June 5, 2017 – Stock Market Research, Option Picks, Stock Picks,Financial News,Option Research

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017

Albany Molecular Is For Sale

PE Firm Carlyle Group is in talks to purchase Albany Molecular

Albany Molecular $AMRI is a contract research and manufacturing company

Albany Molecular Research $AMRI is a contract research and manufacturing company. The Company operates through Discovery and Development Services (DDS), Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), Drug Product (DP) and Fine Chemicals (FC) segments.

Reuters reports that private equity firms GTCR LLC and Carlyle Group LP $CG are in talks to team up and jointly acquire Albany Molecular. Negotiations are ongoing, and there is no certainty that the talks will lead to Albany Molecular Research being taken private, the report said.

Drug manufacturers are under pressure to lower drug costs and that has created M&A activities in the sector. Other stocks in the sector that might be looked as potential take over targets include: #Cambrex Corporation $CBM , Charles River Labs. $CRL , Emergent Biosolutions $EBS . TESARO $TSRO , the oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, recently announced that it is shopping itself.

AMRI last traded at $19.91.

The Carlyle Group L.P. $CG is a diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firm. The Company operates in four segments: Corporate Private Equity (CPE), Real Assets, Global Market Strategies (GMS) and Investment Solutions. Corporate Private Equity advises its buyout and growth capital funds, which pursue various corporate investments of different sizes and growth potentials.

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The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017

DexCom Rallies on Apple Decision

Apple begins supporting Dexom’s glucose monitoring sensor

Previously Apple Watch only supported 3rd party Apps through iPhone

#DexCom $DXCM is a medical device company. It focuses on the design, development, and commercialization of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems in the United States and internationally. The company offers its systems for ambulatory use by people with diabetes; and for use by healthcare providers in the hospital for the treatment of patients with and without diabetes.

The company reported a loss of $0.49 per share in Q1 of 2017, six cents better than the Consensus Estimate. Total revenue grew to $142 million, reflecting an increase of 22.4% from $116 million in the year-ago quarter. However, the figure was two million below the estimates. Since the report, shares have been under pressure due to the mixed report. To add to its woes, market chatter had it that Apple will offer its glucose monitoring system.

At Apple’s annual developer conference currently underway, the company’s vice-president of technology Kevin Lynch said that Apple $AAPL will release a new bluetooth API for Apple Watch, its fitness-tracking gadget. Users would be able to link their Apple watch to a glucose sensor from DexCom. Previously, developers building health sensors would need to communicate with the iPhone over Bluetooth — but not with Apple Watch.

Health developers say this is a promising sign that Apple will open up new pathways for them to create their own interchangeable watch bands laden with health sensors. Health startups are already building watch bands, which use sophisticated sensors to track health conditions.

PRICE ACTION:

DXCM last traded at $71.15, up more than 5 percentage points on the day. It has a 52-weeks trading range of $57.68 to $96.38.

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June 5, 2017

Athenahealh Could Be in Play!

Citi says can’t rule out athenahealth sale with Elliott involved

potential acquirers of athenahealth include tech companies aiming to build a healthcare presence

#Citi analyst Garen #Sarafia raised his price target on #athenahealh $ATHN saying Elliot Associates’ recently disclosed stake in the company reinforces his favorable view and likely provides a support level for shares.

Additionally, a sale of the company “cannot be ruled out” given the activist investor’s track record, Sarafia argues.

BACKGROUND:

On May 18, Elliott Associates, Elliott International and #EICA disclosed in a regulatory filing that they collectively have combined economic exposure in athenahealth of approximately 9.2% of the common stock outstanding.

Elliott said it may “consider, explore and/or develop plans and/or make proposals” to athenahealth and intends to communicate with the company’s management and board “about a broad range of operational and strategic matters.”

CITI UPS TARGET

Sarafia raised his price target for athenahealth to $163 from $128 citing Elliott’s involvement, pointing out that in the investors’ engagement in nearly 40 campaigns since 2013, slightly over half of which resulted in a sale.

As a result, he believes potential #M&A scenarios “cannot be ruled out.” The analyst said potential acquirers of athenahealth would include tech companies aiming to build a healthcare presence, including #IBM $IBM , which has made several recent acquisitions to bolster its healthcare network. He added that #Aetna $AET ) and #UnitedHealth $UNH , through its Optum business, may also be potential suitors, although UnitedHealth is currently under agreement to use #Allscripts $MDRX software.

Sarafia added more distant possibilities include healthcare tech companies #Cerner $CERN or privately-held Epic. He, however, believes a “collaborative engagement to unlock sustainable value” is a likely scenario over an acquisition, citing the company’s history of engagement with large shareholders.

In addition, Sarafia said the activist stake will make operational improvements at the company a high priority, with a renewed focus on core strengths, potential cost-cutting in general and administrative expenses and possibly research and development, and increased free cash flow. He keeps a Buy rating on the shares.

PRICE ACTION: In Monday trading, athenahealth rose nearly 1% to $139.30. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $90.11 – $142.40.

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June 5, 2017August 26, 2017

Gigamon is For Sale

Gigamon makes software that is installed in large data centers to boost the flow of traffic

Elliott Management owns 15% of shares and has encouraged firm to sell

After activist investor Elliott Associates recently reported a roughly 15% economic exposure in shares of #Gigamon $GIMO and encouraged the company to undertake a strategic review process, the software maker has begun working with Goldman Sachs $GS to talk with companies and private equity firms interested in acquiring it, according to Reuters.

Gigamon Inc. develops and delivers solution that delivers visibility and control of data-in-motion traversing enterprise, federal, and service provider networks in the United States, rest of Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers traffic intelligence applications that provide controls for traffic selection, forwarding, manipulation, modification, de-duplication, SSL decryption, correlation, sampling, and generation of flow records.

Gigamon could attract interest from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), F5 Networks (FFIV) and PE firm Thoma Bravo, which previously bought Riverbed Technology, according to the report.

Needham analyst Alex Henderson estimated that a fair value for Gigamon is in the $50-$55 range.

Elliott has succeeded in pushing many technology companies to sell themselves in recent years, including Mentor Graphics, LifeLock Inc and Qlik Technologies.

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June 5, 2017June 5, 2017

D.R. Horton to acquire 75% of Forestar Group

D.R. Horton to acquire 75% of Forestar Group for $16.25 per share cash

Forestar would remain a public company to ensure continued access to capital

D.R. Horton (DHI) announced that the company has submitted a proposal to the Board of Directors of Forestar Group (FOR) to acquire 75% of the currently outstanding shares of Forestar for $16.25 per share in cash.

The $16.25 per share value represents a 14% premium over the purchase price to be paid to the Forestar stockholders pursuant to the existing merger agreement between Forestar and affiliates of Starwood Capital Group.

#Forestar Group Inc. operates as a real estate company. The company engages in the acquisition, entitlement, development, and sale of real estate, primarily residential and mixed-use communities. It also sells commercial tracts; residential lots primarily to homebuilders; undeveloped land through its retail sales programs, as well as operates commercial real estate and income producing properties, such as a hotel and multifamily properties.

Under the proposed transaction, Forestar would remain a public company to ensure continued access to capital to support the increasing scale of the business. D.R. Horton believes continuing Forestar stockholders will have the opportunity to participate in significant value creation through a strategic relationship with D.R. Horton that would help Forestar grow organically into the leading residential land development company in the United States, selling developed residential lots to #D.R.Horton and other #homebuilders.

Forestar would be led by new executive chairman Donald Tomnitz, who served as CEO of D.R. Horton for over 15 years, and a strong management team that is expected to include Forestar’s experienced professionals.

The transaction would be effected through a merger of a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton with Forestar. The Merger would have a cash election feature in which Forestar stockholders would have the right to elect, for each share of common stock held, either to receive $16.25 per share in cash as merger consideration, or to retain such share of the surviving entity. Cash and stock elections will be prorated, as appropriate, such that 75% of the shares of Forestar common stock outstanding before the Merger are converted into the $16.25 per share cash consideration.

Following the Merger, D.R. Horton would own 75% of the outstanding Forestar Successor shares, and existing stockholders would own 25% of the outstanding Forestar Successor shares. Forestar would remain a public company, and its common stock will trade on the NYSE. D.R. Horton has the cash and other immediately available capital to fund the approximately $520M investment.

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