For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL –August 06, 2010 – Zacks Equity Research highlights: Biogen Idec (BIIB) as the Bull of the Day and Eastman Kodak Company (EK) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Allstate Corporation (ALL).
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Biogen Idec (BIIB) reported second-quarter earnings per share of $1.27, well above the year-ago figure of $0.73 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08. Revenue increased 11% to $1.2 billion, with Tysabri and Rituxan being the primary growth drivers.
Based on second quarter results and Biogen's new guidance for 2010, we have raised our earnings estimate for 2010 by 29 cents to $4.73. Key products Avonex and Tysabri continue to contribute significantly to sales and we expect Biogen to maintain its leading position in the multiple sclerosis market. The company is working on building its pipeline through acquisitions and in-licensing deals.
In our opinion, Biogen has the best pipeline in all of biotech, and could be an attractive takeover candidate for pharma companies interested in biologics. Although we remain concerned about an increase in the occurrence of PML in patients using Tysabri, we are upgrading the stock to Outperform based on the second quarter performance and improved outlook for 2010.
Eastman Kodak Company (EK) reported disappointing results for the second quarter of 2010 based on lower prices and higher raw material costs. We believe this will continue in the near future based on a slower market recovery.
Thus, we reduced our earnings estimate for the quarter and fiscal year. Moreover, a highly competitive market and Kodak's huge exposure to volatile products pose immense risks. The company also faces integration and other risks related to acquisitions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, divestitures and outsourcing of transactions.
Moreover, a huge dependence on third party manufacturers and external suppliers negates both top-line and bottom-line results. Thus, we reiterate our Underperform rating on the stock.
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Social Security Still in Good Shape
There is a huge amount of hysteria in the country that says that Social Security is nothing but a ponzi scheme and is about to go bankrupt. This is simply not true, and is mostly being propagated by those who would love to see Social Security turned over to Wall Street. Doing so would put the retirement security of millions of Americans into grave danger.
Just think of what would have happened if a big part of the Social Security assets had been in the hands of Lehman Brothers or even Morgan Stanley (MS) or Goldman Sachs (GS) two years ago.
The overhead costs to administer the program are exceptionally small. Yes, in this case, the government is more efficient than the private sector, and not just marginally. Starting in 1982 with the Greenspan Commission, Social Security recognized the demographic time bomb posed by the "baby boom" and subsequent "baby bust." As a result, the idea was that people would pay in more than required for Social Security to run on a pay-as-you-go basis (which is how it was run up until that point). The extra funds would go into a trust fund. That trust fund now holds $2.5 Trillion.
So how is that money invested? It is invested in the safest assets around: T-Notes and Bonds. The government holding its own liabilities is a bit strange, and that is where the claim that the Social Security trust fund is composed of nothing but “worthless IOUs” comes from. However, if that is true, then it is equally true that the assets of a T-bond fund run by Vanguard or PIMCO are also composed of worthless IOUs.
In nominal terms, as long as the liabilities of the government are denominated in dollars, the government cannot default. That is true if the liabilities of the government are held by PIMCO, or the Chinese, or the Social Security Trust Fund.
Allstate Outshines Estimates
Allstate Corporation's (ALL) second quarter operating earnings of 81 cents per share came in way ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 70 cents and the 55 cents per share recorded in the year-ago quarter.
Results for the quarter deteriorated primarily due to lower revenue as a result of a significant decline in investment income. However, decreased expenses, prudent capital management and strong liquidity impressed during the reported quarter.
Allstate’s net income for the reported quarter came in at $145 million or 27 cents per share, compared with $389 million or 72 cents in the prior-year quarter. Operating income for the reported quarter, which excludes realized net gains and losses from the sale of investments as well as accruals on unhedged derivative instruments, was $441 million, up 48.5% from $297 million in the year-ago quarter.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.
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