No Bad News Is Good News In Biotech
Edited by Ray Hennessey
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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10:43 (Dow Jones) Biotech earnings are off to a good start - they didn't
warn and they didn't miss. Biogen Inc. (BGEN) posted earnings of 46 cents a
share, in line with Street views, on revenues of $237 million, higher than
the $232 million-consensus estimate. Sales of multiple sclerosis treatment
Avonex fueled results as more patients and physicians are convinced by
clinical evidence supporting the use of this treatment over other multiple
sclerosis medicines. Executives anticipate Avonex to drive sales in the
second quarter and beyond. Shares rose 4.5%. (BMM)
10:36 (Dow Jones) Shares of computer data-storage company Network Appliance
Inc. (NTAP) fell 10% in trading Thursday after the company issued a profit
warning for its fiscal fourth quarter late Wednesday. The warning comes on
the heels of EMC Corp.'s (EMC) earnings preannouncement earlier Wednesday.
So much for storage being recession proof. (DLF)
10:30 (Dow Jones) Traders say day session weakness could be related to
last-minute tax selling. "Anyone who hasn't done so yet really only has
today left to do it," a floor trader says. But he adds after the big run up
this week, there's still a little nervousness out there. "There's still some
apprehension getting long at the higher levels," a trader says. (DMC)
10:27 (Dow Jones) Salomon Smith Barney analyst Thomas O'Donnell says Fannie
Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) shares "will go through periods of
volatility this year" and that investors should "either ignore the near-term
volatility or use it to add to, or initiate, positions." (JC)
10:20 (Dow Jones) Medical products giant Abbott Labs (ABT) reported first
quarter profits in line with Wall Street estimates, even though sales fell a
bit short of expectations. Operating profits totaled $734.9 million, or 47
cents a share compared to $692.9 million, or 44 cents a share last year.
Revenues, however, fell about $50 to $70 million, short at $3.6 billion.
That miss, however, did not worry several analysts, who attributed it to a
bigger-than-expected hit from foreign currency issues. (JJO)
10:11 (Dow Jones) The 87.8 mid-April Michigan sentiment reading is the
lowest since 1993, one economist notes, adding that weakness spread to
current conditions, which had been holding up better than expectations. (BB)
10:07 (Dow Jones) Wal-Mart's (WMT) anouncement at the bottom of its March
sales report that its 1Q earnings "may come in below our original estimate
of $0.32 but will be up slightly from the prior year's 1Q of $0.30 a share"
is a bad sign for the retail sector, says Emme Kozloff, an analyst at
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Wal-Mart is the most powerful merchandise buyer
in the country, and "if Wal-Mart is experiencing margin pressure, the rest
of the sector has got to be experiencing the same pain." (JMC)
10:05 (Dow Jones) With the air out of the Internet bubble, Geocapital
Partners has decided to take a breather. The Fort Lee, N.J., venture-capital
firm pulled the plug on its latest fund-raising effort in December,
returning $200 million in committed capital to investors, because of the
tough climate for investing in start-ups. A new round of fundraising isn't
likely until the fourth quarter "at the earliest," says Steve Clearman,
managing general partner and co-founder of Geocapital. (JAW)
10:00 (Dow Jones) The good news is that Research In Motion (
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