Tag Archives: Questcor Pharmaceuticals

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The Nasdaq's 5 Most Hated Stocks

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By Sean Williams, The Motley Fool

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Although the Nasdaq Composite is the only major U.S. index that’s nowhere near its all-time high, it still turned in an impressive gain of 8.2% for the quarter. Gains were broad-based, with everything from technology and health care to energy and financials helping the index.

However, the optimism among investors wasn’t shared by some. Weakening consumer-confidence figures in recent months would suggest that consumers are more cautious about the overall economy — a perfect scenario to persuade short-sellers to dig in their claws. Here’s a look at the five most hated stocks in the Nasdaq Composite that have drawn the ire of short-sellers:

Company

Short Interest As a % of Shares Outstanding

Coinstar

50.12%

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals

44.47%

Questcor Pharmaceuticals

43.10%

Uni-Pixel

42.73%

SodaStream International

39.96%

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

As we’ve done previously, I suggest we look at the various reasons why short-sellers may have homed in on these five companies and decide whether the pessimism is justified.

Coinstar
Why are investors shorting Coinstar?

  • The reason short-sellers have barreled into Coinstar has to do with the company’s reliance on the DVD-rental business and the expectation that its sales will shrink in a similar fashion to Netflix‘s DVD sales. Coinstar’s most recent quarterly profit blew past estimates, and it did forecast revenue growth of 12% at the midpoint for its current fiscal year, but the proliferation of streaming services is expected to take a big bite out of Coinstar’s margins.

Is this short interest deserved?

  • Having 50% of the outstanding shares being held short as a short-squeeze is a genuine concern, but I can definitely understand the pessimism surrounding Coinstar. If Coinstar’s margins are anything like Netflix’s, then its DVD business generates double the margins that the streaming business will in a like-for-like comparison. This means Coinstar probably has a few years of growing pains in its immediate future.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals
Why are investors shorting Spectrum Pharmaceuticals?

  • Short-sellers had already been skeptical of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals‘ palliative metastatic colorectal cancer treatment, Fusilev, long before the stock nosedived in March. Generic competition for the drug was available, but shortages of those generics had encouraged Spectrum’s management to expect sales growth in 2013. That turned out to be all for naught, as Sagent Pharmaceuticals stepped up to fill the generic void and Spectrum lowered its full-year sales forecast by 40% to 47% at the top and bottom end. 

Is this short interest deserved?

  • As much as I’d like to think that traders overreacted to Spectrum’s warning, the massive reduction in Fusilev sales is going to push the company into the red in 2013 and may it keep it there for some time. Folotyn and Zevalin could help move Spectrum back to a profit as soon as next year, but the uncertainties surrounding Fusilev, by far its biggest revenue generator, are too great to suggest buying in even here.

Questcor Pharmaceuticals
Why are investors shorting …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

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Does Questcor's Dividend Have Room to Soar?

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By Brenton Flynn, The Motley Fool

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With interest rates still sitting near record lows, investors looking for current income have been forced to move from fixed-income positions and into stocks to find yield. To help offset those risks, one of the first things dividend investors do is look for companies operating in stable, growing industries like Questcor Pharmaceuticals . But before doing the foolish thing and taking this dividend for granted, let’s take a closer look at whether it’s truly worthy of a spot in your portfolio.

Health is priceless; health care isn’t.
As a pharmaceutical company, Questcor benefits from many of the unique elements of the industry that make it attractive for dividend investors. We all know it’s impossible to put a price on one’s health and well-being. Because of that, and due to the unbearable cost of emergency health problems, insurance companies and government entitlement programs have taken over as the gatekeepers of health care spending around the world.

But the industry’s high costs didn’t just appear out of thin air. Partly to blame is the fact that our insurance systems have effectively masked the direct costs of health care by turning the system into a kind of all-you-can-eat buffet, removing most of the consumer-driven pricing mechanisms that exist in practically every other industry. This dynamic, along with the aging and increasingly unhealthy society that we’re all well aware of, is a key reason health care spending will continue to grow.

But while these big-picture trends might be driving the overall industry, investors looking at specific health care dividend stocks need to dig a layer deeper to understand the company-specific issues at work. After all, dividends aren’t a guarantee, and if the going gets tough enough, even a “stable” health care stock could cut — or eliminate — its dividend. With that being said, let’s check on where Questcor’s dividend has been, and try to determine where it’s going.

Payout ratios
A quick-and-dirty technique for checking a dividend’s sustainability is taking a look at something called the payout ratio. Typically this is expressed as a percentage, looking at a company’s dividend per share relative to its net income per share. That’s a decent start, but I prefer to use a slightly different measurement that replaces net income, an accounting measurement, with something more tangible — cold hard cash. The chart below shows how much of Questcor’s free cash flow has been eaten up by its dividend payments over the past two years. The lower the better, suggesting more capacity for future dividend hikes.

Valuation
Not all dividends are created equal. At first glance, a high dividend yield may look nice, but all too often it means a problem is lurking around the corner for a business. Looking at Questcor’s 3.1% dividend yield in isolation only tells half of the story, which is why investors need to have an understanding of how the market perceives a company prior to buying a stock. We …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Here's What This Hedge Fund Pioneer Has Been Buying

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By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

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Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article erroneously attributed the founding of Tiger Global Management to Julian Robertson, who founded the unrelated hedge fund Tiger Management. Charles Coleman, who once worked for Robertson, founded Tiger Global Management. The author and the Fool regret the error.

Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they’ve bought and sold, via “13-F” filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.

Today let’s look at Tiger Global Management. The company’s reportable stock portfolio totaled $7.1 billion  in value as of Sept. 30, 2012, and contained just a few dozen stocks. Indeed, the top 10 holdings make up about 63%  of the overall portfolio’s value.

Interesting developments
So what does Tiger Global‘s latest quarterly 13-F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details.

The biggest new holdings are Yahoo! and Burger King Worldwide . Other new holdings of interest include Questcor Pharmaceuticals and Heckmann . Questcor has a multiple-sclerosis drug, Acthar, which is selling solidly, and the company is looking to get into rheumatology as well. It has its risks, though, such as an investigation into its marketing practices, and competition.

Wastewater treatment and disposal specialist Heckmann is attracting fans in part because of its work serving the controversial fracking industry and its presence in just about every shale field. Insiders have been buying shares, and doubters have been shorting shares, leading to the possibility of a short squeeze, should the company continue to perform well.

Among holdings in which Tiger Global increased its stake was Baidu , the search engine giant of China, which has shrunk by 24% over the past year, thanks largely to China‘s slowing growth rate. The company has been a fast grower, with revenue and earnings sporting five-year average annual growth rates of more than 60%. Meanwhile, much of China and Asia has yet to get online, representing huge growth potential. Baidu does have serious competition, though — such as from Qihoo 360 Technology , which Tiger Global actually sold out of during the quarter.

Tiger Global reduced its stake in several companies, including Deckers Outdoor , maker of UGG boots and Teva sandals. With the company challenged by factors such as some rising costs and weakness in Europe, the stock has fallen by more than 60%  over the past year, and the company is now reportedly on the block. There’s clearly value there, though, with strong brands and its move to integrate vertically by opening its own retail stores.

Finally, Tiger Global‘s biggest closed positions included Qihoo 360 Technology and HomeAway . Other closed positions of interest include wireless communications specialist Ubiquiti Networks . Ubiquiti has been fighting counterfeit competition as well as some lawsuits, and it recently lowered guidance. Still, it looks promising on a number of measures, such as manageable debt, strong …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

BioTime Appoints Stephen C. Farrell to Board of Directors

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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BioTime Appoints Stephen C. Farrell to Board of Directors

ALAMEDA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) today announced that Stephen C. Farrell has been appointed to its Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to welcome an experienced executive of Steve’s caliber to BioTime’s board,” said Alfred D. Kingsley, Chairman of the Board of BioTime. “Steve adds critical and highly relevant experience as a successful leader and director of healthcare companies during periods of rapid growth. His operational and financial experience and his strategic vision will be valuable additions to our board during an exciting period of growth for BioTime.”

“BioTime’s development and progress toward the acquisition of novel technologies in the stem cell space over the past year, along with its recent successful financings, have further established it as a leader in regenerative medicine,” said Mr. Farrell. “I am honored to join the BioTime Board of Directors during such an important time in the Company’s growth, and look forward to contributing to the development of these new technologies, which have the potential to significantly improve the health and quality of life of patients around the world.”

Mr. Farrell currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Convey Health Solutions (formerly known as NationsHealth, Inc.), a healthcare business process outsourcing company headquartered in Sunrise, Florida. Convey Health Solutions utilizes both technology and staff to manage end-to-end insurance processes for business clients. Previously, he served as President of PolyMedica Corporation, a publicly traded provider of diabetes supplies and related services that was acquired in 2007 by Medco Health Solutions in a transaction valued at $1.5 billion. During his eight year tenure at PolyMedica, Mr. Farrell served as its President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Treasurer. Mr. Farrell also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Stream Global Services, Inc., a business process outsourcing company. Earlier in his career, Mr. Farrell served as Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Farrell holds an A.B. from Harvard University, and an M.B.A. from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. Mr. Farrell currently serves on the board and is chairman of the Audit Committee of Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NAS: QCOR) , a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of patients with serious, difficult-to-treat autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.


About BioTime, Inc.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

4 Dividend Stocks Showing You the Money

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By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool

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Dividend checks continue to get fatter in corporate America, as more companies jack up their distribution rates.

Readers of the Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let’s take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher these past few days.

We can start with Questcor Pharmaceuticals . The drugmaker’s quarterly dividend is moving 25% higher to $0.25 a share. Why not? It’s coming off a strong quarter with revenue and profitability more than doubling. Despite knocks of the high price of its flagship Acthar gel, it’s clearly popular. The move pushes Questcor’s yield to just above 3%.

Sturm, Ruger is also arming its investors with dividend checks packing more firepower. Fueled by another better-than-expected quarter as legislation-wary consumers load up on firearms, Sturm, Ruger is beefing up its rate to $0.404 a share. Sturm, Ruger shells out roughly 40% of its earnings as distributions, so improving profitability results in more money returning to its stakeholders.

Pacific Coast Oil Trust is another gusher. Higher crude oil prices and a boost in production afford the limited partnership the ability to increase its monthly distribution to $0.15403 per unit for March.

Finally, we have Waste Management turning trash into treasure. The waste hauler is giving its quarterly payout a 3% boost to $0.365 a share. Picking up trash is a dirty job, but it’s a consistently clean gig for investors.

Checks and balances
Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate the companies sending more and more money to their investors. The newsletter singles out companies that are committed to growing their distributions with market-thumping results. A 30-day trial subscription will let you see if it’s right for you.

Want to learn more about Waste Management? It’s been a longtime favorite for dividend seekers everywhere, but the share price performance over the last few years has left many investors wanting. If you’re wondering whether this dividend dynamo is a buy today, you should read our premium analyst report on the company today. Just click here now for access.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance