(Source: Business Wire)
Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE), Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR), Linktone (NASDAQ: LTON) and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK).
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Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:
Bank of Ireland Estimates Cut
In its 3rd quarter trading update, The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE), or BOI, reduced its earnings outlook due to higher loan impairment charges.
IRE raised its estimate of bad debts to EUR4.5 billion from EUR3.8 billion for the 3 years through 2011, with roughly EUR1.4 billion expected for the 2009 fiscal year ending March 31. Moreover, BOI said there is downside risk to this estimate, with EUR1.5 billion of additional impairment charges possible.
Eli Lilly Remains Range-Bound
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) turned in a solid year in 2007 and again in 2008. 2008 sales increased by 9% on strong sales of Cymbalta, Alimta, Byetta, Cialis and the Animal Health business. EPS grew even faster, at 13%, as operating margins widened on stronger gross margins and modest SG&A leverage.
For 2009, Lilly expects EPS between $4.00 and $4.25 on revenue growth in the mid-single digits. While we've been mildly surprised by the annual performance in 2007 and 2008, we don't expect a repeat performance in 2009 and expect the shares to remain range-bound for the foreseeable future.
Take Advantage of Acorda Sell-Off
On March 31, 2009, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) received a "refuse to file" (RTF) letter from the U.S. FDA regarding its new drug application (NDA) for Fampridine-SR, the company's novel therapy designed to improve walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
According to management, the FDA raised three issues in the RTF letter. The first issue raised by the FDA notes a "format issue" regarding the electronic common technical document (eCTD) submission, and requested that some of the data in the filing be reformatted.
Linktone Upgraded to Buy
We upgrade our rating to Buy for Linktone (NASDAQ: LTON), a leading provider of wireless value-added services (WVAS) in China.
