Marks Electrical Share Discussion Threads

[maywillow] 17/6/2005 15:44

Merck KGaA Shr Rise Unjustified -Merrill

Friday, June 17, 2005 9:09:55 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



1248 GMT [Dow Jones] Merrill Lynch says current Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) share price increase, 30% above the sector average, is not merited. Recent increased forecasts and the Erbitux drug data are indeed positive, however the company's risk structure is unfavorable, Merrill says. (DAF/HAD)

[waldron] 12/6/2005 17:06

Morgan Stanely Ups Actelion Target To CHF167

Thursday, June 09, 2005 3:09:29 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0700 GMT [Dow Jones] Morgan Stanley raises Actelion (ATLN.EB) price target to CHF167 from CHF158 on better-than-expected Tracleer pricing in Japan. "At roughly $60,000 per patient per year this price is significantly above our expectation for $35,000 per year." This affords increase of EPS estimates: '06 rises 7% to CHF5.67 and '07 13% to CHF8.39. Rates overweight. Shares closed Wednesday at CHF125.70. (AAG)

[grupo guitarlumber] 08/6/2005 12:20

Lombard Odier Ups Actelion Price Target

Wednesday, June 08, 2005 4:54:32 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0843 GMT [Dow Jones] Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch ups Actelion (ATLN.EB) price target to CHF153 from CHF147 after company says that it has received OK from Japanese regulator to sell Tracleer on prescription. Stock up 1.7% at CHF127.4. (GOM)

[grupo guitarlumber] 08/6/2005 08:14

Actelion Drug Tracleer Gets High Japan Price

Wednesday, June 08, 2005 3:34:57 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0716 GMT [Dow Jones] Actelion's (ATLN.EB) Tracleer will be sold at $60,000 in Japan, which is a much higher price than expected, says Kepler Equities analyst Denise Anderson. Drug sells at around $35,000 in the US, and European price is similar to US price, she adds. Rates shares buy with CHF180 target. Closed at CHF125.30. (AAG)

[maywillow] 06/6/2005 17:33

Actelion Main Drug Rival Gets Limited FDA Ok

Monday, June 06, 2005 9:55:24 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



1335 GMT [Dow Jones] Actelion (ATLN.EB) down on news the FDA has approved Pfizer's (PFE) Revatio drug for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Actelion's main drug, Tracleer, also treats PAH, a rare lung disease. But "this is actually good news for Actelion" as Pfizer only has short-term study statistics for the drug at the approved dose, says Kepler Equities analyst Denise Anderson. Rates Actelion buy, CHF180 target. Trades -0.4% at CHF125.80. (AAG

[waldron] 25/5/2005 13:25

Competition For Actelion Drug Heating Up

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 7:24:27 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



1109 GMT [Dow Jones] Merrill Lynch says Actelion's (ATLN.EB) blood pressure drug Tracleer will remain the number one prescribed treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension. "However, we are concerned the increasingly competitive PAH market may impact Tracleer growth to a greater degree than expected." Keeps at neutral. Shares -0.5% at CHF125.30. (HJS)

[maywillow] 23/5/2005 08:19

Actelion Drug News Small Disappointment

Monday, May 23, 2005 3:34:19 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0717 GMT [Dow Jones] Actelion's (ATLN.EB) shares are likely to suffer small losses after company says it won't continue development of kidney drug Palosuran. "A disappointment, but one that should be well contained due to the limited significance of the medicine," says Bank Leu Investment research. Shares unchanged at CHF127. (AAG)

[waldron] 29/4/2005 07:41

Goldman Lifts Actelion EPS On Strong 1Q

Friday, April 29, 2005 2:48:13 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0644 GMT [Dow Jones] Goldman Sachs lifts Actelion (ATLN.EB) '05 EPS estimate to CHF4.83 from CHF3.83 after strong 1Q results. Although 1Q contained factors that are unlikely to be repeated for the full year, the "strong operating performance and focus on revenue and profit generation by the added sales force" should move consensus forecasts higher. Expects "noteworthy" newsflow over the next six to nine months. Keeps at overweight. Shares closed at CHF126.20. (SWZ)

[waldron] 25/4/2005 09:42

WestLB Ups Actelion Price Target To CHF148

Monday, April 25, 2005 4:38:25 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0823 GMT [Dow Jones]--WestLB ups Actelion's (ATLN.EB) target to CHF148 from CHF142 as the brokerage lifts '05 EPS estimate to CHF4.77 from CHF3.28 in order to reflect increased sales, profitability expectations for Tracleer. WestLB forecasts Tracleer sales in '05 at CHF571M, up 27% on year. Says company "represents one of the most attractive biopharmaceutical companies in Europe." Keeps outperform rating. Trades +0.5% at CHF133.50. (SWZ)

[maywillow] 22/4/2005 06:41

Lehman Lifts Actelion Target, EPS

Friday, April 22, 2005 2:03:45 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0551 GMT [Dow Jones] Lehman Brothers ups Actelion (ATLN.EB) target to CHF165 from CHF160, lifts 05 EPS estimate to CHF4.50 from CHF3.17 as it expects Tracleer to exceed company's own sales guidance. "We continue to believe that Tracleer numbers can accommodate an aggressive Revatio launch." Keeps at overweight. Shares closed Thursday at CHF130.10. (SWZ)

[maywillow] 21/4/2005 10:56

Actelion Faces Weaker '06 After Strong '05

Thursday, April 21, 2005 5:53:30 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0919 GMT [Dow Jones] Focusing on Actelion's (ATLN.EB) optimistic outlook for '05, the market ignores that net profit will probably drop in '06 when tax rate will increase and company will incur costs related to paying for staff options, says Sal Oppenheim analyst Birgit Kulhoff. Sees FY05 net profit at CHF110M, and at CHF100M in '06. Rates neutral. Fair value under review after strong 1Q earnings. Trades +5.9% at CHF132

[maywillow] 21/4/2005 08:56

Nomura To Review Estimates On Actelion 1Q

Thursday, April 21, 2005 4:23:23 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0802 GMT [Dow Jones]--Actelion (ATLN.EB) beats market expectations with its 1Q report. "There is no doubt that our estimates will have to be put under review," says Nomura analyst Sam Fazeli who has a reduce rating on the stock. Points to clinical trial results which are ahead of schedule, and possible additional approved use of main drug Tracleer from 1Q 06, which protects it better against competition. Says competition worries have been the main driver behind reduce rating. Trades +5.8% at CHF131.80. (AAG)

[maywillow] 21/4/2005 08:27

Actelion 1Q Rev, Op And Net Pft 'Striking'

Thursday, April 21, 2005 4:03:58 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0750 GMT [Dow Jones]--Actelion (ATLN.EB) 1Q earnings show "striking" revenue for flagship treatment Tracleer, operating profit and net income, says Lehman Brothers. Company also raises 05 guidance, but Lehman says its still on conservative side, even allowing for slowdown of Tracleer in back-end of 05. Important to note though that besides Tracleer, Actelion's earnings are heavily influenced by lower-than-expected expenses and higher tax credits.Rates overweight, target is CHF160. Shares 5.8% at CHF131.80. (KAB)

[maywillow] 15/4/2005 07:14

CSFB Reiterates Actelion At Outperform

Friday, April 15, 2005 2:48:42 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswire



0633 GMT [Dow Jones]--CSFB "strongly" reiterates outperform for Actelion (ATLN.EB), ups target price to CHF160 from CHF140. CSFB expects considerable share price triggers for stock on Phase III data for Tracleer on extension indications, digital ulceration, scleroderma-ralted pulmonary fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. That makes current level ahead of those triggers an excellent buying opportunity, says CSFB. Closed at CHF128.80. (KAB)

[waldron] 31/3/2005 06:01

Nils214

Better later than never.

[nils214] 22/3/2005 14:14

can somebody point me to the stock exchange and epic where merck is traded in Euro's. Have done a search and don't come up with anything!
Thanks
N

[maywillow] 18/3/2005 09:57

LONDON, March 17 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgrade Merck KGaA (MRK.ETR) to "overweight," while raising their estimates for the company. The target price has been raised to €69.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company's liquid crystal segment is likely to witness operating margin expansion in the near term due to improving capacity utilization and product mix. Morgan Stanley believes that Merck KGaA would retain its leadership in the liquid crystal market in the forthcoming few quarters, given its healthy intellectual property portfolio. The EPS estimate for 2005 has been raised by 4%.

[ariane] 05/3/2005 12:45

Elan Shares Fall as Disease Confirmed in 2nd Patient (Update6)
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Elan Corp., Ireland's biggest drugmaker, fell as much as 17 percent after the company said a second patient taking its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri has developed a rare neurological disease.

The second patient is still alive, said Amy Brockelman, a spokeswoman for Biogen Idec Inc., Elan's U.S. partner, in a telephone interview today. She declined to give additional details. The companies reported Feb. 28 that another MS patient who contracted the rare disorder, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, had died.

Since the companies withdrew the drug this week, Elan's shares have fallen 78 percent, wiping out more than $7.7 billion in market value. The stock dropped 1.17 euros today to 4.45 euros as of 2:32 p.m. in Dublin after trading as low as 4.28 euros, a 15-month low. Biogen shares have lost 43 percent, or $9.7 billion.

``Two cases from separate locations strengthen the link,'' said Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst Ian Hunter in Dublin, Ireland, in a research note.

Elan Chief Executive Kelly Martin was counting on Tysabri to help return the Dublin-based company to a profit in 2006 after selling about $2 billion in assets to pay down debt. Biogen, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, expected Tysabri to help win a greater share of the MS market as growth slows for its eight-year- old Avonex drug. Analysts say the prospects for both companies have been damaged by the withdrawal.

Male in Late 40s

``We're all working hard to resolve this,'' said Elan spokeswoman Anita Kawatra in New York, in an interview today. She also confirmed that the second patient is alive and said he was a male in his late 40s.

``We've tried to move very rapidly, bringing together experts to monitor the situation,'' Kawatra said. ``Our goal is to bring Tysabri back to the market. A label is a living document. All drugs have a safety profile, all drugs have a benefit profile, and we're trying to inform the medical community as thoroughly as possible with that label.''

Both patients who contracted the neurological disease, known as PML, were taking Tysabri in combination with Avonex. There haven't been any reported cases of the illness in patients taking only one of the drugs.

Rivals Benefit

Makers of competing MS products including Serono SA, Schering AG and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. have benefited from Tysabri's withdrawal. Shares of Serono, Europe's largest biotechnology company and maker of the MS drug Rebif, had their biggest gain in at least 14 years Feb. 28. Teva's 11 percent rise on the same day was the shares' biggest in more than four years. Schering, which sells Betaseron for multiple sclerosis, gained 2.9 percent that day.

In today's trading, Biogen shares declined $1.12, or 2.9 percent, to $38.21 at 9:36 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. Serono shares rose 14 Swiss francs, or 1.6 percent, to 883 francs as of 3:37 p.m. in Zurich after trading as high as 897 francs. Shares of Teva rose 9 shekels to 128.9 shekels in Tel Aviv. Schering shares rose 81 cents, or 1.5 percent, to 56.86 euros in Frankfurt.

Biogen and Elan also said yesterday they are providing information connected with the drug's withdrawal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

[alphorn] 28/2/2005 18:39

Maywillow - I understand that Serono was up strongly today following the MS drug news for Biogen / Elan.
I am not sure why because Avonnex is not affected???

[maywillow] 28/2/2005 18:25

LONDON, February 28 (newratings.com) - Analysts at DZ Bank maintain their "buy" rating on Merck KGaA (MRK.ETR), while raising their estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from €60 to €65.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company reported its earnings for 2004 ahead of the estimates, driven by higher-than-expected margins from its liquid crystals segment. The EPS estimate for 2005 has been reduced from €3.00 to €2.94 to reflect the disposal of Merck's electronic chemicals segment. The EPS estimates for 2006, 2007 and 2008 have been raised from €3.33 to €3.51, from €3.73 to €4.13 and from €4.31 to €4.87, respectively.