RIM shares drop on patent complaint December 4, 2009
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Shares in Research In Motion Ltd. fell more than two per cent Thursday on reports that Nebraska-based Prism Technologies LLC has filed a patent infringement complaint against the BlackBerry maker.
Prism’s complaint against the Waterloo, Ont.-based company could eventually result in its BlackBerry smartphones being banned from the American market.
Research I Motion’s 3-month chart
RIM shares in the BlackBerry maker closed down $1.35 at $61.53 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Prism filed the complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.
Prism claimed RIM’s BlackBerry devices, software and servers violate its patent for a technology that controls access to protected, electronically stored data by a device using the internet. The claim singles out the BlackBerry Curve 8330, a top-selling consumer smartphone.
RIM is already fighting a lawsuit launched by Prism in a federal court in Nebraska.
Lyle Vander Schaaff, a patent lawyer with Bryan Cave in Washington, told Bloomberg that Prism may be trying to force RIM into settling the lawsuit by raising the threat of an import ban, which is within the commission’s powers.
Last month, rival companies Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices reached an agreement over various patent disputes, which includes a five-year patent sharing arrangement.
Earlier this year, RIM settled a patent dispute with California-based Visto Corp., now renamed Good Technology, and agreed to pay the company $267.5 million US.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
Kingsway Financial shares lose 42% November 17, 2009
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Shares of Mississauga-based auto insurer Kingsway Financial Services plunged 42 per cent Tuesday.
The price fell $1.24 to $1.70 on a volume of more than six million shares after the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance sought to reverse the company’s donation of its indirect interest in Lincoln General Insurance Co. to a charity.
Kingsway Financial 3-month chart
Kingsway announced last month it planned to shed the unit by donating all of the stock to 20 U.S. charities.
But the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance announced Monday it planned to pursue legal action to unwind the donations because it did not approve the Oct. 19 deal. The department contends the change in control without approval violates Pennsylvania law.
York, Pa.-based Lincoln lost $95.5 million in its latest quarter. Its primary business was providing insurance to the trucking industry.
Kingsway insisted in a statement that the department “has no legal basis for demanding the unwinding of the donations.”
(With files from Canadian Press) (more…)
Microsoft shares soar despite profit drop October 23, 2009
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Software maker Microsoft reported a drop in net income of 18 per cent in the latest quarter.
Profit dropped to $3.6 billion US, or 40 cents per share, compared to $4.4 billion, or 48 cents per share, in the same period in 2008.
Revenue sank 14 per cent to $12.9 billion US, but most of that resulted from an accounting decision. Microsoft recorded only half the revenue from sales of its Windows operating system sales for the period.
3-month chart for Microsoft
It has been running a promotional offer that lets new PC buyers load Vista and then install its new Windows 7 system, which it launched Thursday, for free later. It’ll record the other half of the revenue from those sales by January as the buyers upgrade.
Investors ignored that, knowing that otherwise, earnings would have been up eight per cent.
Microsoft shares hit a one-year high of $29.23 US in morning trading on the NASDAQ, before falling back. They were up $1.95 US, or seven per cent, at $28.54 US.
Enerflex shares soar on $597M hostile bid October 20, 2009
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Units in Enerflex Systems Income Fund soared more than 40 per cent in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange Monday, trading at $14.13, up $4.06.
Late Friday, Toromont Industries announced a hostile $597-million takeover bid for the Calgary-based maker of gas compressor systems.
Enerflex 3-month chart
Toromont said it had tried a number of times over several years to reach a friendly deal but that Enerflex management “thwarted the successful advancement of a transaction that our respective security holders would enthusiastically embrace.”
Enerflex also announced Monday it had set up a committee to review the offer, which amounts to $13.50 per unit, with at least half that in cash.
Toromont 3-month chart
“We believe the combination of Enerflex and Toromont Energy Systems, our gas compression division, would create a stronger organization better able to compete against large competitors in the North American and international markets,” Toromont CEO Robert Ogilvie said in a statement.
Toronto-based Toromont already owns or has committed to buy 26 per cent of Enerflex’s units.
Its shares were trading up a dollar, or four per cent, to $24.60 Monday morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Enerflex operates in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Oncolytics shares soar on human trials OK October 3, 2009
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Shares in Calgary-based Oncolytics Biotech Inc. soared Friday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved human trials for its potential cancer treatment.
Oncolytics shares closed up 53 cents ? or 17 per cent ? to $3.71 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They traded as high as $4.10 during the day, their highest intraday price in more than three years.
Using a human virus to fight cancer holds the promise of more targeted and less painful treatments.
The company announced it has received approval for a trial of its treatment for head and neck cancers using its Reolysin drug in combination with chemotherapy.
The biotech company has spent 10 years developing a process which uses a virus that occurs naturally in the human body ?a reovirus? and has been shown to attack and kill cancer cells.
It is one of a large number of therapies under development that hold the promise of fewer of the side-effects that come with existing drugs and radiation, especially when combined with personal genetic information.
Oncolytics’ 3-month chart
CEO Brad Thompson told CBC News the approval is for “supercharged Phase 3,” which covers two steps in one. The FDA has pre-reviewed the application so that if it’s satisfied that the study has been run properly, it will also accept the data as the foundation for an application for product approval.
The advance comes as many Canadian biotech companies have been struggling over the last two years to attract capital.
The industry association ? BIOTECanada ? said in a release in July that a survey of its members suggested 70 per cent of Canadian biotech companies would be “out of cash and unable to continue their current research operations within a year.”
Industry faces 7,000 job cuts
It estimated the recession has led to the layoff of 2,500 researchers and scientists and the number would rise to over 7,000 permanent cuts within a year without easier access to short-term financing.
Thompson ? who is also chairman of the association ? said it’s less of a problem for companies like his that are near the end of the development process.
“It’s really choking off that earlier-stage pipeline, so that the real effects of that are going to be felt three, four, five years from now ? when there’s this big gap in the flow of new drugs coming out into the market ? and that’s the real shame,” he said.
Thompson said what’s needed is an easier process of product approval, something “which is way more complicated in Canada than it is pretty much anywhere else,” and incentives to invest in the industry.
Ottawa and the provinces have been listening, he said, but the question is whether any changes will come in time to save companies now in early-stage development.
Results next year
The trial will have two stages. The first aims to enrol 80 patients and the second between 100 and 400. The first results are expected late next year.
Ten years is common for drug development, but Thompson said using a live virus to treat cancer in people had never been done before Oncolytics started.
“There was no approved product in the area. Everything you do is brand new.”
There was no regulatory path already taken by a competitor and no foreknowledge of other similar products to guide them.
“Going into it, if we’d had any idea what you had to do, we probably wouldn’t do it,” Thompson said.
TSX inches down as RIM shares tumble September 25, 2009
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The Toronto stock market was slightly negative Friday morning, held up by commodity stocks but dragged down by a big slide in Research In Motion Ltd. shares after the BlackBerry maker disappointed investors with its results.
The S&P/TSX composite index lost 29 points to 11,256.2 in late morning, with RIM shares down $13.66 or 15 per cent to $76.50 after the company said that adjusted earnings came in at $1.03 a share, better than the $1 a share that analysts expected.
But revenue came in at $3.53 billion, well below the $3.62 billion that was expected.
RIM signed 3.8 million net new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, which was less than the four million analysts were looking for. Its third-quarter revenue and earnings both missed analyst expectations.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.01 of a cent to 91.83 cents US.
The TSX has tumbled 300 points over the last two days amid worries about the sustainability of this year’s rally and news of an unexpected drop in sales of existing homes in August.
The energy sector was a bright spot, up 1.34 per cent as oil prices rose after demand concerns shaved almost $6 a barrel over the last two sessions. The November crude contract on the new York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.08, to $66.24 US a barrel.
The base metals sector was ahead 1.76 per cent as December copper added one cent at $2.72 US a pound.
The TSX Venture Exchange was off 0.46 of a point to 1,255.9.
“Commodities have been leading this decline on concerns that the global economic rebound has not been as quick as had been hoped,” said Colin Cieszynski, market analyst at CMC Markets Canada.
New York markets were mainly positive. The Dow Jones industrials index was 19.8 points higher to 9,727.2. The Nasdaq composite index was weighed down by RIM’s earnings report, falling 2.11 points to 2,105.5 while the S&P 500 index rose 2.3 points to 1,053.1.
Traders are watching a meeting of leaders from the world’s 20 largest economies in Pittsburgh for indications of how those governments plan to bring about a strong, sustainable recovery.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
Potash Corp. shares fall on lower profit outlook September 22, 2009
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Shares in Potash Corp. fell Monday after the Saskatoon, Sask.-based company lowered its profit forecast for 2009.
The company, the world’s largest potash producer, said late on Sept. 18 that it expected demand from farmers for its fertilizer to slow, lowering earnings to between $3.25 to $3.75 US a share. Potash Corp. reports in U.S. dollars.
World demand for fertilizer is expected to fall this year.(CBC)
The company’s previous forecast had been for a profit of $4 to $5 a share. The company also reduced its forecast for global potash industry sales in 2010 to a range of between 50 and 55 million metric tonnes. It had predicted 55 to 60 million in July.
The company’s shares fell $4.05 ? or 4.2 per cent ? to $93.09 US on the New York Stock Exchange, although it regained a little of that in after-hours trading. The price of Potash stock has gained 27 per cent this year.
Potash Corp., 3-month chart
Shares of Mosaic Co., North America?s second-largest fertilizer producer, lost $2.84 US, or 5.2 per cent, to close at $51.41 in New York. Calgary-based Agrium Inc., the third-largest in North America, dropped $1.57 Canadian, or 2.7 per cent, to $55.67 in Toronto trading.
EnCana shares jump on plan to split company September 16, 2009
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Shares of EnCana soared from the opening bell Friday as investors and analysts welcomed the energy giant’s relaunched plan to split itself in two.
EnCana shares closed up $4.18 at $63.52 on the TSX ? a gain of seven per cent.
EnCana 3-month TSX chart
Late Thursday, EnCana announced it had revived a plan to split itself into two companies ? one to hold its oil assets and one for natural gas. That plan, first floated in May 2008, was deferred a few months later when the credit crisis developed.
The pure-play natural gas part of the company will be known as EnCana while the integrated oil company will be called Cenovus Energy. EnCana shareholders are to receive one share of each company.
“Since we delayed our plans last October due to the meltdown in the financial markets, a number of positive things have occurred and we’re ready to proceed with this value-enhancing transaction,” EnCana CEO Randy Eresman told analysts on a conference call Friday.
That was a reference to improvements in equity markets and the availability of cheaper debt financing. Launching Cenovus would require at least $5 billion in financing.
Analysts were quick to upgrade the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised EnCana from “market perform” to “outperform” and boosted its price target by $5 to $65.
“We believe the newly formed natural gas company is well positioned to deliver consistent growth in production and free cash flow from its impressive asset base,” analyst Randy Ollenberger said in a client note.
UBS analyst Andrew Potter gave the split plan a thumbs-up in his client note. “Overall, we believe the transaction is positive over the long term.”
(With files from The Canadian Press) (more…)
EnCana shares jump on plan to split company September 14, 2009
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Shares of EnCana soared from the opening bell Friday as investors and analysts welcomed the energy giant’s relaunched plan to split itself in two.
EnCana shares closed up $4.18 at $63.52 on the TSX — a gain of seven per cent.
EnCana 3-month TSX chart
Late Thursday, EnCana announced it had revived a plan to split itself into two companies — one to hold its oil assets and one for natural gas. That plan, first floated in May 2008, was deferred a few months later when the credit crisis developed.
The pure-play natural gas part of the company will be known as EnCana while the integrated oil company will be called Cenovus Energy. EnCana shareholders are to receive one share of each company.
“Since we delayed our plans last October due to the meltdown in the financial markets, a number of positive things have occurred and we’re ready to proceed with this value-enhancing transaction,” EnCana CEO Randy Eresman told analysts on a conference call Friday.
That was a reference to improvements in equity markets and the availability of cheaper debt financing. Launching Cenovus would require at least $5 billion in financing.
Analysts were quick to upgrade the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised EnCana from “market perform” to “outperform” and boosted its price target by $5 to $65.
“We believe the newly formed natural gas company is well positioned to deliver consistent growth in production and free cash flow from its impressive asset base,” analyst Randy Ollenberger said in a client note.
UBS analyst Andrew Potter gave the split plan a thumbs-up in his client note. “Overall, we believe the transaction is positive over the long term.”
(With files from The Canadian Press)
EnCana shares jump on plan to split company September 14, 2009
Posted by businessnewss in businessnewss.wordpress.com.Tags: Company, EnCana, Jump, PLAN, SHARES, split
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Shares of EnCana soared from the opening bell Friday as investors and analysts welcomed the energy giant’s relaunched plan to split itself in two.
EnCana shares closed up $4.18 at $63.52 on the TSX — a gain of seven per cent.
EnCana 3-month TSX chart
Late Thursday, EnCana announced it had revived a plan to split itself into two companies — one to hold its oil assets and one for natural gas. That plan, first floated in May 2008, was deferred a few months later when the credit crisis developed.
The pure-play natural gas part of the company will be known as EnCana while the integrated oil company will be called Cenovus Energy. EnCana shareholders are to receive one share of each company.
“Since we delayed our plans last October due to the meltdown in the financial markets, a number of positive things have occurred and we’re ready to proceed with this value-enhancing transaction,” EnCana CEO Randy Eresman told analysts on a conference call Friday.
That was a reference to improvements in equity markets and the availability of cheaper debt financing. Launching Cenovus would require at least $5 billion in financing.
Analysts were quick to upgrade the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised EnCana from “market perform” to “outperform” and boosted its price target by $5 to $65.
“We believe the newly formed natural gas company is well positioned to deliver consistent growth in production and free cash flow from its impressive asset base,” analyst Randy Ollenberger said in a client note.
UBS analyst Andrew Potter gave the split plan a thumbs-up in his client note. “Overall, we believe the transaction is positive over the long term.”
(With files from The Canadian Press)
