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Littelfuse Updates Guidance for Second Quarter (LFUS, rated BUY)

Marian Filo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:43:57 -0000

http://suprastock.blogspot.com/2009/07/littelfuse-updates-gui...

 Littelfuse Updates Guidance for Second Quarter 
 Tuesday, July 07, 2009 7:45:03 AM ET

Littelfuse, Inc. ( LFUS ) today announced revised guidance for the second quarter of 2009 as follows:

-- Sales for the second quarter of 2009 are now expected to be approximately $101 million, which represents a 20% sequential increase compared to the first quarter of 2009. Previous guidance called for a 10-15% sequential increase.

-- On a GAAP basis, the company expects to report a loss of ($0.12) to ($0.14) per diluted share, which includes restructuring charges of approximately $7 million (pre-tax) or $0.22 per diluted share. These restructuring charges relate to plans announced on May 19, 2009 to further consolidate manufacturing sites and further reduce operating expenses.

"Automotive and electronics sales improved more than expected in the second quarter, and electrical sales increased in line with normal seasonality," said Gordon Hunter, Chief Executive Officer. "With the cost reductions that have been implemented, the current sales run-rate is well above our breakeven point, excluding restructuring charges. While most end markets are still weak, channel inventories have declined considerably and we are now into the traditionally stronger part of the year."

No conference call will be held in conjunction with this guidance revision. Littelfuse is scheduled to release financial results for the second quarter on Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

About Littelfuse

As the worldwide leader in circuit protection products and solutions with annual sales of $530.9 million in 2008, the Littelfuse portfolio is backed by industry-leading technical support, design and manufacturing expertise. Littelfuse products are vital components in virtually every product that uses electrical energy, including automobiles, computers, consumer electronics, handheld devices, industrial equipment and telecom/datacom circuits. Littelfuse offers Teccor(R), Wickmann(R) and Pudenz(R) brand circuit protection products. In addition to its Chicago, Illinois, world headquarters, Littelfuse has sales, distribution, manufacturing and engineering facilities in Brazil, Canada, China, England, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and the U.S.

For more information, please visit Littelfuse’s web site at www.littelfuse.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are intended to constitute "forward-looking statements" entitled to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks relating to product demand and market acceptance, economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product quality problems or product recalls, capacity and supply difficulties or constraints, coal mining exposures reserves, failure of an indemnification for environmental liability, exchange rate fluctuations, commodity price fluctuations, the effect of the company’s accounting policies, labor disputes, restructuring costs in excess of expectations, pension plan asset returns less than assumed, integration of acquisitions and other risks which may be detailed in the company’s other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or implied in the forward-looking statements. This report should be read in conjunction with information provided in the financial statements appearing in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008. For a further discussion of the risk factors of the company, please see Item 1A. "Risk Factors" to the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008.

SOURCE: Littelfuse, Inc.

  <font> Littelfuse, Inc.  
 Philip G. Franklin  
 Vice President, Operations Support & CFO  
 (773) 628-0810 
  </font>

Update - Halifax Restructuring Efforts Begin to Pay Off (HX, rated BUY)

The GeoTeam — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:42:22 -0000

On June 30, 2009, we coded Halifax (HX) as a special situation opportunity. Since 2005 the company has been taking the necessary steps to transform itself from a stagnant operating entity to a viable growth company.

Halifax is a 42 year old company that currently participates in the supply chain management industry. For the past several years Halifax had been operating as a company with sluggish revenues and inconsistent profitability.

In fact, past SEC filings show that from 1997 to 2008 the company had only three years where it posted an operating profit.

Coupling this with an embezzlement incident, discovered in 1999, involving a former controller of one of the company's subsidiaries, initially makes the Halifax story appear unappealing.

However, the future is looking brighter. With new management, the embezzlement incident is behind them and the company has been taking the necessary steps to transform itself into a consistent growth company.

The first task at hand was to pay down debt that arose from the fraudulent activities. This was resolved in 2005 when the company sold its federal services division responsible for designing and installing specified communication systems for governments. The company was able to pay off a significant portion of its debt with the proceeds.

The second task was to formulate and execute a plan that would set the groundwork for sustained profitability and increasing revenues.

It appears that the company's efforts are paying off as it has just reported its first annual profit in several years. The company's optimism is evident in its press releases and conference calls, reasons in part why we feel that Halifax is a special situation opportunity.

Understanding Halifax

Halifax operates in the supply chain management industry. In simple terms, supply chain management is the management of a portfolio of assets spanning different locations and can consist of human assets, equipment and components. There are several aspects involved with the process including computer network setup, movement of parts, product tracking, product returns, office relocation and the maintenance and repair of equipment. The ultimate goal of supply chain management is to enable companies to manage their business more efficiently. Many firms choose to outsource parts of or the entire process.

Halifax's Two Major Divisions

Enterprise Maintenance Solutions, or EMS. The EMS provides maintenance services on a nationwide basis to major original equipment manufacturers, or OEM. Basically, this division only addresses a specific aspect of the supply chain management process and targets larger OEM firms. Through its more than 30,000 locations and over 400,000 units of equipment, Halifax is able to quickly address the maintenance, repair and tracking needs of its Global OEM Partner Customers, one of which is the technology and consulting giant IBM. In addition, Halifax is also contracted to perform EMS work for its Partners' customers.

Technology Deployment and Integration activities are also part of the EMS division and deal with the movement, installation and support of whole desktop environments.

The EMS division accounts for 85% of Halifax's revenues.

EMS was what was left of the company after the sale of the government service division in 2005. Although the EMS division offers the company a stable revenue stream, the growth opportunities and margins are particularly unattractive. This led to the creation of the Enterprise Logistics Solution, or ELS Division.

Enterprise Logistics Solutions, or ELS. Through its R&D process, the company discovered that the middle-sized markets were being underserved when it came to supply chain management. Furthermore, if these smaller companies wanted to embark on such activities in-house, it became a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Thus, Halifax embarked on a mission to fine tune its process by offering a more complete supply chain solution as opposed to just maintenance targeted towards the middle markets. The culmination of this initiative occurred in 2008 when Halifax created the Enterprise Logistics Solutions division that offered logistics and supply chain solutions across the entire supply chain framework.

Halifax states, "We deliver comprehensive, fully integrated services including end-to-end customer support and fulfillment, critical inventory optimization and management, web-based customized reporting, onsite repair services, as well as depot repair and warranty management."
This division already accounts for 15% of revenues and has much higher margins compared to the EMS business.

Halifax's Strategy Going Forward

The company's growth strategy is simple-to maintain its stable EMS business and develop the ELS division which has opened a whole new avenue of growth prospects.

New markets.
- Prior to the establishment of the ELS division, Halifax's business was mainly suited for the IT industry. Now that the company can accommodate the entire supply chain network, it can satisfy the needs of a wider variety of customer markets.
- The ELS division will also allow it to expand its reach through the company's partner relationships.
As a result of having access to a much broader customer base, the company may be able to jump start its revenue growth.
Growth in margins should occur.
- As the ELS division begins to account for more of the company's revenues, gross margins should improve.
- The company has a high degree of fixed leverage as SG&A expense can remain relatively stable when revenues increase.
- The company has been reducing fixed contract arrangements and will not enter contracts with substantial inventory requirements.
The company is virtually debt free which gives it the flexibility to pursue synergistic acquisitions.
The company's international sales account for less than 5% of its revenue stream.

We are also attracted to the annuity-like stream of revenues from the Halifax model as well as the notion that businesses, in a quest to become leaner in tough economic times, may utilize supply chain services.

The market has finally taken some notice of the Halifax story. After meandering well under $1.00 for several months , despite three consecutive quarterly profits, the stock finally responded on June 30, 2009 when it reported a profit for its 2009 fourth quarter and full year.

Although we are upset that it did not take a position in the stock while it was under $1.00, we are inclined to believe that if the company can execute its restructuring plan, more upside is available.

We are particularly impressed that the company is maintaining profits despite declining revenues and a weakened economy. This tells us that the company's plan to increase its higher margin ELS business is working, albeit at the sacrifice of its larger revenue and lower margin EMS business.

While maintaining current profitability, the company is optimistic that the substantial EPS and revenue growth needed to achieve P/E expansion will start to occur in its 2010 third quarter ending in December.

After reviewing the company's conference call transcripts it is evident that the maximization of shareholder value is one of Halifax's primary goals. We will continue to track the Halifax story. For more insight into the company, please see HX potential valuation scenarios at GeoInvesting.com .

Nation Wide (PCS, rated BUY)

beachboy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:43:53 -0000

Metro is the service I personally use, although I do not own (PCS) stock, It has been on my radar. Strong resistants between 11.50 and 12.50. I would think this is very close to the bottom. Buy in low sell high, Gain a couple bucks with in 30 days maybe 16.50 earn 4.00 dollars and press that button. It is like playing deal or no deal. Why did'nt I buy in. Billions of monies, I am still a rookie. Give one to the beachboy, hey wait what about sprint. Billions! Is this seventy-five words yet.

Gold Stock 1 (KGC, rated BUY)

aductan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:01:13 -0000

I like this stock fro three reasons. The first positive factor is that It is growing its gold reserve base constantly. Second, there is currently positive cash from operations and available credit to fuel more growth. Lastly, I'm bullish on gold prices in general given the state of the dollar at this time. As inflation fears rise, so will the value of gold and I think this particular company is poised to capitalize on that and you can get in on the action as well.

Admirable bank, but... (DNBK, rated SELL)

utopius — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:53:37 -0000

Danvers is to be truly admired for their denial of the TARP, this shows confidence and a morally commendable attitude towards the ridiculous gov't TARP program. However... Why is it acquiring a bank in the middle of 2009?? This seems ludicrous. There are banks all over the country shuttering and being sold by the FDIC for nothing, a small premium on deposits and cheap assets (branches etc...). There are many more of these failures to come, so plenty of cheap inventory for Danvers to buy. Why pay 1.5x book value for a bank when plenty of banks can be had for less than book value or for the value of their assets directly? No idea what Danvers or Beverly has as loan investments on their balance sheet. It doesn't matter. What matters is commercial RE, high-end residential RE, and middle-class residential RE are all going to drop in price this year in next, similar to the nasty drop subprime RE had in 2008. So unless Beverly is a subprime lender that took no hits to it's portfolio (doesn't exist), I fail to see how acquiring a financial institution for 50% more than book value is anything other than foolhardy. Additionally, Beverly seemed to be the type of bank that paid pretty high interest rates to depositors if memory serves.

FDA Calendar Updates: Amgen, Bayer, Biogen, Noveko, Peplin, Transdel (AMGN, rated BUY)

Mike Havrilla — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:09:30 -0000

Below is a summary of updates to the BioMedReports.com FDA Calendar , which includes a database of 246 entries as of 7/8/09. The calendar was originally created by Mike Havrilla to track companies with pending new drug, biological agent, or medical device new product decisions at the FDA. With the launch of BioMedReports.com , the FDA Calendar has expanded to include the following categories: pending new submissions to the FDA (e.g. NDA, BLA, 510k, PMA, sNDA, sBLA filings), pending complete response letter (CRL) re-submissions to the FDA, and pending late-stage clinical trial results.

http://biomedreports.com/articles/most-popular/1961-fda-calen...

On 7/8/09, Bayer (ETR:BAY) (OTC:BAYRY) announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for a new estradiol-based oral contraceptive (estradiol valerate/dienogest). It seeks approval for the indications oral contraception and treatment of heavy and/or prolonged menstrual bleeding. The new product with an estradiol valerate/dienogest combination is the first in a new class of oral contraceptives to deliver estradiol, the estrogen identical to the one produced by the female body. It is marketed in Europe under the tradename Qlaira. The estimated PDUFA action date for a standard, 10-month review by the FDA for this NDA is 5/8/10.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) has a pending BLA for denosumab with a PDUFA action date of 10/19/09 for a possible FDA decision. On 6/22/09, the FDA announced that Amgen’s experimental osteoporosis drug denosumab (proposed brand name Prolia) will be revied by an Advisory Panel at a meeting on 8/13/09. The FDA Advisory Panel will discuss the Company's proposed uses of (1) treating and preventing osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and (2) treating and preventing bone loss in patients undergoing hormone ablation therapy for prostate and breast cancer.

On 7/7/09, AMGN announced that a pivotal, Phase 3, head-to-head trial evaluating denosumab versus Zometa (zoledronic acid) in the treatment of bone metastases in 2,049 patients with advanced breast cancer met its primary and secondary endpoints and demonstrated superior efficacy compared to Zometa. Superiority was demonstrated for both delaying the time to the first on-study Skeletal Related Events, and delaying the time to the first-and-subsequent SREs. Both results were statistically significant.

On 7/8/09, Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:BIIB) announced that the FDA granted PEGylated interferon beta-1a (BIIB017) Fast Track designation for relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). BIIB is currently enrolling patients in a global Phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of either bi-weekly or once-monthly injections of PEGylated interferon beta-1a in this patient population. BIIB plans to enroll more than 1,200 patients in the Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PEGylated interferon beta-1a in patients with RMS. The global trial, called ADVANCE, will determine the efficacy of PEGylated interferon beta-1a in reducing relapse rates in patients with RMS at one year.

On 7/8/09, Peplin (ASX:PLI) announced the completion of enrolment of its two Phase 3 clinical trials for the use of PEP005 (ingenol mebutate) Gel to treat actinic (solar) keratoses (AK), a common pre-cancerous skin lesion, on head treatment areas, which include the face and scalp. These Phase 3 clinical trials are referred to as REGION-IIa and REGION-IIb and enrolled approximately 250 patients each. Peplin plans to announce the REGION-II trial results during 4Q09. In addition to the REGION-II trials on head locations, Peplin recently completed its REGION-Ia trial for non-head locations, which included the trunk and extremities, and plans to initiate the REGION-Ib trial during 3Q09 to corroborate the results of the previously completed trial and expects to file a New Drug Application in mid-2010.

On 7/8/09, Transdel Pharma (OTC:TDLP) announced the successful completion of patient enrollment in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical study for Ketotransdel, which is a topical cream based non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for the treatment of acute pain. As previously announced, TDLP.OB expects to report the top-line results from this Phase 3 trial later in 3Q09. The Company also stated that it is either engaged in or pursuing discussions with U.S. and foreign based potential partners with sales and marketing infrastructures to support Ketotransdel in the event that the product is approved and commercialized.

On 7/8/09, Noveko (TSE:EKO) (PINK:NKOFF) announced that its management recently held constructive discussions with the FDA regarding its pending 510(k) submission for the Noveko 3xEZ Antibacterial Surgical Mask to obtain clarifications on and narrow FDA's remaining data requests so that the Company can timely respond to them. As such, the Company received confirmation that it has now until 10/23/09 to submit the requested remaining data. The Company believes that when the 510(k) is cleared for the Noveko 3xEZ Antibacterial Surgical Mask, it will likely be the first mover in the U.S. market, further protected by its underlying product patent portfolio.

Disclosure: No positions.

Well Positioned for Growth Over the Next 12 Months (GS, rated BUY)

Tom Caddoo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:12:20 -0000

Although the road ahead for Goldman will be a bumpy one for some time to come, the firm is well positioned to ride out the current market jitters and rebound once the overall economy begins to pick up in the next 9 to 12 months. Goldman has a strong balance sheet and as long as they can maintain their revenues from an investment banking perspective, they will ultimately prevail as one of the strongest banks in the next 12 months. In addition, Goldman has average just about a 9% return over the last 10 years which should continue through the next ten years. Short term the stock will fluctuate due to economic and market jitters, but long term this is a solid contributor for most any portfolio that contains equities.

PNY set for upswing (PNY, rated BUY)

andy122879 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:28:32 -0000

I have been watching the stock for several years and it is my opinion that the stock is undervalued presently (7-7-09). I base this on simple common sense. Natural gas use is down during the summer. Buy in the summer and sell in the winter. Increases in the cost of natural gas are hedged by the company. Additionally, NG does not have a ready replacement when it comes to heating a home.

bad banks must go away in order to heal the economy (FFED, rated SELL)

utopius — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:04:13 -0000

Some regulations have occured this year which help protect the stated balance sheets of banks, but obfuscate reality from the public. We need more clarity, not more opaqueness. The government is doing everything wrong, and it will extend and deepen this Depression. The fact that Firstfed modified $1bn in loans, is a very bad sign considering the bank's equity is now under $300mm and low and middle income housing markets have collapsed anywhere from 40% to 90%. We should view banks as owners of real estate. If you figure FFED has $6bn in loans outstanding as of March 31, and say $300mm in equity, all that has to happen is those loans lose 5% of their value. Given the bank is in California where unemployment is 11% and rising, and given $1bn is already being "modified" and another 200+ houses are in REO on the banks website, FFED isn't looking so good. How our government allows this bank to appear as a stable institution is a crime. There's other safer banks that deserve FFED's deposits which would make them stronger and aide our economy. Issuers of Option-ARM loans aren't going to fare too well in the future, much less this bank having problems in the past. This banks will go down because it made among the stupidest of loans. The government is the cause of this nonsense, due to their leveraging the dollar in order to support bank-lending feeding-frenzy.

FDA Calendar Updates: KG, PTIE, DRRX, ALTH, TRIB, CBST, DYAX (ALTH, rated BUY)

Mike Havrilla — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:09:57 -0000

Below is a summary of updates to the BioMedReports.com FDA Calendar , which includes a database of 243 entries as of 7/7/09. The calendar was originally created by Mike Havrilla to track companies with pending new drug, biological agent, or medical device new product decisions at the FDA. With the launch of BioMedReports.com , the FDA Calendar has expanded to include the following categories: pending new submissions to the FDA (e.g. NDA, BLA, 510k, PMA, sNDA, sBLA filings), pending complete response letter (CRL) re-submissions to the FDA, and pending late-stage clinical trial results.

http://biomedreports.com/articles/most-popular/1918-fda-calen...

On 7/7/09, King Pharma (NYSE:KG) and Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTIE) announced that KG met with the FDA on 7/2/09 to discuss the Complete Response Letter (CRL) for the Remoxy NDA.KG expects the resubmission of the NDA to occur mid-year 2010 and believes that the rate limiting step is the generation of six-month stability data, and no new clinical trials are required.

Remoxy is based on Durect's (NASDAQ:DRRX) Oradur technology as a unique, controlled release formulation of oxycodone for moderate-to-severe chronic pain designed to reduce potential risks of unintended use. In mid-2008, an NDA for Remoxy was accepted by the FDA and granted Priority Review. In December 2008, PTIE received a CRL from the FDA, and subsequently, KG assumed full control of all activities related to the development of Remoxy.

On 7/7/09, Allos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALTH) announced the completion of patient enrollment in the Company's randomized Phase 2b clinical trial comparing pralatrexate to erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with Stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are, or have been, cigarette smokers who have failed treatment with at least one prior platinum-based chemotherapy regimen. This randomized, open-label, international, multi-center Phase 2b trial was initiated in January 2008 and enrolled 201 patients.

The objective of the trial is to compare the efficacy of pralatrexate to that of erlotinib in patients with Stage IIIB/IV NSCLC who are, or have been, cigarette smokers who have failed treatment with at least one prior platinum-based chemotherapy regimen, including subsets of light and heavy smokers, as well as current and former smokers. Per the protocol, the primary endpoint is overall survival. Response rate, progression-free survival and the safety and tolerability of pralatrexate will also be assessed. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either pralatrexate or erlotinib. The primary survival analysis will be performed when a pre-specified number of events have occurred in all randomized patients.

On 7/7/09, Trinity Biotech (NASDAQ:TRIB) announced the FDA approval and U.S. launch of its high throughput haemostasis (blood clot) analyzer, the Destiny Max. On 3/9/09, TRIB announced the start of CLIA trials for its TRI-stat point-of-care HbA1c product, which is designed to measure HbA1c to assess a patient's average blood sugar control over the previous 2-3 months. Utilizing a patented boronate affinity and two-phase optical system, together with a simple, fully automated, plug-and-play instrument design, TRI-stat offers highly accurate results in minutes while eliminating the need for refrigeration required by three competing products. TRIB provided guidance that the trial would take about 4-6 weeks to complete at four locations at which point the data will be submitted to the FDA for CLIA approval.

On 7/6/09, Cubist Pharma (NASDAQ:CBST) announced that it began dosing in the CONSERV-2 clinical trial with ecallantide. CONSERV-2, being conducted in Europe, is a Phase 2 trial that will investigate ecallantide’s effect on surgical blood loss volume in cardiac surgery patients who are on cardiopulmonary bypass and are at a high risk of bleeding. The trial is expected to enroll 300 subjects. Ecallantide is a potent inhibitor of plasma kallikrein, and CONSERV-2 will evaluate the effects of plasma kallikrein inhibition in the trial population. Surgical environments, such as those involving the trial population, are associated with the activation of plasma kallikrein and subsequent activation of coagulation, fibrinolytic, and inflammatory cascades, which likely contribute to blood loss and blood transfusion requirements in the perioperative setting.

CBST stated that it remains on track for a mid-2010 end-of-phase 2 meeting with the FDA and anticipates that the results of this trial and the ongoing CONSERV-1 trial will provide meaningful insights into the optimal design of subsequent Phase 3 trials. In April 2008, Cubist announced an exclusive North American and European license and collaboration agreement with Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ: DYAX) for the development and commercialization of the intravenous formulation of ecallantide for surgical indications. The first indication being sought by Cubist for ecallantide is the reduction of blood loss during on-pump cardiac surgery.

Disclosure: No positions.