"After releasing their 3Q financials. the stock price at Isis Pharmacueticals (ISIS) perked up as their large cash position and deep pipeline have attracted some new investors," notes biotech expert John McCamant.

The editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter explains, "When investors investigate the ISIS story and all its parts, they come away with an appreciation for all the potential long-term value being created at the company.

Continue reading Isis (ISIS): 'Deep Pipeline, Long-Term Value'

Isis (ISIS): 'Deep Pipeline, Long-Term Value' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) as been a leader in genomics-based drug research since the late 1990s and has amassed an impressive intellectual property portfolio," notes biotech specialist John McCamant.

The editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter explains, "ISIS has successfully applied their technology to take advantage of the emergence of new genetic information. More specifically, and most important for investors, has been the ability to prolifically patent their discoveries.

"Their proprietary technologies include methods of screening drug candidates, chemical modification of the drugs to improve their efficacy, safety and biostability and methods for the manufacture of DNA and RNA-based therapeutics.

Continue reading Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS): Profits in the Human Genome

Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS): Profits in the Human Genome originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Biotech Expert Eyes Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS)

Biotech Expert Eyes Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of SourceFire (NASDAQ:FIRE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company is benefiting from recent spending by the U.S. Federal government and private enterprises to improve cybersecurity. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $11 from $7.
  
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Brocade (NASADAQ:BRCD) to Buy from Neutral as they believe an expanded OEM announcement with IBM (NYSE:IBM) could be announced as early as the end of April, creating a positive catalyst. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $6 from $4.
  
• UBS upgraded Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) to Buy from Sell but lowered their target to $4 from $21 citing reduced churn and cashflow concerns, expectations for FY10 to be a trough year, and a potential reacceleration in deferred growth.
• AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Strattec (NASDAQ:STRT) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
  
• Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) was upgraded at William Blair to Outperform from Market Perform.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite the challenging economic environment, two leading advisors see opportunity in a biotech stock involved in developing drugs for cancer, multiple sclerosis and diabetes -- Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS).

Here, we look at commentary from growth stock expert Toby Smith, editor of ChangeWave Investing, and biotech specialist John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter.

Toby Smith explains, "For the latest quarter, revenue climbed 38% to $29.7 million. Revenue from research and development collaborations more than doubled to $29.1 million from $13 million, but licensing and royalty revenue dropped to $546,000 from $8.5 million.

Continue reading Two experts eye Isis (ISIS) as biotech bet

Two experts eye Isis (ISIS) as biotech bet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Baird upgraded Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) and Seagate (NASDAQ: NSTX) to Outperform from Neutral citing better than expected industry conditions. The firm believes supply has tightened, resulting in price increases in certain market segments.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) to Outperform from Sector Perform citing free cash flow and stable growth.
  
• Goldman upgraded Manpower (NYSE: MAN) to Neutral from Sell and raised its target to $29 from $20 based on balanced risk/reward.
• Energy Conversion (NASDAQ: ENER) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  
• Infineon (NYSE: IFX) was raised to Hold from Sell at RBS.
  
• NetSuite (NYSE: N) was upgraded to Acummulate from Source of Funds at ThinkEquity.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: WDC, NSTX, UBS, TIF, BA ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: WDC, NSTX, UBS, TIF, BA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"Our favorite speculative play for 2008 is Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS)," says biotech expert John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter.

"The main reason to own ISIS is the strong potential for an extremely attractive partnership for their exciting anti-cholesterol drug candidate, mipomersen, or an outright acquisition of the company itself at a substantial premium.

"We have seen recent evidence of acceleration in deal activity as the Sanofi-Aventis/Regeneron deal was the richest we have ever seen for drug candidates only in Phase 1 testing. In turn, this has most likely upped the ante for doing a deal with ISIS for mipomersen, which is now in Phase 3.

"We believe that ISIS has the most attractive late-stage anti-cholesterol drug candidate in development and expect the stock to be much higher on a partnership or an acquisition.

"The strong data for mipomersen that was presented at the recent American Heart Association meeting -- which showed it had the stunning ability to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) levels an additional 48% on top of statin therapy -- has cemented mipomersen as the one of the most valuable drug candidates in development.

Continue reading Best Stocks for 2008: Partnerships and takeover appeal at Isis (ISIS)

Best Stocks for 2008: Partnerships and takeover appeal at Isis (ISIS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) and JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ: JASO) were initiated with Buy ratings and targets of $160 and $61 at Collins Stewart. Collins Stewart sees room for margin expansion and is positive on First Solar after channel checks; the firm expects JA Solar to expand capacity given its long-term supply agreements with four wafer suppliers.
  
• Merrill Lynch started shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) with a Sell rating, citing a lack of revenue growth prospects.
  
• The firm also started shares of Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) with a Buy rating, as they believe the company's share gains and margin expansion will continue.
  
• Merrill also resumed coverage of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) with a Neutral rating, expecting high single digit earnings and share growth, but not enough for a Buy rating.

• Goldman initiated the trucking and railroad sectors with Neutral ratings.
  
• Wachovia initiated Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS), BioMarin and Molecular Insight (NASDAQ: MIPI) with Outperform ratings and Bioenvision (NASDAQ: BIVN), Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN), Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARNA) and Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: NBIX) with Market Perform ratings.

Analyst initiations: FSLR, JASO, ALU, NOK and ERIC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• RBC believes shares are expensive, but feels Alcoa (NYSE: AA) has put itself in play and a bid for the company is possible. The firm resumed coverage with a Sector Perform rating and a $51 target.

• Credit Suisse initiated Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RIGL) with an Outperform rating, believing R788 in ITP alone justifies current value, while RA and pipeline provide potential upside.

• Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS) was initiated with a Buy rating and $17 target at Jefferies; the firm believes Isis's pipeline holds promise and appears under appreciated at the current valuation.

• Credit Suisse is positive on Cytokinetics (NASDAQ: CYTK) congestive heart failure candidate CK-453 and views the market as undeserved, starting shares with an Outperform rating and $15 target.

• Unterberg initiated shares of F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) with a Market Perform based on valuation...

• Credit Suisse initiated Mobile Mini (NASDAQ: MINI) with a Neutral rating.

• Art Technology (NASDAQ: ARTG) was initiated with a Buy rating at Pacific Growth.

• Banc of America started Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP) share with a Buy rating and $67 target.

• Morgan Joseph initiated Harris Stratex Networks (NASDAQ: HSTX) with a Buy rating.

Analyst initiations 7-19-07: AA, FFIV, ISIS and MINI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citing risks to Albuferon and Lympho-Stat, Morgan Stanley initiated Human Genome Inc (NASDAQ: HGSI) with an Underweight rating and $8 target.

• Bear Stearns started shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP) with a Peer Perform rating as they believe Street estimates are too high, the company lacks development opportunities outside of Atlantic City, and uncertainty stemming from the new Atlantic City smoking ban.

• Lehman Bros started Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ISIS) with an Overweight rating and $20 target.

• Leerink Swann initiated HealthSouth Corp (NYSE: HLS) with an Outperform rating and was added to the Focus List; one of the firm's consultants performed an analysis of the company's in-patient rehab business in order to determine the impact of the 75% rule after it is completely implemented, as well as determining the opportunities from market consolidation. As a result of the analysis, the firm believes that the company is in a good position to successfully navigate the phase-in of the 75% rule.

• Pali Capital initiated China Mobile Ltd (NYSE: CHL) with a Buy rating and $66 target, based on expectations of sustaining total subs growth over 20%.

Analyst initiations 1-29-07: Human Genome carries some risk originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Whole Foods (WFMI), Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) and Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) top today's list of initiations.

• Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI) was reinstated with an Outperform rating, raised from a Sector Perform rating, at RBC Capital Markets. The firm said expectations have been reduced and the risk/reward is favorable.
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) was initiated with a Buy rating and $50 target at Bank of America. The firm is positive on Sanofi's late-stage pipeline beyond Acomplia.
• Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS) was started with a Buy and $14 target at A.G. Edwards. The firm said Isis is at an inflection point and that potential commercial opportunity for the T5000 Biosensor has been "overlooked and undervalued by investors."

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Citigroup assumed the coverage of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) with a Hold rating and $70 target.
• Bear Stearns initiated Western Union Co. (NYSE:WU) with an Outperform rating and $27 target. Bear Stearns said they are positive on Western Union's powerful brand name and unique global network.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 11-10-06: Whole Foods initiated with Outperform originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Palm Inc. (PALM) and Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) top today's modest initiation list.

• Bank of America initiated coverage of Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) with a Buy citing the company's position in the fast growing smartphone market and expectations for upside in new Treo Launches.
• Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSUN) was initiated at Caris with an Average rating. The firm said shares of Pacific Sunwear should be avoided until the company clears up their inventory and merchandise problems.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• CIBC resumed coverage and upgraded shares of Goldcorp, Inc. (NYSE:GG) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer after the firm said the market had not priced in the higher zinc and lead prices.
• Nintendo (OTC:NTDOY) was initiated with a Buy rating at Soleil because of its dominant position in the hand-held segment.
• Finally, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS) was initiated at Cowen with an Outperform rating. The firm said Isis has a potential "blockbuster" therapeutic in the cholesterol market. They believe Isis could outperform the market by 40% over the next six-to-twelve months.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 11-7-06: Palm initiated with Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Nov 2006 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.