For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 11, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Enzon (ENZN), Merck (MRK), OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP), Pfizer (PFE) and Bank of America Corporation (BAC).
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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Enzon Beats, Announces Sell-off
Enzon (ENZN) achieved break-even earnings during the third quarter of 2009, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of loss of 7 cents but below the year-ago earnings of 1 cent. The company reported revenues of $44.6 million, a decline of 9% compared to $48.8 million reported in the third quarter of 2008.
Enzon records revenues from three sources -- products, royalties and contract manufacturing. The three segments recorded a decline of 1%, 6% and 56%, respectively, compared to the year-ago period.
Enzon has four marketed products -- Oncaspar for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); DepoCyt for lymphomatous meningitis; Abelcet for antifungal infection related to cancer and Adagen used to treat severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID), commonly known as the "bubble boy" disease. Apart from Oncaspar, whose sales remained unchanged from the year-ago period, the other three recorded a decline of 4%, 15% and 10%, respectively.
Enzon earns royalties from several products, which have been manufactured using its proprietary PEGylation technology -- Pegintron, marketed by Merck (MRK); Macugen, marketed by OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP) and Pfizer (PFE); Pegasys, marketed by Hoffmann-La Roche; and Cimzia, marketed by UCB Pharma. The company earns a majority of royalty revenue from sales of Pegintron, which is approved for the treatment of hepatitis C. Unfavorable movement of the foreign exchange brought down royalty revenues during the quarter.
Additionally, cancelled shipments and discontinuation of customer schedules were responsible for lower contract manufacturing revenues. We expect contract manufacturing revenues to suffer going forward since many of the current contracts are to expire in the next two years.
R&D expenses during the quarter were $15.8 million, unchanged from the year-ago period. The company has several pipeline candidates: PEG-SN38, the HIF-1 alpha antagonist, Survivin (antagonist) and other LNA- and PEGylation- based programs.
The company’s financial position continues to worry us. At the end of the reported quarter, total cash reserves including investments were $201.3 million, down compared to $206.9 million at the end of December 2008, primarily due to the repurchase of $20.4 million of notes in 2009 offset by the cash provided by operating activities.
Shortly after announcing its third quarter results, Enzon announced that it has decided to sell its specialty pharmaceutical business to the Sigma-Tau group of Italy for $300 million. In addition, the company is eligible to receive another $27 million based on success milestones and royalties of 5% - 10% on incremental net sales above a 2009 baseline amount from its four marketed products through 2014.
BofA Extends $184B in Credit
In its latest quarterly Lending & Investing Initiative report, Bank of America Corporation (BAC) said on Monday that it has extended about $184 billion in credit during the third quarter of 2009 to support households and communities.
The report makes obvious how BofA is utilizing the bailout money to support the U.S. economy. According to the report, since the fourth quarter of 2008 when the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was initiated, BofA had extended $759 billion in new credit. This represents almost $17 for every dollar of the $45 billion it received under the TARP. BofA also continues to provide a significant return on investment to the U.S. taxpayers. The bank is expected to pay more than $2.5 billion in dividend to the U.S. Treasury through Nov 16, 2009.
The extension of home loans continues to be among BofA’s priorities. The company extended $96 billion alone in first mortgages during the reported quarter. The loans helped nearly 450,000 people purchase a home or refinance an existing mortgage.
BofA is also extending credit to the municipalities and non-profits and has already provided $7 billion to help meet local needs and serve communities across the country.
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