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Equity Briefing : Healthcare Watch-- VIVUS Turns Higher, StemCells Soars On News
U.S. stocks bounced back on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continues to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers. Markets are anticipating some hint about further easing to boost economy. There are several healthcare stocks showing unusual moves at the mid point on Tuesday:
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares declined 0.56% to $68.07 in the morning hour after the company's second quarter net earnings decreased 49.3% to $1.41 billion and earnings per share fell 50% to $0.50. Adjusted net earnings rose 2.7% to $3.64 billion and adjusted earnings per share grew 1.6% to $1.30. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $1.29 per share for the quarter. Sales to customers declined 0.7% to $16.48 billion, below analysts' consensus estimate of $16.69 billion.
Additionally, the company's adjusted earnings guidance for fiscal 2012 is expected in the range of $5.00-$5.07 per share.
VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) is showing very high volatility as the FDA is all set to announce their sonclusion for the company's weight loss drug- Qnexa. There is strong expectation that the company's drug would be approved. The FDA is scheduled to issue a decision by the end of Tuesday. Shares of VVUS turned higher by 2% to $29.29, well off session low of $20.90.
StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) stock surged 43.47% to $1.25 in the morning hour after the company announced preclinical data demonstrating that its proprietary human neural stem cells restored memory and enhanced synaptic function in two animal models relevant to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The data was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 in Vancouver, Canada.
Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX) shares climbed 0.20% to $35.25 in the early hour after the company reported first quarter net income of $55.29 million or $0.21 per share, as compared to $258.14 million or $0.90 per share in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings for the quarter plunged to $0.28 per share from last year's $1.07 last year. Net revenues declined to $821.13 million from $1.15 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected the company to earn $0.24 per share on revenue estimate of $808.25 million.
Lincare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LNCR) shares gained 0.05% to $41.35 in the morning hour after the company reported second quarter net income of $47.9 million or $0.56 per share, up from $42.8 million or $0.45 per share last year. Analysts expected earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $496 million, as compared to $449 million last year. Analysts expected $503.38 million.
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