Shire price target lowered to $190 from $205 at SunTrust

SunTrust analyst John Boris lowered his price target on Shire (SHPG) to $190 to reflect the impact of the USD appreciation against GBP while also lowering his FY18 EPS view to $15.11 from $15.18. The analyst notes that the investment focus for Shire falls on the November 20th vote by E.U. regulators on its merger with Takeda (TKPYY), adding that the company is on track to secure that approval and for shareholders to vote on the deal in January of next year.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2818471

Acadia deal may be a couple of weeks away, CNBC’s Faber says

CNBC’s David Faber stated on air that source indicate to him that a deal for a buyout of Acadia may be a couple of weeks away.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2818475

Lilly CFO: Will consider more acquisitions like Armo

Eli Lilly CFO Joshua Smiley told Reuters in an interview that his company will consider more acquisitions similar to its $1.6B purchase of cancer drug developer Armo BioSciences earlier this year. Smiley added, however, that mergers with big drug companies were unlikely to be an important tool to grow in the future.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2818489

Stifel still upbeat on IntriCon’s long-term prospects after Q3 report

Stifel analyst Jonathan Block said IntriCon’s (IIN) stock might see some selling pressure after the company’s Q3 revenue of $30.1M came in modestly below his $30.5M forecast, but he remains upbeat on the company’s long-term prospects given his view that it is still very early in the process of IntriCon benefiting from Medtronic’s (MDT) 670G/690G product cycles. Block keeps a Buy rating and $70 price target on shares of IntriCon, which are down $9.77, or 22%, to $34.52 in morning trading.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2818503

Demand for adult use cannabis ‘seemingly strong’ in Canada, says Cowen

Citing her analysis of e-commerce platforms for adult use cannabis in Canada, Cowen analyst Vivien Azer remains encouraged to see “seemingly strong demand” as well as some instances of improved supply. In a research note pre-market open, the analyst notes she aggregated 533 product offerings with 1,149 SKUs from the e-commerce platforms for Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Overall, SKU stockout rates across the provinces were flat versus last week at 57%, although remains above the 46% rate during the prior week, Azer adds. Her view of the data is a modest positive for Canopy Growth (CGC), which has the second highest number of SKUs and out of stock rates declined from 65% to 54% while adding 16 SKUs this week. The read-through on Tilray (TLRY) is less clear, Azer contends, as the only three provinces where the company did not get supply agreements were all in her five province survey universe. The analyst reiterated an Outperform rating on Canopy Growth and Tilray.
https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2818509

Novanta Tops Q3 EPS by 9c, Revenues Beat; FY18 EPS Guidance Above Views

Novanta (NASDAQ: NOVT) reported Q3 EPS of $0.61, $0.09 better than the analyst estimate of $0.52. Revenue for the quarter came in at $160.8 million versus the consensus estimate of $154.43 million.

“We are very pleased with our company’s performance in the third quarter,” said Matthijs Glastra, Chief Executive Officer of Novanta. “We delivered record performance from a top line and bottom line perspective. Reported growth was very solid at 10% and our Adjusted EPS and Free Cash Flow showed impressive growth. Despite a more uncertain economic climate, we are confident in the strength of our business model and our team’s ability to execute.”

GUIDANCE:

Novanta sees FY2018 EPS of $2.07-$2.12, versus the consensus of $2.00.

https://www.streetinsider.com/Earnings/Novanta+%28NOVT%29+Tops+Q3+EPS+by+9c%2C+Revenues+Beat%3B+Offers+FY18+EPS+Guidance+Above+Consensus/14788743.html

Vericel Tops Q3 EPS by 9c, Revenues Beat; Ups FY18 Revenue Guidance Above Views

Vericel (NASDAQ: VCEL) reported Q3 EPS of ($0.02), $0.09 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.11). Revenue for the quarter came in at $22.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $18.14 million.

“We achieved record third quarter revenues and our consistently strong revenue growth has generated significant improvements in gross margins, profitability and cash flow,” said Nick Colangelo, president and CEO of Vericel. “Based on the strength of our performance year to date and the continued momentum in MACI uptake, we have raised our full year 2018 revenue guidance and plan to further expand the MACI sales force to meet an expanded addressable market.”

GUIDANCE:

Vericel sees FY2018 revenue of $87-90 million, versus the consensus of $81.57 million.

https://www.streetinsider.com/Earnings/Vericel+%28VCEL%29+Tops+Q3+EPS+by+9c%2C+Revenues+Beat%3B+Raises+FY18+Revenue+Guidance+Above+Consensus/14788996.html