FYI:
Integ Up 6%; Analyst Cites Impending Piper Jaffray Mtg
Dow Jones Newswires
NEW YORK -- Integ Inc. (NTEG) shares tacked on 6% in value Friday in anticipation of news about the company's development of a new diabetes monitoring technology, one analyst said.
Integ stock recently was trading at 6 5/8, up 3/8, on Nasdaq volume of 89,300. Average daily volume is 39,400.
NationsBank Montgomery Securities Inc. analyst Kurt H. Kruger said the market may be expecting Integ to reveal the details of its development process at a Piper Jaffray research meeting on medical devices, to be held Feb. 3-5.
"We've been watching and hoping that they will freeze their design," a sign that development is finished, he said. "It is likely that the company will use this (meeting) as a forum to talk about their state of affairs."
The analyst said the market lately has had a sense that Integ is "making good progress," prompting investors to predict good news both next week and when the company reports earnings later next month.
A Piper Jaffray spokeswoman confirmed that Integ will be participating in the conference, but was unable to provide further details.
Kruger said that successful completion of the product, a device designed to monitor blood sugar levels through a proxy indicator in skin tissue, could turn the diabetes monitoring industry on its ear.
"We took them public in mid-1996 on the premise that they would tear down strongholds of (companies like) Johnson & Johnson," he said. "If it works, it will be an important milestone in the industry."
Still, "The company has been completely silent - even subterranean" about its progress on the technology, Kruger added.
Company officials were not immediately available for comment.
Steve |
