Health Care Services

Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.91 per share on revenue of $834.09 million. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $10.05 per share on revenue of $8.41 billion. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0....

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Citigroup (NYSE: C). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 35 points to 12,677.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 3.70 points to 1,348.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 6.75 points to 2,570.25. US...

JB Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT) is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.67 per share on revenue of $1.30 billion. Gannett Co (NYSE: GCI) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.52 per share on revenue of $1.32 billion. ICU Medical (NASDAQ: ICUI) is estimated to post its Q2...

Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) shares jumped 21.46% to create a new 52-week high of $41.32. Linde AG (OTC: LNAGF) agreed to buy Lincare Holdings for $4.6 billion. Courier (NASDAQ: CRRC) shares gained 1.66% to touch a new 52-week high of $13.47. Courier has a dividend yield of 6.30%. Denny's (...

Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) is trading hihger on the session following the announcement of an acquisition by Linde. Under the terms of the agreement, Linde will pay $41.50 per share totaling $4.6 billion. John P. Byrnes, CEO of Lincare, stated: "We are very pleased to make this announcement....

Goldman Sachs raises its rating on Laboratory Corp of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) from Sell to Neutral and raises its price target from $79 to $86. Goldman Sachs comments, "We upgrade shares of LH to Neutral from Sell and our 6-month $86 price target now implies 7.1% downside. Our upgrade is...

By 10:05 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 62.93 points, or 0.49%, to 12,817.16, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index had dropped 4.01 points, or 0.29%. The NASDAQ composite index fell 6.24 points, or 0.21%. Some of the narrow based indexes that are supporting the markets...

BrightPoint (NASDAQ: CELL) shares advanced 63.77% to $8.86 at 9:45 am. BrightPoint agreed to be bought by Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) for $650 million or $9 per share in cash. Tegal (NASDAQ: TGAL) climbed 44.17% to $5.19. Tegal announced its plans to to acquire CollabRx Inc, a privately held...

BrightPoint (NASDAQ: CELL) surged 63.03% to $8.82 in the pre-market session. BrightPoint agreed to be bought by Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) for $650 million or $9 per share in cash. Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) added 20.96% to $41.15 in the pre-market session. German Linde AG (OTC: LNAGF) agreed...

US stock futures are mixed this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 7 points to 12,815.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.40 points to 1,357.80. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.50 points to 2,609.25. US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial...

German Linde AG (OTC: LNAGF) agreed to buy Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) for $4.6 billion. Linde will offer $41.50 per share, representing a 22% premium to Lincare shares closing price of $34.02 on Friday. The deal is likely to close in the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Lincare shares closed...

Jefferies raises its rating on Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) from Hold to Buy and raises its price target form $27 to $38. Jefferies comments, "Raising our rating on LNCR given our view that the company is now in play, whether or not the FT article -- which noted an ongoing sale process --...

Analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded Greif (NYSE: GEF) from “market perform” to “outperform.” Greif's shares closed at $38.92 yesterday. Greif's trailing-twelve-month ROE is 10.30%. Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) from “sector perform” to “outperform.” Oracle's stock closed at $...

Below are the top mid-cap medical laboratories & research stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of return on assets. The trailing-twelve-month return on assets at Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) is 10.96%. Laboratory Corp. of America's operating margin for the same period...

Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) rose 20% Wednesday to $30.24 on a report from the Financial Times Germany's Linde could offer $40 or more for the Clearwater, FL medical equipment company. A spokesperson for Linde was aware of the FT report, but would not comment.