Featuring SNY’s restructuring strategy; AMZN side-steps new tax legislation; YHOO shuts down Maven Networks; JNJ trumps Abbot in courtroom, NVAX’s multi-million dollar vaccine deal; and NEXM’s market position.
Today’s Stock Alerts include: Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY), Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) and NexMed Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM).
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) Stock Alert – SNY announces Major Restructuring Effort
Looking to boost innovation, French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) recently said it is reorganizing research operations amid changes in the drug industry. The restructuring effort comes amid new safety concerns of its key drug Lantus, which is reported to have a “possible link” with cancer. Lantus is the company’s third-best-selling drug with revenue up 28% at nearly $3.5 billion last year.
With the new R&D model, the Paris-based company is reportedly closing eight of its 27 research and development sites (four sites in France and sites in Britain, Japan, Spain and the United States), while focusing more on partnerships with academic institutions, biotech companies and other research entities to help drive innovation. Meanwhile, productivity will focus on diabetes, cancer and age linked diseases as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-infectious diseases. The reorganization is targeted to be in place by 2013.
The company said it not making forced layoffs amid the remodeling, but that a plan for voluntary departures was being considered.
In a statement, CEO Christopher Viehbacher said the objective of the company’s new strategy is to generate innovative solutions to meet the specific needs of patients. He said the company would develop scientific networks with outside entities “to strengthen creativity” and would choose a more entrepreneurial approach to research.
With the safety concern going on, Sanofi-Aventis said it is standing behind the safety of Lantus. In a press release, Sanofi-Aventis Chief Medical Officer Jean-Pierre Lehner M.D. made the following statement, “Given the extensive clinical evidence covering over 70,000 patients and the results of post-marketing surveillance arising from 24 million patient-years of experience, Sanofi-Aventis stands behind the safety of Lantus. We consider that the results of these patient registries are not conclusive.”
Sanofi-Aventis is a pharmaceutical group engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of healthcare products. The company’s business includes two main activities: pharmaceuticals and human vaccines through sanofi pasteur. In its pharmaceutical activity, Sanofi-Aventis specializes in six therapeutic areas: thrombosis, cardiovascular, metabolic disorders, oncology, central nervous system (CNS) and internal medicine.
The company offers vaccines in five areas: pediatric combination vaccines, influenza vaccines, adult and adolescent booster vaccines, meningitis vaccines, and travel and endemic vaccines. On September 1, 2008, Sanofi-Aventis acquired the Australian company, Symbion CP Holdings Pty Ltd (Symbion Consumer). On September 25, 2008, it acquired Acambis plc. In January 2009, the company sold its French plant of Colomiers to French pharmaceutical company Unither. In April 2009, the company acquired Mexican generic company, Laboratorios Kendrick.
In its recent chart, SNY’s Bollinger Bands indicate greater than normal volatility as reflected by an increase in distance between the upper and lower bands. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price trend. MACD reflects strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish sign is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages.
Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) Stock Alert – AMZN Drops Hawaii Affiliates as State Legislature Passes Cyber Tax Legislation
Online retail giant Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) is reportedly dumping its Hawaii affiliates after the state passed a legislation that would allow it to collect sales tax on e-commerce sites not actually physically located in the state. According to Forrester Research, state governments could generate $3 billion in new revenues if Web retailers had to collect taxes on all sales to consumers.
The company is reportedly ending deals with Web sites that have referred business in several states that are trying to classify as a physical retailer required to collect sales tax based on its connection to locally based affiliates. The company will not reveal how many affiliates it has, but report has it that they are in thousands.
Amazon’s recent decision follows similar moves in North Carolina and Rhode Island, The Wall Street Journal noted. The company has also sent out a warning letter to California.
The Seattle-headquartered company collects sales tax in states where it has a physical presence, which are North Dakota, Kentucky and Kansas.
Amazon.com offers services to consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers. The company serves its consumer customers through its retail Websites. It offers programs that enable seller customers to sell their products on the company’s Web sites and their own branded Webs ites. It serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. In addition, the company generates revenue through co-branded credit card agreements and other marketing and promotional services, such as online advertising.
The company’s operations are organized into two principal segments: North America and International. In August 2008, Amazon.com purchased Shelfari, a social network for book lovers. In December 2008, Amazon.com announced the completion of its acquisition of AbeBooks.
In its recent chart, AMZN’s MACD currently reflects weak bearish signal, with the indicator above the critical level of 0 but has crossed below its 9-day signal line, indicating that positive momentum has begun to slow. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, a bullish signal is indicated, weakened by significant liquidating volume as reflected by downward sloping moving averages. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price trend.
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) Stock Alert – YHOO Ceases Maven Networks
An online report revealed that Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) is planning to shutdown Maven Networks, a video distribution and advertising software company it bought for $160 million last year. Maven’s products will no longer be supported by Yahoo! after 2010, according to Web site TechCrunch, citing an unnamed Maven customer.
Following the TechCrunch’s report, Yahoo! said in a statement, “This decision will allow us to focus our resources on the continued improvement of our core video offerings, such as enhancing the consumer video experience on Yahoo!.”
Maven’s closure comes as the company has made a number of strategic cuts in its portfolio of properties, including the shutdown of services such as Yahoo 360, GeoCities, My Weband Yahoo! Briefcase. It has also shuttered live video streaming service Y!Live and online video editing service Jumpcut.
Yahoo!, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, is a global Internet brand. Together with its owned and operated online properties and services (Yahoo! Properties or Owned and Operated sites), the company also provides its advertising offerings and access to Internet users beyond Yahoo! through its distribution network of third-party entities (Affiliates), who have integrated its advertising offerings into their Web sites, referred to as Affiliate sites, or their other offerings.
The company generates revenues by providing marketing services to advertisers across a majority of Yahoo! Properties and Affiliate sites. The company provides services in more than 30 languages and in more than 30 countries, regions, and territories, including localized versions of Yahoo!. Its offerings to users on Yahoo! Properties fall into six categories: Front Doors, Communities, Search, Communications, Audience and Connected Life.
In its recent chart, YHOO is trading within its Bollinger Bands, a normal condition signaling that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold relative to the recent price action. MACD currently reflects weak bearish signal, with the indicator above the critical level of 0 but has crossed below its 9-day signal line, indicating that positive momentum has begun to slow. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, a bullish signal is indicated, weakened by significant liquidating volume as reflected by downward sloping moving averages.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Stock Alert – JNJ Subsidiary Wins Patent Infringement Suit over Abbott; Abbott to Appeal $1.67 billion Ruling
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) subsidiary Centocor Ortho Biotech recently said a federal jury has returned a verdict of $1.67 billion against Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) in a patent infringement suit involving an anti-TNF class of arthritis treatments.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that a jury in the Eastern District of Texas found that Abbott’s best-selling drug, Humira, violated a patent on Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade. Both Remicade and Humira work by blocking proteins called tumor necrosis factor, which cause inflammation.
On Tuesday, Abbott said it will appeal the ruling, with company spokesman Scott Stoffel stating in an email: “We’re confident we’ll prevail on appeal and thus we would not owe any damages,” the AP reported.
Johnson & Johnson reportedly filed its suit against Abbott in April 2007.
Johnson & Johnson is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field. Johnson & Johnson has more than 250 operating companies. The company operates in three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices and Diagnostics.
The Consumer segment includes a range of products used in the baby care, skin care, oral care, wound care and women’s healthcare fields, as well as nutritional and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products. The Pharmaceutical segment includes products in the therapeutic areas, such as anti-infective, antipsychotic, cardiovascular, contraceptive, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hematology, immunology, neurology, oncology, pain management, urology and virology. The Medical Devices and Diagnostics segment includes a range of products distributed to wholesalers, hospitals and retailers. In October 2008, the company acquired HealthMedia Inc. In December 2008, it acquired Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc.
In its recent chart, JNJ is trading within its Bollinger Bands, a normal condition signaling that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold relative to the recent price action. MACD reflects a strong bullish signal, with the indicator above the 9-day moving average signal line, and also above the 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending higher. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, a bullish trend is indicated. Also, a rising moving average signals that there has been buying interest in this stock.
Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) Stock Alert – NVAX Enters into Multi-million Spanish Deal on Vaccines
Vaccine developer Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) saw it shares up on word that it has licensed its VLP vaccine technology to ROVI Pharmaceuticals of Spain, a deal that would create a comprehensive influenza vaccine solution for the Spanish government. Novavax is a clinical-stage biotechnology company creating novel vaccines, including H1N1, to address a broad range of infectious diseases worldwide using advanced proprietary virus-like-particle (VLP) technology.
NVAX president and CEO Dr. Rahul Singhvi stated, “This is the first opportunity to export our technology to Europe, following the recent joint venture with Cadila Pharmaceuticals in India, and is further validation of our unique in-border vaccine supply offering. This influenza vaccine supply solution consisting of our VLP technology and portable manufacturing avoids the use of chicken eggs, creates vaccines for emerging strains faster, and promises less expensive, in-border manufacturing capacity. We continue to discuss opportunities with other pharmaceutical companies and governments to implement this compelling influenza vaccine technology around the globe.”
The partnership hopes to have the plant running and win approval to sell the vaccines in the European Union in 2012, the Associated Press reported.
For Novavax, the deal will bring needed development funding now and will be worth tens of millions of dollars in future royalty payments, the report said.
Novavax’s vaccines leverage its virus-like particle (VLP) platform technology coupled with a disposable production technology. VLPs are genetically engineered three-dimensional nanostructures, which incorporate immunologically important lipids and recombinant proteins. Novavax’s VLPs resemble the virus but lack the genetic material to replicate the virus. Its production technology uses insect cells rather than chicken eggs or mammalian cells. The company’s product targets include vaccines against the H5N1 and other subtypes of avian influenza with pandemic potential, human seasonal influenza, Varicella Zoster, which causes shingles, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This RSV vaccine was announced on October 30, 2008.
In its recent chart, NVAX’s MACD currently reflects weak bearish signal, with the indicator above the critical level of 0 but has crossed below its 9-day signal line, indicating that positive momentum has begun to slow. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, an indication of a bullish trend is generally considered. Trading near its upper Bollinger Band, the stock suggests high price relative to its recent price action.
NexMed Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM) Stock Alert – NEXM Shows More Buying than Selling, Buyins.Net Reports
NexMed Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM) joined the list of Monday’s top gainers with lowest price friction, according to buyins.net’s proprietary Market Maker Friction Factor Report for June 30, 2009. East Windsor, N.J.-based NexMed is a pharmaceutical and medical technology company with a focus on developing and commercializing therapeutic products based on its delivery systems.
According to the report, the companies’ recent movement indicates there was more buying than selling in the stocks, with stock prices rising faster with less friction.
Sustaining its recent bullish action, NEXM rose 31.98% Tuesday on significantly above average volume.
NexMed focuses its efforts on new and topical pharmaceutical products based on a penetration enhancement drug delivery technology known as NexACT, which may enable an active drug to be better absorbed through the skin. The NexACT transdermal drug delivery technology is designed to enhance the absorption of an active drug through the skin, overcoming the skin’s natural barrier properties, and enabling high concentrations of the active drug to rapidly penetrate the desired site of the skin or extremity.
The company’s products under development include NM100060, a topical nail solution for the treatment of onychomycosis; Vitaros, a topical alprostadil-based cream treatment for patients with erectile dysfunction; and Femprox, an alprostadil-based cream product for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder. It also focuses on the development of topical treatments for psoriasis. The company has a licensing agreement with Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd. for the development, manufacture and commercialization of NM100060.
In its recent chart, NEXM’s MACD reflects a strong bullish signal, with the indicator above the 9-day moving average signal line, and also above the 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending higher. With share prices currently above the stock’s 13-day moving average, an indication of a bullish trend is generally considered. Trading near its upper Bollinger Band, the stock suggests high price relative to its recent price action.
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