Month: May 2015

After a month of review, UBS Group AG UBS is spinning off its Australian Wealth Management unit through a management buyout. The unit’s chief, Mike Chisholm, will lead the spun-off unit, establishing it as a new firm – Crestone Wealth Management. Decision to move away from Australian wealth management operations is, however, contradictory to UBS Group’s strategy of expansion in the broader Asia-Pacific region. […]

Flash memory storage solution provider SanDisk Corp. SNDK recently unveiled a solid state drive ("SSD") — Z400s SSD — that would improve the computing and mobile computing experience for both consumers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Expected to be available worldwide soon, Z400s SSD will boost the company’s SSD product portfolio […]

Chemtura Corporation CHMT has inked a letter of intent with Tosoh Corporation to build a long-term relationship for brominated flame retardant products and technologies in Japan. According to the letter of intent, Tosoh would be granted exclusive rights for the promotion and sale of Chemtura's Emerald Innovation 1000 flame retardant products to customers in Japan. Moreover, Tosoh would be granted a license for manufacturing and selling Emerald Innovation 1000 products to customers in Japan. […]

We have issued an updated research report on Taubman Centers, Inc. TCO on May 25, 2015. The company’s dominant retail malls, located in major metropolitan areas, enjoys high average sales productivity in the U.S. […]

Highlights for last week included Twitter TWTR getting closer to Google GOOGL and Yahoo YHOO shares slumping on IRS concerns before regaining some. Yahoo Shares See-Saw Yahoo shares went into a tailspin after a Bloomberg report quoting an IRS official said that the IRS intended to review spinoffs where the active business wasn’t significant compared to the value of assets being spun off. This seemed practically targeted at Yahoo’s Spinco, which includes its inconsequential small business and highly valuable Alibaba shares. […]

Premium information technology company Unisys Corporation UIS lately stepped into the domain of software-defined data center with the launch of its Dorado ClearPath 8300 Intel-based systems. The new systems would be available in the market from May 29, 2015 onwards. […]

Canadian oil company, Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE announced that it has safely evacuated all staff from its Foster Creek oil sands and Athabasca natural gas operations. It has also shut down production there as a precaution against a forest fire on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range or CLAWR in northeastern Alberta […]

El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO), the Californian chicken chain, is looking to aggressively expand in the Texas region. The company has collaborated with Chicken Time Holdings LP — an affiliate of Dallas-based Henry Investment Group — to open restaurants in Dallas. […]

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation EW recently presented 30-day data from its SAPIEN 3 Trial at EuroPCR 2015, in favor of its SAPIEN 3 transcatheter aortic valve. The data reinforces Edwards’ strong focus on expanding its footprint in the multi-billion transcatheter heart valve (THV) market. Under this prospective, multicenter, non-randomized trial, 101 intermediate-risk patients were administered transfemoral treatment with the SAPIEN 3 THV at 13 centers in Europe and Canada. […]

Putting speculations to rest, Charter Communications, Inc. CHTR has finally made two major announcements pertaining to pending deals. […]

STAG Industrial, Inc. STAG recently announced that it has inked a 319,000-square foot renewal lease deal for a distribution warehouse building in Orangeburg, SC. […]

Sonoco Alcore S.a.r.l., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco Products Co. SON , has announced a price hike on all recycled paperboard grades sold in the company’s Italian region to combat rising material and manufacturing costs. Sonoco Alcore operates 29 tubes and cores plants and five paperboard mills in Europe, including Sonoco’s largest European uncoated recycled paperboard mill in Italy. […]

On May 25, 2015, we issued an updated research report on integrated logistics and transportation solutions provider, Ryder System, Inc. R . The Miami, FL-based company performed impressively in the first quarter of 2015 reporting better-than-expected earnings […]

Merck & Co. Inc. MRK announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has rendered a positive opinion in favor of approving Keytruda in the EU for the first-line treatment as well as the treatment of previously treated advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma patients. […]

Shares of Toro Co. TTC scaled a new 52-week high of $70.59 on May 22, after the company posted record second-quarter fiscal 2015 results. Further, Toro’s portfolio of innovative products and positive outlook for the rental and specialty construction businesses also aided stock price appreciation […]

On May 25, 2015, we issued an updated research report on Masco Corporation MAS . On Apr 28, this home improvement and building products company reported first quarter 2015 results. […]

Oil is starting to shine again as the fundamentals driving the price of the commodity look good. This surely is good news for oil exploration and production (E&P) companies which have endured an oversupplied crude market long enough. Fundamentals Driving Crude Like any other commodity, the price of crude is determined by its market demand and supply […]

Medtronic plc MDT recently presented new clinical data that validate the clinical effectiveness of its IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon’s (DCB) in treating long lesions in one’s upper leg’s arteries. The data, taken from two different studies and presented at EuroPCR 2015, demonstrate Medtronic’s strong potential in the global peripheral vascular devices market. Medtronic’s IN.PACT Admiral DCB is designed to reopen narrowed or blocked arteries (including superficial femoral (SFA) and popliteal) in patients who suffer from peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the upper leg– a serious but common cardiovascular disease condition. […]

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF , a specialty retailer of premium, high-quality casual apparel, is slated to report first-quarter fiscal 2015 results on May 28, before the opening bell. In the last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 1.8% […]