When you think "U.S. defense contractors," Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) probably isn't the first name that comes to mind. Nevertheless, Microsoft placed among the winners of one of the more lucrative contracts handed out at the Pentagon last night.
The contract in question, worth as much as $412.2 million to the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant, calls for Microsoft to provide Microsoft Enterprise Technical Support Services necessary to obtain highly trained "Microsoft Blue Badge cardholder support." Receiving these services requires that the DoD obtain access rights to Microsoft's proprietary (closed-source) code, which is licensed under exclusive legal right of Microsoft.�
Thus, Microsoft will be providing the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization with consulting services that include the provision of software developers and product teams to work on a variety of proprietary Microsoft resources and source code. Also covered by the contract are "Microsoft Premier Support" services such as tools and knowledge bases, problem resolution assistance from product developers, and access to the Microsoft source code when necessary.
Top 10 Asian Stocks To Buy For 2015: Oak Ridge Energy Technologies Inc (OKME)
Oak Ridge Energy Technologies, Inc., formerly Oak Ridge Micro-Energy, Inc., incorporated on August 15, 1986, is a development-stage company. The Company licenses thin-film, solid-state batteries for industrial, government, and medical applications. The Company�� thin-film battery is rechargeable, lithium-based, and the active battery layers are thinner than common plastic wrap.
The Company�� batteries are intended for applications, such as wireless smart sensors, which operate in harsh environments, security cards, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, semiconductor non-volatile memory chips, and implantable medical devices. Its prototype cells on ceramic substrates supplied to customers are 0.024 of an inch (0.62 millimeters) thick. Thin-film lithium and lithium-ion batteries are ideally suited for a variety of applications where a small power source is needed.
The Company competes with Infinite Power Solutions, Inc., Front Edge Technology, Inc., Cymbet Corporation, Teledyne Electronic Technologies, Excellatron and Planar Energy Devices, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Today, OKME has shed (-7.69%) down -0.050 at $.600 with 2,446 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 9:56AM EDT July 15, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.
Oak Ridge Micro-Energy, Inc. previously reported a strategic US $2.5M investment by Precept Fund Management SPC�� on behalf of Prescient Fund SP into the revitalised US battery company Oak Ridge Micro-Energy.
Mr. Steve Barber, Principal of Precept Investment Management Limited, the investment manager of Precept Fund Management SPC said:
��lobally the energy storage sector is projected to be a US$60 Billion market by 2020. Precept�� $2.5m placement into OKME is a strategic move by the fund to secure a significant share of this exciting company and the growth potential of the battery market. Our opinion is that OKME has a world leading technical and commercial team, a focused business development strategy and the reputation to be a key player in the US and global battery market. OKME is one of only two investment targets the Fund identified after an in-depth analysis of the energy storage market. The other is a Swiss battery company named Leclanche. Precept is a long-term, active participation, value investor, and we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with OKME.��/p>
Hot Information Technology Stocks For 2014: Uralkaliy OAO (URALL.PK)
Uralkaliy OAO (Uralkali OJSC) is a Russia-based company, which is engaged in the chemical industry. The Company specializes in the production of potash fertilizers. Its product portfolio comprises pink muriate of potash (PMOP), white muriate of potash (WMOP) and granular (GMOP). The Company is active through representative offices, located in Moscow and Beijing, as well as numerous subsidiaries, located countrywide and in Panama, Belarus, Singapore, Brazil and others. Uralkaliy OAO operates on the potassium and magnesium deposits located in Berezniki, Perm and Saint Petersburg. Its production assets include seven plants and five mines. Uralkaliy OAO sells its products domestically, as well as abroad in over 40 countries, including the United States, China, Brazil, India and South-East Asia, among others. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim Gallagher]
The potash spat continues to get uglier, as Belarus investigators reportedly intend to seize property and assets of Russia's Uralkali (URALL.PK) following the collapse of the joint Russian-Belarussian potash venture.
- [By Chris Damas]
This morning Russian potash giant OJSC Uralkali (URALL.PK) presented first half 2013 financial and operating results and more importantly, much anticipated comments on the strategy of the company and the state of the international potash industry, the latter blind-sided by the leading potash company's split with marketing partner JSC Belaruskali of Belarus.
Hot Information Technology Stocks For 2014: Astronics Corporation(ATRO)
Astronics Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace and defense industries worldwide. It operates in two segments, Aerospace and Test Systems. The Aerospace segment?s product lines include aircraft lighting, cabin electronics, airframe power, avionics databus products, and airfield lighting. This segment serves airframe manufacturers that build aircraft for the commercial, military, and general aviation markets; suppliers; and aircraft operators, such as airlines and branches of the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration and airport operators. The Test Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains communications and weapons test systems, and training and simulation devices for military applications. It sells its products primarily to the U.S. military, foreign militaries, and manufacturers of military communication systems. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquart ered in East Aurora, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Victor Selva]
Having to deal with competitors such as Astronics Cp (ATRO) or B/E Aerospace Inc. (BEAV), and being able to maintain a competitive position in the market, shows ATS麓s ability for great evolution and profitable growth.
Hot Information Technology Stocks For 2014: Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (ICPT)
Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on September 4, 2002, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat chronic liver diseases utilizing its bile acid chemistry.The Company�� product candidates treat orphan and more prevalent liver diseases for which there are limited therapeutic solutions. The Company�� product candidate, obeticholic acid, or OCA, is a bile acid analog, a chemical substance that has a structure based on a naturally occurring human bile acid. It is developing OCA initially for primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC, as a second line treatment for patients who have an inadequate response to or who are unable to tolerate standard of care therapy and therefore need additional treatment. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of OCA in PBC, which it calls the POISE trial, that serves as the basis for seeking regulatory approval in the United States and Europe. As of December 19, 2012, the Company completed enrollment of the POISE trial with 217 patients.
The Company�� clinical focus is on the development of OCA, orally administered, first-in-class FXR agonist that has broad liver-protective properties and may a variety of chronic insults to the liver that cause fibrosis, which can eventually lead to cirrhosis, liver transplant and death. The Company owns worldwide rights to OCA outside of Japan and China, where it has licensed the compound to Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, or DSP, and granted it an option to license OCA in certain other Asian countries.The Company is sponsoring an independent study involving more than ten leading PBC centers in North America and Europe, or collectively the Global PBC Study Group, that are pooling their long-term patient data to evaluate the relationship between biochemical and clinical endpoints.
The Company competes with Eli Lilly, Exelixis, Inc., Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, , Johnson & Johnson, NovImmune SA, Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH, Galmed Medical Researc! h Ltd., Immuron Ltd., Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., NasVax Ltd. , Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. Astellas Pharma US, Inc., AstraZeneca, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tioga Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) has�taken investors on a wild ride this year. After more than quintupling, it’s now up “only” 235% in 2014. And Deutsche Bank thinks it’s time to buy.
Special to The ChronicleDeutsche Bank analyst Alethia Young and team explain why they see “good risk/reward” in Intercept Pharmaceuticals:
Intercept’s lead asset is obeticholic acid (OCA) for treatment of liver diseases like PBC and NASH. Our conviction is based on 1) OCA will take meaningful stake in a large NASH market, 2) full results from the FLINT trial will be supportive of further development from a regulatory & commercial perspective, and 3) we think in the long-term that OCA will be a treatment for many other liver diseases beyond PBC and NASH…
On good data, we think Intercept trades to $336-$404/sh. On bad data, we think Intercept trades to $110-$146/sh. We think shares currently reflect ~35% chance of success for NASH. We see some downside protection in the fact that if NASH fails in Ph2b, the co will likely price PBC higher. We assume $65K, but every $5K in pricing is worth about $9/sh. At 100% success for PBC & NASH, our FV is $518/sh.
Our $395 TP is based on a probability adjusted DCF analysis (-100% terminal growth rate) and 11% discount rate which is in-line with biotech peers.
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have gained 2.9% to $229.03 at 11:44 a.m. today.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
I mean, just look at these returns: Gilead Sciences (GILD) has gained 41% so far this year as investors appear to have put their Sovaldi worries behind them; InterMune (ITMN) has quintupled in 2014 after Roche agreed to purchase it for $8.3 billion; and Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) has surged 350% as drug trials have been surprisingly good. All told, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) has risen 21%, more than double the S&P 500′s 8.3% rise.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
When a biotech stock has already gained 556% this year, like Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) has, there’s really only one thing for an analyst to do–raise their price target. And that’s exactly what Citigroup did today with Intercept Pharmaceuticals, the best performing biotech company in the Russell 2000.
Intercept Pharmaceutical has surged 576% this year after gaining today, besting InterMune’s (ITMN) 119% spike and Sangamo BioSciences’ (SGMO) 63% advance.
Citigroup’s Jonathan Eckard and team explain why they’re even more excited about Buy-rated Intercept Pharmaceuticals:
We are raising�[Intercept Pharmaceuticals' target price] to $700 (+$100) based on higher regulatory confidence following a thorough assessment of FDA history with blood lipid changes in other settings involving liver damage/repair. We believe the FDA�� understanding of these lipid changes is under-recognized by the Street and the agency�� past ��ack of��response to them highlights this. Therefore, we expect the lipid changes in the FLINT trial are likely to receive less regulatory scrutiny than current Street expectations and this is not reflected in [Intercept Pharmaceuticals'] current valuation. We also believe certain FLINT data could be publicly available by the end of July and before the anticipated AASLD showing.
What does all that mean for Intercept Pharmaceuticals? Here’s the one-sentence version: “Our increase is driven primarily by higher probability of approval and more rapid penetration into the most severe NASH population.”
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have gained 2.9% to $461.11, while InterMune has dropped 2.9% to $32.29 and Sangamo BioSciences has dipped 0.5% to $22.67.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
It’s always exciting when a stock quadruples in value, as Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) has this year. But are investors too excited? FBR’s Andrew Berens and Thomas Smith think they are:
Steve RemichWe are initiating coverage of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. with an Underperform rating and a 12-month price target of $172 per share. We believe investors are much too optimistic about the accessibility of the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) market and the regulatory pathway to commercialization. We agree that NASH is a highly prevalent disease globally but see this potential market as facing significant challenges before it can be accessed. We think payors are unlikely to embrace intervention for NASH, especially given the anticipated hepatitis C (HCV) burden on the system. NASH would be competing with HCV for payor dollars and provider access, as both diseases are treated by hepatologists.
Furthermore, unlike HCV, which is cured after one course of treatment, NASH is likely to require chronic therapy. NASH is also a relatively unrecognized disease with no treatment paradigms, necessitating building the market. Despite compelling efficacy, we do not think the FDA is likely to approve obeticholic acid (OCA) without an adequate safety database, making an accelerated approval unlikely in the time frame expected by investors. The co-morbidities in this patient population are too significant, and the lipid changes with OCA are concerning, especially in light of the reported cardiovascular events disclosed in the top-line FLINT data release.
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have dropped 3.2% to $286.78 at 2:40 p.m. today.
Hot Information Technology Stocks For 2014: Actelion Ltd (ATLN.VX)
Actelion Ltd is a Swiss biopharmaceutical holding company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule drugs. The Company has four approved drugs on the market: Tracleer, an oral dual endothelin receptor antagonist; Veletri, a prostanoid vasodilator; Ventavis, an inhaled formulation of iloprost, and Zavesca, an oral treatment for type 1 Gaucher disease. Furthermore, the Company has a number of compounds various stages of development. The Company operates through a number of worldwide subsidiaries, including Actelion Registration Ltd, which holds marketing authorizations for products marketed in the European Union; Actelion Clinical Research, Inc, engaged in clinical development on behalf of the Company's group; Actelion Re SA, providing insurance solutions for the Company's group and Actelion US Holding Company, engaged in the holding activities of the Company's United States-based units. In September 2013, it acquired Ceptaris Therapeutics, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Victor Selva]
Forest Laboratories has a current ratio of 2.69% which is higher than the ones registered by Endo International Plc (ENDP), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CBST). For investors looking for a higher ROE, Allergan Inc. (AGN) and Actelion Ltd. (ATLN.VX) are good options.
Hot Information Technology Stocks For 2014: ICU Medical Inc.(ICUI)
ICU Medical, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical technologies used in infusion therapy, oncology, and critical care applications. The company?s product line includes custom infusion systems, closed delivery systems for hazardous drugs, needleless infusion connectors, catheters, and cardiac monitoring systems. Its products enhance patient outcomes by preventing bloodstream infections, protecting healthcare workers and patients from exposure to infectious diseases or hazardous drugs, and monitoring the cardiac output of critical care patients. The company offers intravenous (I.V.) therapy lines consisting of a tube running from a bottle or plastic bag containing an I.V. solution to a catheter inserted in a patient?s vein for use in hospitals and ambulatory clinics; CLAVE product, a needleless I.V. connection device, which would be used with conventional peripheral or central vascular access systems for venous and arterial applications; custom infusion sets. It also provides critical care products that monitor vital signs and specific physiological functions of key organ systems, including disposable pressure-sensing devices, blood sampling systems, angiography kits, sensory catheters, pulmonary artery thermodilution catheters, and multi-lumen central venous catheters. In addition, the company provides TEGO for use in dialysis; a line of oncology products, including Spiros male luer connector device; the Genie vial access device; and custom I.V sets and ancillary products for chemotherapy. ICU Medical, Inc. sells its products to medical product manufacturers and independent medical supply distributors, as well as directly to the end customers worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in San Clemente, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ: ICUI ) �-- a medical device maker in the fields of infusion therapy, oncology, and critical care -- soared as much as 17% on a report that the company could be exploring a sale.
- [By Seth Jayson]
ICU Medical (Nasdaq: ICUI ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 16. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict ICU Medical's revenues will increase 8.0% and EPS will expand 4.8%. - [By CRWE]
ICU Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICUI), a leader in the development, manufacture and sale of innovative medical devices used in infusion therapy, oncology and critical care applications, reported that Company management will be presenting at the UBS Global Life Sciences Conference to be held on September 19-20, 2012, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York.
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