EMED - I bought another 6,000 between 4 13/16 and 4 7/8 about half an hour ago. I hear from a different source the buyout is on at $16, likely next week. Here's an article that addresses the industry EMED is in, particularly in relation to their JustMed.com site:
Friday February 25, 10:33 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Report Says Internet Companies will Shake Up Health Care Industry Distribution
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2000--Eighty-three billion dollars is spent annually on medical supplies in the United States, but $11 billion of those costs could be eliminated by streamlining the supply chain using the Internet, according to Senior Analyst Daren Marhula of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. ''The emergence of the Internet has opened up and entire new world of commerce called business to business (B2B), which has the power to shake up the distribution process as we know it today,'' says Marhula in a new a report ''e-Health B2B Overview.''
Marhula's comprehensive, 54-page report analyzes the current state of the distribution industry, the outlook for tomorrow and the role U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray believes the Internet will have in reshaping the health care distribution industry.
According to Marhula, research has indicated that $23 billion of the $83 billion spent on medical supplies is attributed to pure process and procurement costs. A significant 15 percent, or $11 billion, could be saved without compromising the high quality of care we have come to expect. ''That's roughly the amount we spent on the hospitalization of Americans suffering from chronic heart failure in 1999,'' Marhula says.
Marhula says a new breed of distributors is using the Internet to substantially increase efficiency in moving medical products across the supply chain. ''Acting as an electronic hub, these B2B Internet companies have a substantial opportunity to bring value to groups of motivated buyers and sellers by providing them with a liquid market, new distribution channels, greater product/service selection, competitive pricing environments and, most important of all in health care, reduced transaction costs,'' he says.
That's a development that will benefit both the sellers and the buyers, says Marhula. ''With the addition of each new customer or manufacturer, buyers benefit by having access to more product and pricing choices, and sellers benefit by having access to more buyers.''
''Within the ambulatory setting, roughly 50 percent of all hospital purchases are made through an organization's primary distributor; the remainder are ad hoc. These are for routine purchases for which the organization has generally pre-negotiated set prices with their primary distributor, and with whom they generally have an Electronic Data Interchange link to facilitate the transaction. Purchasers of this type range from regular distribution of office supplies (copy paper and toner), janitorial and maintenance (brooms, brushes, etc.) to medical supplies (gloves, gauze, stents, etc.).''
It is in these routine purchases that Marhula believes the Internet and the emerging B2B exchanges present tremendous efficiencies for the distributor marketplace.
Which Distributors Will Win?
''The key to winning in this market is going to be critical mass - gathering together the largest number of buyers and sellers will create the greatest value,'' Marhula says. ''We believe it will be a winner-take-all end game. Companies that already have relationships with hospitals and physicians offices may be able to leverage those relationships into the online world, and have a head start from their native Internet competitors. Once an exchange can gather critical mass, the value of the exchange will increase exponentially with each additional customer and supplier. The nascent status of exchanges in the health care industry makes it too early to distinguish the winners; however, we believe the game will be won and lost within the next 12 to 18 months.''
Marhula's Coverage Area
Marhula's covers information-driven health care companies: Advance Paradigm, Inc. (ADVP-23 5/8, (a)), Allscripts, Inc. (MDRX-51 3/8, (a)), CareInsite, Inc. (CARI-76 1/2, (a)), Cerner Corporation (CERN-32 5/16, (a)), Data Critical Corporation (DCCA-37 1/4, (a)(b)), Express Scripts, Inc. (ESRX-43 7/8, (a)), Healtheon/WebMD Corporation (HLTH-62 3/4, (a)), IDX Systems Corp. (IDXC-36, (a)), MedicaLogic (MDLI-40 5/16, (a)(b)), Shared Medical (SMS-40 1/4, (a)).
How to Receive a Report
Please contact your U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray representative for a copy of the report, ''e-Health B2B Overview.'' If you would like more information about receiving a report, call 612/342-8850. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, provides a full range of investment products and services to businesses, institutions and individuals. The company's investment banking business has grown exponentially in the last several years by focusing on the needs of growth companies in the health care, technology, financial institutions, consumer and industrial growth sectors. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray has a national reputation for its expertise in fundamental research and equity and debt financing. U.S. Bancorp offers a comprehensive range of financial solutions through U.S. Bank, First American Asset Management, U.S. Bancorp Libra Investments and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. Securities products and services offered through U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Inc., member SIPC and NYSE, Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.
(a)U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Inc. makes a market in the company's securities. (b)Within the past three years, U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. was managing underwriter of an offering of, or dealer manager of a tender offer for, the company's securities or securities of an affiliate.
Nondeposit investment products are not insured by the FDIC, are not deposits or other obligations of or guaranteed by U.S. Bank National Association or its affiliates, and involve investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested. Securities products and services are offered through U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc., member SIPC and NYSE, Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.
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Contact:
U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis
Elizabeth Child
Sr. Media Relations Consultant
612/342-6594
or
Mike MacMillan
MacMillan Communications
212/473-4442
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