Tag Archives: Rite Aid

News, Politics, Government

Retailers vow not to sell Rolling Stone issue as critics blast decision to put accused Boston bomber on cover

Leave a comment

At least five retailers with deep New England ties will not sell the Rolling Stone magazine featuring an unsmiling, scruffy Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on its cover.

The picture, which accompanies a story titled “Jahar’s World,” shows the 19-year-old accused murderer with his long, curly hair tousled, reminiscent of the magazine’s iconic shots of rock ‘n’ roll royalty like The Doors’ Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan.

The issue, which hits newsstands Friday, depicts Tsarnaev above a boldface headline, “The Bomber.” The story, which features interviews from childhood friends, teachers and law enforcement agents, promises to reveal how a “popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam, and became a monster.”

Multiple retailers, including CVS and Walgreens, have decided not to carry the issue in their stores.

“CVS/pharmacy has decided not to sell the current issue of Rolling Stone featuring a cover photo of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect,” the Rhode Island-based pharmacy chain said in a statement. “As a company with deep roots in New England and a strong presence in Boston, we believe this is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved ones.”

Other retailers who have said they will not carry the issue include Walgreens, Rite Aid, Stop & Shop, the grocery chain the Roche Bros and Tedeschi Food Shops, a Massachusetts-based convenience store chain.

Other critics of the cover, including Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, struck fast, accusing the magazine of offering Tsarnaev “celebrity treatment” and calling the cover “ill-conceived, at best in a letter written by Menino to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner.

“The survivors of the Boston attacks deserve Rolling Stone cover stories, though I no longer feel that Rolling Stone deserves them,” the letter concluded.

Rolling Stone, for its part, issued a statement Wednesday saying the story was part of its “long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful” coverage of the most important current political and cultural issues.

“The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens,” the statement said.

Rolling Stone did not address whether the photo was edited or filtered in any way in a brief statement offering condolences to bombing survivors and the loved ones of the dead.

In a blog posting late Tuesday, Rolling Stone detailed “five revelations” in the story by contributing editor Janet Reitman, including Tsarnaev’s increasing devotion to Islam while still in high school, as well as his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s possible mental illness, which the boys’ mother decided would be better treated by Islam than by a psychiatrist.

“Around 2008, Jahar’s older brother Tamerlan confided to his mother that he felt like ‘two people’ were inside him,” the blog posting reads. “She confided this to a close friend who felt he might need a psychiatrist, but Zubeidat believed that religion would be the …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Retailers Push The Dow Higher Again

Leave a comment

By Jeremy Bowman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average took one step closer to a perfect week today, gaining 63 points or 0.4%, to finish at 14,865, as a number of strong retail reports helped boost investor confidence. Ross Stores, Rite Aid, and Zumiez all jumped 6% or more, pulling up the broader sector and the market as a whole, as investors seemed to be reassured that consumers were still spending despite the payroll tax increase, and concerns about sequestration. Tomorrow’s official retail sales report could help confirm today’s news.

A lower-than-expected initial unemployment claims report also helped push stocks higher. New jobless claims dropped to 346,000, from 388,000 the week before, perhaps proving that last week’s spike was just a fluke.

Tech stocks, however, were down sharply, as a report from International Data Corp. showed that PC shipments globally dropped 14% in the first quarter, the worst quarterly drop since the research firm started tracking sales in 1994. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the poorest performer of the three major indexes, moving up just 0.1%.

Not surprisingly, Hewlett-Packard shares took the news, particularly hard, falling 6.5%. The report also showed that rival Lenovo gained market share, while HP and Dell dropped. Lenovo finished the quarter with a 14.7% share, just slightly behind HP, with 14.8%, according to Gartner. Microsoft and Intel were also off sharply as well, falling 4.4% and 2% respectively.

Pfizer was the biggest gainer on the Dow, a strong gainer for the second day in row, moving up 2.4% after the FDA called its new breast-cancer drug a “breakthrough” innovation. The FDA designation should help speed up the approval process for palbociclib, and comes at a time when Pfizer has been dealing with a patent cliff from the recent expiration of Lipitor.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP‘s rapidly shifting its strategy under the new leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor blip on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; FoolAnalyticsData.push({

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/retailers-push-the-dow-higher-again/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Stocks Rise for Fourth Day in a Row, Led by Retail

Leave a comment

By The Associated Press

Filed under: ,

Alamy

By MATTHEW CRAFT

NEW YORK (AP) – Rite Aid (RAD), Ross Stores (ROST) and other retailers surged Thursday after turning in better sales, and major stock market indexes rose for a fourth day straight.

The discount chain Ross Stores jumped 6 percent, the best gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. The company said stronger sales in March will likely push profits above its previous estimate this quarter. The stock jumped $3.56 to $63.80.

A surprising drop in claims for unemployment benefits last week gave investors more encouragement. Analysts said it could mean a slowdown in hiring last month may have been temporary.

“The numbers today make it seem like that March report was an anomaly,” said David Heidl, a regional investment manager at U.S. Bank’s wealth management unit. “It’s another reason for optimism.”

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 62.90 points to close at 14,865.14, an increase of 0.4 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.64 points, also 0.4 percent, to 1,593.37.

Rite Aid soared 18 percent to $2.12 after the drugstore chain said higher sales of generic drugs and lower costs helped it post better earnings than analysts had expected.

Makers of computer hardware and software sank following a report that first-quarter shipments of PCs dropped 14 percent worldwide over the past year. That’s the steepest fall since International Data Corp. started tracking the industry in 1994.

“The IDC report is much worse than anyone expected,” said David Brown, director of Sabrient Systems, an investment research firm. “That’s obviously shaking up the tech sector, but everything else is resuming the climb.”

The three companies in the Dow that deal in PCs held the index back. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) dropped 6 percent to $20.88, Microsoft (MSFT) lost 4 percent to $28.93 and Intel fell 2 percent to $21.82. Without them, the Dow would have gained 25 more points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.90 points to 3,300.16. That’s just 0.09 percent, far behind the Dow and S&P 500. Of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500, information technology was the only one to fall.

It was a different story on Wednesday, when technology stocks surged on optimism that businesses would step up spending on computer systems. That pushed the Dow and the S&P 500 index to their third straight day of gains as well as record highs.

The stock market has soared this year, clearing record highs and recovering losses from the financial crisis and Great Recession. For the year, the Dow is up 13 percent, the S&P 500 index 12 percent.

Brown thinks the market can keep climbing. Measured against earnings, the stock market doesn’t look expensive, he said. And compared to the alternatives, like bonds or money-market funds, stocks in many big corporations offer a better source of income. The average stock in the

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/stocks-rise-for-fourth-day-in-a-row-led-by-retail/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Leave a comment

By Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Rite Aid (NYS: RAD) reported earnings on April 11. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 2 (Q4), Rite Aid met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank. GAAP earnings per share expanded.

Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 Rite Aid notched revenue of $6.46 billion. The five analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see sales of $6.41 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.7% lower than the prior-year quarter’s $7.15 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.13. The four earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.01 per share. GAAP EPS were $0.13 for Q4 against -$0.19 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 31.7%, 680 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 5.7%, 540 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 1.9%, 420 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter’s average estimate for revenue is $6.31 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.03.

Next year’s average estimate for revenue is $25.19 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.02.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Rite Aid is hold, with an average price target of $1.73.

Is Rite Aid the right retailer for your portfolio? Learn how to maximize your investment income and “Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks,” including one above-average retailing powerhouse. Click here for instant access to this free report.

The article Rite Aid Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again originally appeared on Fool.com.


Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions,

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/rite-aid-beats-up-on-analysts-yet-again/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Walgreens Stock Deserves a Spot in Your Portfolio

Leave a comment

By Tamara Rutter, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Walgreens  stock has been on a roll this year, with shares up more than 29% year-to-date . This is an impressive run for a company that’s still recovering from its breakup and make-up with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts . However, the rise of generics, international growth, and the aging population should also play to Walgreens’ favor in the year ahead.

Top dividend stock
In addition to these catalysts, Walgreens is also one of the better dividend stocks to own. Walgreens stock pays an attractive quarterly dividend, and has done so without interruption for more than 80 years. Additionally, the company has earned its title as a dividend aristocrat by increasing its payout for 37 consecutive years. The stock‘s current dividend yield of 2.3% looks even better if you consider that over the last five years Walgreens stock has achieved a compound annual growth rate of nearly 24%.

The company’s long history of payouts helped shareholders remain calm during a turbulent 2012. Most of the upset was related to the fact that Walgreens said goodbye to about $5 billion in annual sales when it lost Express Scripts‘ business. Because the drugstore chain would no longer fill prescriptions for patients in the Express Scripts network, it ultimately forced its customers into the arms of the competition.

Lessons learned
CVS Caremark and Rite Aid benefited the most from Walgreen’s fallout with Express Scripts. This is because at the time, both CVS and Rite Aid still accepted Express Scripts plans. The rival pharmacy retailers launched aggressive advertising campaigns that specifically targeted Walgreens customers whom held Express Scripts insurance .

It took Walgreens and Express Scripts nearly seven months to work out their differences — costing Walgreens billions in lost sales. However, the two companies finally reached a new multiyear agreement during July of last year. Walgreens stock soared more than 10% last year on that news alone.

Around the same time, investors were also busy dissecting the company’s acquisition of Alliance Boots. If you remember, Walgreens agreed to pay $6.7 billion in cash and stock for a 45% stake in the European drugstore chain.

Fast-forward to 2013
Today, Walgreens is proving that its 2012 purchase of Alliance Boots was less of a knee-jerk reaction to its Express Scripts woes, and more of a long-term play for international growth. Together with Boots, Walgreens inked a 10-year deal with pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen . As part of the agreement, AmerisourceBergen is giving Walgreens and Alliance Boots the option to buy a minority position in the company or as much as 7% of AmerisourceBergen’s outstanding stock. Walgreens and Alliance Boots also received warrants exerciseable for a 16% equity position in AmerisourceBergen .

Both Walgreens stock and shares of AmerisourceBergen climbed higher last month when the partnership was announced. With AmerisourceBergen now handling Walgreen’s branded and generic drug distribution, Walgreens should see increased efficiencies in its global pharmaceutical supply chain. Moreover, this

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/walgreens-stock-deserves-a-spot-in-your-portfolio/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why the Death of the PC Isn't Holding Back the Dow

Leave a comment

By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

New record highs for the stock market have turned into a regular occurrence, so today’s advance into uncharted territory isn’t drawing nearly as much attention from investors as this year’s first round of all-time highs did. Fairly benign data on jobless claims and a lack of troubling news from around the world generally left the stock market in bull mode, and by 10:55 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrials climbed 59 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 advanced by a similar percentage.

But beneath the Dow’s calm advance, there’s a battle going on. Yesterday the Dow’s tech stocks advanced sharply, with investors questioning whether their beaten-down valuations had too harshly penalized big technology companies for their growth challenges. Yet this morning IDC reported that PC shipments fell by 14% — the worst quarter ever in the nearly 20 years that IDC has given data for the industry. That sent Hewlett-Packard down more than 6% and Intel falling 2.5%, as both companies continue to rely on PCs for a big portion of their business despite their attempts to diversify their exposure into more promising areas.

Moreover, big guns on Wall Street remain unconvinced that big tech is a big value. Microsoft has fallen nearly 5% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock, giving it a rare sell rating. The analyst’s report offered a familiar warning: Microsoft needs to move past its PC-based software and find new avenues for growth. Yet as the company has missed analyst projections of sales for its Surface tablet, its highest-profile attempt to get into the mobile market may not be enough to pull the stock up.

But tech is having no effect on the rest of the market, as earnings season continues to produce some strong results. Drugstore chain Rite Aid has soared nearly 20% on news that the company posted an annual profit last year — its first gain after four consecutive years of losses. With earnings projections of $0.04 to $0.20 per share for the coming fiscal year, the company is optimistic about its chances to continue rebounding even as competing drugstore chains have seen better growth prospects and have far less debt to worry about. Still, if Rite Aid can keep improving, its beaten-down shares have plenty of room to run higher even after today’s jump.

Today’s reversal for Microsoft is just the latest disappointment that investors have had to deal with. To find out whether Microsoft is doomed to share the same fate as the PC, turn to the Fool’s premium research report on the tech giant. Inside, you’ll get the latest on the Surface tablet, the Windows 8 operating system, and other ideas the company has to escape the PC‘s downward spiral. You’ll also get regular updates as key events occur, so be sure to claim a copy of this report now by clicking here.

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/why-the-death-of-the-pc-isnt-holding-back-the-dow/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Dow May Open Higher, but HP Could Plunge

Leave a comment

By Roland Head, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average may open up by 0.11% this morning, while the S&P 500 may open a single point higher. Investors are cautious ahead of today’s jobs figures, but yesterday’s gains helped drive the CNN Fear & Greed Index back into “greed” territory: The sentiment indicator closed at 62 yesterday, up from 53 the previous day.

In Europe, markets edged slightly higher this morning, as the absence of new economic data meant that investors focused on corporate news and renewed hopes for Chinese growth. At 7 a.m. EDT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.32%, Germany’s DAX was up 0.51% and the French CAC 40 was 0.49% higher.

Thursday is jobless-claims day, and last week’s disappointing jobs figures mean investors will be focusing more closely than usual on this key metric when it is published at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Consensus forecasts indicate that 360,000 new jobless claims may have been made last week, down slightly from 385,000 in the previous week. Also due at 8:30 a.m. EDT, March’s import price index is expected to show a 0.5% fall in import prices following a 1.1% rise in February.

Companies due to update the market this morning include Costco Wholesale, which said this morning that like-for-like sales for the five weeks to April 7 rose by 4%, missing a Reuters forecast of 5.2%. Costco’s total sales rose by 7% over the same period to $9.67 billion from $9.07 billion last year. Before the opening bell, quarterly results are expected from Commerce Bancshares, iGate Corporation, Pier 1 Imports, and Rite Aid, among others.

Stocks that could be actively traded this morning include Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft, which all fell heavily in after-hours trading last night following news that global PC sales dropped by 14% during the last quarter. HP shares were 4.1% lower in premarket trading, while Microsoft was down by 3.4% and Intel was 1.9% lower. Housewares retailer Bed Bath & Beyond may also be actively traded after it posted earnings growth of 6.5% in its fiscal fourth quarter but said that earnings for the current quarter would be between $0.88 and $0.94 per share, below consensus forecasts of $0.95 per share. Bed Bath & Beyond shares closed 1.6% higher yesterday and were 1.5% higher in premarket trading this morning.

Finally, let’s not forget that the Dow’s daily movements can add up to serious long-term gains. Indeed, Warren Buffett recently wrote, “The Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497 in the 20th Century, a staggering 17,320% increase that materialized despite four costly wars, a Great Depression and many recessions.” If you, like Buffett, are convinced of the long-term power of the Dow, you should read “5 Stocks to Retire On.” Your long-term wealth could be transformed, even in this uncertain economy. Simply click here now to download this free, no-obligation report.

The article Dow May Open Higher, but HP Could Plunge

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/dow-may-open-higher-but-hp-could-plunge/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Reports Net Income and Record Adjusted EBITDA for Fourth Quarter and Full 2013 Fiscal Year

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Rite Aid Reports Net Income and Record Adjusted EBITDA for Fourth Quarter and Full 2013 Fiscal Year

  • Fourth Quarter Net Income of $0.13 per Diluted Share Compared to Prior Fourth Quarter Net Loss of $0.18 per Diluted Share
  • Full Year Net Income of $0.12 per Diluted Share Compared to Prior Year Net Loss of $0.43 per Diluted Share
  • Fourth Quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $340.3 Million Compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $274.3 Million in Prior Fourth Quarter
  • Full Year Adjusted EBITDA of $1,128.4 Million Compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $942.9 Million in Prior Year
  • Prior-Year Included Benefit of 53 rd Week
  • Provides Outlook for Fiscal 2014

CAMP HILL, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Rite Aid Corporation (NYS: RAD) today reported net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 2, 2013.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $6.5 billion, net income of $123.1 million or $0.13 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $340.3 million or 5.3 percent of revenues.

For the full year, Rite Aid reported revenues of $25.4 billion, net income of $118.1 million or $0.12 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $1,128.4 million or 4.4 percent of revenues.

“Thanks to the hard work of our entire Rite Aid team, we generated outstanding results in the fourth quarter, which helped us to deliver one of the best full-year performances in company history,” said Rite Aid Chairman, President and CEO John Standley. “In addition to setting a new company record for full-year Adjusted EBITDA, we generated full-year net income for the first time since fiscal 2007.”

“For

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/rite-aid-reports-net-income-and-record-adjusted-eb/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Earnings: An Early Look

Leave a comment

By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Earnings season has begun, and on Thursday, Rite Aid will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they’ll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you’ll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Rite Aid has been the third wheel of the U.S. drugstore industry for a long time, as it has struggled to reach profitability even as its main rivals have seen substantial growth in sales and earnings over the years. Can Rite Aid ever recover? Let’s take an early look at what’s been happening with Rite Aid over the past quarter and what we’re likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Rite Aid

Analyst EPS Estimate

($0.02)

Year-Ago EPS

($0.18)

Revenue Estimate

$6.45 billion

Change From Year-Ago Revenue

(9.8%)

Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters

3

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Does Rite Aid have the right prescription for its business?
Analysts have had mixed views on Rite Aid‘s prospects over the past few months. They’ve cut their initial break-even estimates for the company’s most recent quarter to a loss of $0.02 per share, but they’ve also boosted fiscal 2014 earnings estimates to a profit of $0.03 per share. The stock has focused on the longer-term view, as Rite Aid‘s share price has jumped more than 30% since the beginning of the year.

For a while last year, it looked as if Rite Aid might finally be turning the corner after a long period of weakness. A dispute between rival Walgreen and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts led to an exodus of customers away from Walgreen, and Rite Aid appeared to capture its share of those seeking to have their prescriptions filled elsewhere.

Since then, though, Rite Aid has sunk back into old bad habits. In March, it announced a 2% drop in same-store sales, with a drop in pharmacy sales of 4.5% more than offsetting a nearly 4% increase in revenue from the front-end of its stores. Yet even that front-end strength came largely from Easter’s coming in March rather than April this year, suggesting that the retailer’s results were even weaker than reported. Meanwhile, Walgreen has seen same-store sales grow as its new loyalty program attempts to win back customers from Rite Aid and CVS Caremark .

Rite Aid has fought back, though, seeking to match up to Walgreen and CVS by remodeling its stores. But because it is already debt-ridden, Rite Aid can’t afford to do store remodeling at a very fast pace, with Fool contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg arguing that it could take a decade for the company to finish all of its renovations.

In Rite Aid‘s quarterly report, watch for …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Keeps Falling Behind

Leave a comment

By Adam Levine-Weinberg, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

On Thursday morning, Rite Aid reported another month of lackluster sales results. For March, same-store sales were down 2%, whereas top competitor Walgreen reported a 0.7% increase in comparable-store sales. (The third pharmacy giant, CVS Caremark , does not report monthly sales.) Walgreen is continuing to recover strongly from last year’s dispute with Express Scripts , and the company appears to be winning market share back from Rite Aid. As a result, I expect Rite Aid‘s recent return to profitability to prove short-lived.

The details
Rite Aid‘s sales decline last month was comprised of a 3.8% increase in front-end sales and a 4.5% decrease in pharmacy same-store sales. Much of the decline can be explained by the introduction of various new generic drugs in the past year; generics are cheaper than brand-name drugs, but carry higher margins for pharmacies. It is perhaps more meaningful to look at prescription count, which does not differentiate between brand-name and generic drugs. On that basis, Rite Aid reported a modest 0.3% increase over the prior year.

On the other hand, Rite Aid estimated that front-end comparable-store sales benefited by 300 basis points due to the calendar shift of Easter into March. Stripping out all of the moving parts, it appears that Rite Aid‘s core sales growth is less than 1%, well below the pace seen for much of the last year.

Competition heats up
Much of Rite Aid‘s improved performance last year was a direct result of the commercial dispute between Walgreen and Express Scripts, which forced Express Scripts customers to fill their prescriptions elsewhere. While it is difficult to quantify the benefit seen by Rite Aid (and other Walgreen competitors), Rite Aid‘s management has admitted that pharmacy sales were boosted by the dispute last year. However, as of Sept. 15, 2012, Walgreen’s stores began to accept Express Scripts prescriptions again, and the company has a made a strong push since then to regain lost customers.

Whereas Rite Aid‘s prescription count in comparable stores increased by just 0.3% last month, Walgreen’s stores saw a 4% increase. Walgreen’s management also commented that “the percentage of former Express Scripts customers returning to its pharmacies continued to increase in March.”

Looking forward
Going forward, Rite Aid will continue to be squeezed by its two larger competitors, Walgreen and CVS. Now that Express Scripts customers are starting to return to Walgreen’s stores, Rite Aid is experiencing anemic sales growth. Furthermore, Walgreen and CVS are both expanding, while Rite Aid is gradually shrinking its store base. This trend will give Rite Aid‘s competitors even more economies of scale, while new CVS and Walgreen’s stores will likely target current Rite Aid customers.

Rite Aid stock is too speculative to recommend for most investors at this point in time. While Rite Aid‘s enterprise value of $8 billion is significantly below that of Walgreen ($49 billion) the lower valuation is fully justified by the company’s weak profitability. Rite Aid continues to face …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Generic Drugs Leave Rite Aid Feeling Sick

Leave a comment

By Travis Hoium, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Generic drugs are good for consumers’ wallets, but they aren’t good for many other players in the medical industry. Pharmaceutical companies that spend billions of dollars to develop brand name drugs feel the pinch when patents run out, and generics flood the market. Apparently, so do drug stores.

Rite Aid said today that same store sales fell 2% in March from a year earlier, driven by a decline in drug sales. Sales in the pharmacy, which accounts for 67.6% of overall revenue at Rite Aid, fell 4.5%, despite prescriptions rising slightly. This means that lower cost drugs, particularly in the form of generics, have taken a bite out of sales for Rite Aid.

The small silver lining is that the rest of the store is doing quite well. Front-end same-store sales, which is everything outside of the pharmacy, rose 3.8%, helped by a boost in Easter sales.

An industry trend takes hold
This is going to be a challenge for the industry going forward, and will also impact Walgreen’s and CVS . Walgreens reported a 0.7% rise in same-store sales for March, which was below expectations, showing similar trends as Rite Aid‘s. The company’s same-store pharmacy sales fell 1.5%, not as bad as Rite Aid, but still not a strong sign for the drug business.  

CVS doesn’t give the same-store sales data like Rite Aid and Walgreen’s but we can assume the trend of more generics and lower pharmacy sales will hold true.

Investors should be careful buying into the declining sales trends at all three companies. As health-care costs have risen, there has been pressure on all parts of the industry to cut costs, and that includes drug stores. That wouldn’t be a problem if the stocks were a screaming value, but Walgreen’s and CVS both have P/E ratios above 18, which is expensive considering sales trends, and Rite Aid is a risky turnaround story. That’s too much for this Fool to pay to get into the drug business.

While you can certainly make huge gains in biotech and pharmaceuticals, the best investing approach is to choose great companies, and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool’s free report, “3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich,” names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

The article Generic Drugs Leave Rite Aid Feeling Sick originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Reports Same Store Sales for March

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Rite Aid Reports Same Store Sales for March

CAMP HILL, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Rite Aid Corporation (NYS: RAD) today announced sales results for March.

Monthly Sales

For the four weeks ended March 30, 2013, same store sales decreased 2.0 percent over the prior-year period. March front-end same store sales increased 3.8 percent, with 3.0 percent of the increase attributable to a shift in the timing of Easter, which fell on March 31 this year compared to April 8 last year. Pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 566 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, decreased 4.5 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 0.3 percent over the prior-year period.

Total drugstore sales for the four-week period decreased 2.5 percent to $1.939 billion compared to $1.989 billion for the same period last year. Prescription sales accounted for 67.6 percent of drugstore sales, and third party prescription sales represented 97.0 percent of pharmacy sales.

Rite Aid is one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains. On March 30, 2013, the company operated 4,621 stores compared to 4,659 stores in the like period a year ago. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at http://www.riteaid.com. Note that all sales data in this release is preliminary, unaudited and subject to revision.

Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other documents that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which you are encouraged to read. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Rite Aid expressly disclaims any current intention to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the distribution of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why CVS Charges $133 More Than Costco for Generic Lipitor

Leave a comment

By CNNMoney

Filed under: , , , ,

Jb Reed, Bloomberg via Getty Images

By Emily Jane Fox

CVS (CVS) charges $150 for a monthly prescription of the generic version of the cholesterol drug Lipitor. The same drug goes for $17 at Costco.

That’s according to a recent Consumer Reports nationwide survey that sent secret shoppers to 200 pharmacies that carry five blockbuster drugs: Lipitor, Lexapro, Plavix, Actos and Singulair, all of which lost their patents in the last two years.

Shoppers found they could be paying as much as $749, or 447%, more for a generic prescription drug in one year at the highest-priced pharmacy, compared with the lowest.

The priciest places to pick up these prescriptions were CVS, Target (TGT) and Rite Aid (RAD). The least expensive were Costco (COST) and Sam’s Club, while Walmart (WMT), and Walgreen’s (WAG) fell in the middle.

So what’s behind the huge discrepancy?

Lisa Gill, a Consumer Reports editor who focuses on prescription drugs, said the difference stems primarily from what sells at the stores.

“At places like CVS or Rite Aid, the pharmacy is their major source of revenue and profit,” she said. “Costco and Sam’s Club are using the low drug prices to pull people in stores who will spend money on other things.”

Sponsored Linksadsonar_placementId=1505951;adsonar_pid=1990767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=242;adsonar_zh=252;adsonar_jv=’ads.tw.adsonar.com’;

Consumers are often willing to pay higher prices at a drug store because many of them are conveniently located, open 24 hours a day and have drive-through windows, according to Gill.

But for most people, it can be worth the extra hassle. This is especially true for those who take medication long-term, since they will get better deals at the warehouse clubs, or big box stores, Gill said.

Carolyn Castel, a spokeswoman for CVS, said that pricing surveys like this are too small to draw “meaningful conclusions about which pharmacies offer the best overall value.” She also noted that they don’t take into account the discount and third-party insurance programs that pharmacies use to lower prices.

A Target spokeswoman said it offers a number of ways for customers to save on drug prices, like rewards and discount programs.

Consumer Reports‘ Gill said these programs are helpful, but they’re not doing enough to lower costs.

It’s no secret that the cost of drugs can be prohibitive, especially at a time when incomes are stagnating. Consumer Reports found in a separate national telephone survey that Americans who regularly took prescription drugs, spent $758 out of pocket in 2012, or 12% more than the previous year.

Gill said that one way for people to save is by refilling prescriptions every 90 days instead of each month, since most pharmacies provide discounts on three-month supplies.

To get the best price, she said, people …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Readying for a Rough Allergy Season, Rite Aid Offers Relief with Free Health Screenings and Expert A

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Readying for a Rough Allergy Season, Rite Aid Offers Relief with Free Health Screenings and Expert Advice

Free Allergy Screenings at Select Locations in April; Information Available at Rite Aid Stores Nationwide

Rite Aid Pharmacists Offer Personalized Allergy Tips to Simplify the Wide Range of Over-the-Counter Treatment Options

CAMP HILL, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– For the millions of Americans who greet the arrival of spring every year with itchy eyes, runny noses and fits of sneezing, relief can be as close as a visit to the neighborhood Rite Aid pharmacy. Rite Aid is now offering free allergy pamphlets in stores nationwide, clinical allergy screenings at select locations and, as always, expert advice from Rite Aid pharmacists.

The extra allergy help could be sorely needed this year. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), this spring could be one of the worst allergy seasons on record thanks to a host of factors including the mild winter temperatures, high precipitation rates and a carbon dioxide-driven spike in pollen production.

“The best way to keep allergies from spoiling the spring is to begin treating seasonal symptoms about two weeks prior to their onset,” said Rite Aid Executive Vice President of Pharmacy Robert I. Thompson, RPh. “That’s why now is the perfect time to let customers know about Rite Aid‘s full array of allergy support including personalized pharmacist counseling, allergy management tips in stores and online, plus free clinical screenings to detect personal allergy triggers.”

April Brings Free Allergy Screenings

To encourage customers to get their personalized allergy profiles, Rite Aid stores in select markets will offer free FAST (Fluorescent Allergosorbent Test) screenings on April 6. Visit www.riteaid.com/allergyscreening for more information on the screenings, which will be offered in Atlanta; Baltimore; Buffalo, N.Y; Harrisburg, Pa.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Pittsburgh. Screenings will be administered by nurses and test for sensitivity to many common allergens including ragweed, grass, mold, wheat, mount cedar, dustmite, egg, milk and cats.

While many allergies have their root in the great outdoors, plenty of others stem from pets, mold and other threats much closer to home. With this in mind, Rite Aid stores are providing free copies of the “Happy Home Guide” pamphlet, which explains the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Can Wal-Mart Beat Amazon?

Leave a comment

By Alex Dumortier, CFA, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

On the back of yesterday’s small losses, stocks opened slightly higher this morning with the S&P 500 and the narrower, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.06% and 0.17%, respectively, as of 10:05 a.m. EDT. Banks reopened in Cyprus today, and things appear quiet on the European front, with major European markets solidly in the black, helping to reverse yesterday’s losses.

Bricks-and-clicks, finally
Retailing giant and Dow component Wal-Mart is ramping up its e-commerce efforts in a head-to-head battle with online commerce heavyweight Amazon.com . On Tuesday, during a media event at Wal-Mart’s California digital commerce unit, @WalmartLabs, the company announced a number of new tools and services, including self-service lockers that will enable shoppers to order goods online for pickup and payment at their local Walmart store. (Amazon already lockers at Rite Aid and Staples.)

Wal-Mart is responding to two specific threats: First, its core customer base of shoppers earning less than $60,000 per year is becoming increasingly digitally savvy, concurrent with the growth in smartphone use. Second, Amazon is encroaching onto Wal-Mart’s staple product categories — everyday items such as diapers.

But Wal-Mart isn’t in this race just to protect its territory — the opportunity is much larger than that. Because while Wal-Mart may be the 800-pound gorilla in brick-and-mortar retailing, it remains a laggard in online commerce. The company forecasts that online sales will exceed $9 billion this year, but that’s less than 2% of the $491 billion analysts expect the retailer to generate in total revenue in the current fiscal year ending in January 2014. Meanwhile, analysts are expecting nearly $76 billion in revenue from Amazon this year and $92 billion in 2014. As Wal-Mart chief technology officer Jeremy King told Bloomberg Businessweek: “Amazon is always in our sights. My biggest issue is playing a catch-up game.”

King, an engineer who was instrumental in building eBay’s infrastructure, is an example of how seriously Wal-Mart is taking this game. According to an article in Fast Company, in 2011, tired of taking phone calls from a Wal-Mart recruiter, King said he’d consider interviewing if Wal-Mart’s CEO got on the phone, thinking that would be the end of it. Instead, King found himself on a 45-minute videoconference during which CEO Mike Duke pitched him on joining Wal-Mart. King signed up in the summer of 2011, and he now runs @WalmartLabs in San Bruno, located across the street from YouTube’s headquarters.

Can Wal-Mart beat Amazon at its own game? That’s difficult to predict, and Wal-Mart has stumbled in this area in the past. What is certain, however, is that Wal-Mart appears very focused, and it already has an impressive command of logistics and information technology, as well as the means of its ambition. That makes it a formidable competitor that Amazon should not underestimate — these are no Arkansas hillbillies.

Everyone knows Amazon is the big bad wolf in the retail world right now, but at its sky-high valuation, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Launches EPIC Fundraising Campaign to Benefit Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Rite Aid Launches EPIC Fundraising Campaign to Benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

Rite Aid Stores Now Selling $1 Miracle Balloons to Support Children’s Health and Wellness

CAMP HILL, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– An EPIC effort to raise funds and awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is now underway at Rite Aid stores nationwide, as the company kicks off its 19th annual fundraising campaign for the organization. New this year, Rite Aid‘s fundraising efforts will reflect the “Make an EPIC difference for Kids” theme, the result of a promotional tie-in with EPIC, the upcoming animated children’s movie from 20th Century FOX Films, in theaters nationwide May 24. From now through May 11, all Rite Aid stores will be selling EPIC-themed Miracle Balloons to raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Customers are invited to help Rite Aid make an EPIC difference in the lives of sick and injured children being treated at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in the communities where Rite Aid does business by purchasing a $1 Miracle Balloon. In appreciation, customers who purchase a Miracle Balloon will receive $5 in coupon offers good for a variety of products sold at Rite Aid.

The Rite Aid campaign will also be promoted via the company’s Facebook page. At www.facebook.com/riteaid.com, visitors can learn more about Rite Aid‘s support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, meet Miracle Children helped by the company’s fundraising and even make a donation to their local children’s hospital. Beginning April 14, visitors can enter for their chance to win a private screening of EPIC in their hometown, for up to 100 people. Visit www.facebook.com/riteaid to learn more and official rules.

“During our 2012 fundraising campaign, we raised a record-breaking $5.9 million, helping to make millions of miracles happen at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals,” said Ken Martindale, Rite Aid chief operating officer and president of The Rite Aid Foundation. “Through this promotion with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and 20th Century FOX Films, our generous customers and the efforts of our associates, our goal is to raise even more this year, truly making an EPIC difference in the lives of sick and injured children in our communities.”

In addition to its annual Miracle Balloon campaign each spring, Rite Aid associates raise additional funds through community fundraisers including now-annual events like a motorcycle ride across Connecticut organized by the company’s Dayville, Conn. distribution center and an antique car show hosted by a Rite Aid in Hampton, Va., …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Walgreen Dreams of Going Global

Leave a comment

By Jacob Roche, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Walgreen  shares soared Tuesday as the company announced higher-than-expected quarterly profits and a new partnership with pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen and European drugstore Alliance Boots.

For the quarter, net sales were flat, but gross margin improved 120 basis points, leading to a 10.7% increase in net income for the quarter. Notably, net sales were only flat by virtue of opening new stores during the quarter, masking disappointing same-store metrics, which ended up somewhat complicated. Overall same-store sales were down several percentage points, while the average customer ticket went up, but customer traffic went down. So, essentially, customers are spending more, but there are too few customers for it to matter, which isn’t a sustainable situation.

Exciting developments
Walgreen’s sales have been slumping for a year now, though, so that isn’t anything new. The real story is the AmerisourceBergen and Alliance Boots partnership. The partnership will help reduce some of Walgreen’s operational costs, as AmerisourceBergen will begin distributing a number of generic pharmaceuticals that Walgreen traditionally self-distributed. AmerisourceBergen’s superior supply chain will allow for greater efficiencies and daily deliveries.

Alliance Boots and Walgreen have also been granted the option to purchase a significant minority equity position in AmerisourceBergen, through warrants and equity totaling 21% of the company. Once Walgreen and Alliance Boots have together acquired at least 5% of AmerisourceBergen, a Walgreen executive will be placed on the board, and an Alliance Boots executive will be added upon exercise of the warrants.

Alliance Boots is essentially the Walgreen of Europe. Both companies are the largest retail pharmacies in their respective region, putting them in a good position to profit from aging populations that will increasingly need more prescription drugs.

Interestingly, Walgreen purchased 45% of Alliance Boots last summer and has the option to acquire the rest of the company in two years. In that event, Walgreen would have significant influence over AmerisourceBergen. This is part of Walgreen’s plan to create a “global, pharmacy-led, health and well-being enterprise” — an ambitious goal.

Launching the flagship
Barely mentioned Tuesday, but still important, is Walgreen’s flagship strategy. The company is planning three new flagship stores over the next couple of months, in addition to the current four, which offer, among other things, professional manicures, a cafe, a smoothie bar, and a selection of premium cheeses, fresh sushi, and organic food.

Seven stores is hardly enough to move the needle on the company’s declining sales, even if the flagship stores are doing well (Walgreen hasn’t given information specifically about these stores). The stores are also bigger than 20,000 square feet, so even if the concept works, Walgreen can’t just convert its existing stores to the same format. But it may be able to scale the concept down and use the flagship stores to attract attention and brand awareness, a key commodity in the retail market.

Competitors CVS  and Rite Aid  are also revamping their in-store strategies. CVS has added fresh sandwiches and …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Walgreen Earnings And New ABC Deal Lift Its Drug Sales Outlook

Leave a comment

By Trefis Team, Contributor

Quick Take Walgreen reports flat revenues at $18.6 billion with net profit up about 11% to $756 million The company also announced a 10-year agreement with pharmacy services provider AmerisourceBergen Sales helped by growth in prescriptions filled mitigating the negative impact of growing generic drug introductions Front end sales take a hit despite the company launching more new format stores Growth in generic prescription drug introductions and the new agreement with AmerisourceBergen will further help the company’s growing margins The return of Express Scripts prescriptions and growth in generic prescription drugs dispensed saw the largest drugstore chain in the U.S. Walgreen post a growth in profits in the quarter ending February. Fiscal 2013 second quarter net earnings were $756 million compared with net earnings of $683 million in the year ago quarter. Revenues from the quarter were flat at $18.6 billion. The strong performance saw the company’s stock price rise by 5.4% in a day. Walgreen along with Alliance Boots GmbH announced a 10-year distribution agreement with AmerisourceBergen (ABC) beginning September 1. The former have also been granted rights to buy up to a 23% stake in the latter. AmerisourceBergen is a pharmacy services provider and will distribute branded pharmaceutical products that Walgreen has historically distributed, and it will help Walgreen source and distribute generic drugs internationally potentially bringing both growth and better purchasing power with drug manufacturers. Beginning calendar year 2014, this will increasingly include generic pharmaceutical products that Walgreen has so far self-distributed. Walgreen currently operates at 8,537 locations, including 8,072 drugstores and competes for prescriptions with CVS Caremark and Rite Aid among others. View our analysis for Walgreen …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Rite Aid Raises Record-Breaking $5.9 Million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Rite Aid Raises Record-Breaking $5.9 Million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

CAMP HILL, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Rite Aid announced today that it raised $5.9 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in 2012, exceeding the prior year’s campaign by 41% and making 2012 the highest single-year fundraising total in the drugstore chain’s 18 years of support for the charity. The money raised by Rite Aid funds critical care, ground-breaking research and life-saving equipment at 95 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in communities served by Rite Aid. Since becoming a sponsor in 1994, Rite Aid has raised more than $56 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“Rite Aid hit a fundraising milestone in 2012 by raising a record-breaking amount of vital funds for local children’s hospitals,” said John Lauck, president and CEO, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “We are grateful for our long-standing partnership with Rite Aid and the amazing efforts of Rite Aid associates nationwide. On behalf of our member hospitals, we look forward to working together in 2013 and for many years to come, with the common goal of improving the lives of millions of children served by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals each year.”

In addition to its annual Miracle Balloon campaign each spring, Rite Aid also raised funds through its first-ever mobile and social media campaign, which allowed customers to donate via mobile text messaging and the company’s Facebook page. Additional funds were raised through community fundraisers including now-annual events like the spring plant sale at the company’s Wilsonville, Ore., distribution center, a bowl-a-thon hosted by the Rite Aid in Poquoson, Va., and a fishing trip organized by Rite Aid associates in Mobile, Ala. And, each summer at the company’s headquarters in Camp Hill, Pa., members of Rite Aid‘s management team help raise funds by washing cars and competing in various activities.

“Each year, Rite Aid associates give their all when it comes to fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and this year, the results of their efforts were truly phenomenal,” said Ken Martindale, Rite Aid chief operating officer and president of The Rite Aid Foundation. “With the support of our customers, our associates raised a record-breaking $5.9 million for the children’s hospitals in the communities we serve. I want to thank them for their dedication to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and for once again, delivering on our core value of being a caring neighbor.”

Rite Aid supports the organization throughout the year, most recently in December, when Rite Aid associates visited 15 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals delivering gifts to children who were in the hospital over the holiday …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance