plans to increase its presence in Portland, OR. In order to attain its objective, the carrier will introduce a fourth non-stop flight from the Portland International Airport to Anchorage, Alaska. […]

Shares of MeadWestvaco Corporation ( MWV ) climbed nearly 6% and scaled a new 52-week high of $45.77 on Jan 9, after the company’s board approved plans to spin off its Specialty Chemicals business into a separate, publicly traded company. MeadWestvaco’s specialty chemicals business is a provider of performance chemicals used in printing inks, asphalt paving and adhesives, as well as in the agricultural, paper and petroleum industries. […]

Progressing with the efforts to streamline its business portfolio, Myers Industries Inc. ( MYE ), has agreed to sell its Lawn & Garden business to a unit managed by Wingate Partners V, L.P. […]

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. ( HMC ) has agreed to pay cumulative fine of $70 million to the U.S. safety regulators for its failure to report hundreds of injuries, deaths and other consumer claims related to its vehicles […]

Royal Gold Inc. ’s ( RGLD ) fully-owned subsidiary – Royal Alaska, LLC – has completed the formation of a joint venture with Contango ORE, Inc. (“CORE”) to advance exploration and development of CORE’s Tetlin properties […]

Ventas, Inc. ( VTR ), the Chicago, IL-based real estate investment trust (“REIT”) has announced the pricing of a public offering of $900 million aggregate senior notes. The company intends to utilize the net proceeds for repaying outstanding debt under the unsecured revolving credit facility, meeting working capital requirements as well as funding investments […]

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc . ( VRX ) jumped 6.2% after the company provided better-than-expected outlook for 2015. The company also updated the guidance for fourth-quarter 2014. […]

The ongoing Advanced Wireless Servies-3 spectrum auction conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has accumulated a record-breaking $45 billion after the 157 th round of bidding, breezing past the regulator’s initial estimate of a little over $10 billion. In 2008, the FCC conducted wireless spectrum auction had accumulated a total of $19.6 billion. The AWS-3 spectrum auction, which was initiated on Nov 13, 2014, has received as many as 70 applications […]

Pennsylvania-based American Eagle Outfitters Inc. ( AEO ) fell 4.7% on the index as it posted a 2% decline in its consolidated comparable sales (comps) for the 9-week period ended Jan 4, 2014. However, total sales over the holiday period inched up 1% year over year to $893 million, despite management’s conservative fourth-quarter outlook on grounds of weak store traffic and a highly competitive retail backdrop. […]

On Jan 8, 2015, we issued an updated research report on California-based Volcano Corporation ( VOLC ). This leading provider of intravascular imaging and therapy for coronary and peripheral applications reported impressive third-quarter 2014 financial results on Nov 6, 2014. Volcano reported adjusted loss per share of 4 cents in the quarter, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20% […]

On Jan 9, 2015, we issued an updated research report on DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. ( DWA ). DreamWorks delivered positive earnings surprises in two quarter last year, with an average miss of a negative 62.91% […]

On Jan 8, Zacks Investment Research downgraded U.S. Steel Corp. […]

Fred’s Inc. ( FRED ) reported 1.4% year-over-year decline in comparable-store sales (comps) in Dec 2014, lower than management’s expectations of a flat to 2% gain. Results also compared unfavorably with 1.4% comps increase in the year-ago period due to weak store traffic […]

Biogen Idec ( BIIB ) announced positive top-line results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II study (RENEW) on anti-LINGO-1 for the treatment of patients suffering from acute optic neuritis. The RENEW study evaluated the effects on remyelination by measuring the latency of nerve conduction between the retina and the visual cortex in the brain in terms of full field visual evoked potential (FF-VEP). The primary endpoint of the study was to measure the FF-VEP latency (time for a signal to travel from the retina to the visual cortex) for the affected eye at week 24 compared to the unaffected eye at baseline. […]

Shares of Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. ( PSUN ) rallied 21% on the index yesterday after the company strong comparable store sales (comps) for December and upgraded its outlook for fourth-quarter fiscal 2014. Comps for the month rose 9% from the year-ago period on the back of stupendous performance at both men’s and women’s categories Moreover, gross margins are likely to register an estimated 400-500 basis points (bps) improvement. […]