Optical company EssilorLuxottica SA’s 7.2 billion-euro ($7.94
billion) bid for peer Grandvision NV faces full-scale EU antitrust
scrutiny after it declined to offer concessions to address the European
Commission’s concerns, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources.
–Retailers and rival lens makers had expressed concerns about the merger to the EU’s antitrust authority, Reuters reports.
–EssilorLuxottica gave up the chance to offer concessions on
Thursday, according to information on the website of the commission. The
commission is set to conclude its preliminary review on the merger on
Feb. 6, Reuters reports. Both the commission and EssilorLuxottica
declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
https://www.marketscreener.com/ESSILORLUXOTTICA-4641/news/EssilorLuxottica-Takeover-of-Grandvision-Faces-Full-EU-Probe-Reuters-29921403/
Search This Blog
Friday, January 31, 2020
Bayer considers new tactic in Roundup settlement talks
As Bayer AG tries to settle U.S. lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, the company is considering a proposal that would bar plaintiffs’ lawyers involved in the litigation from advertising for new clients, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Bayer has said it is engaged in mediation to resolve the litigation,
which has hit its share price since it acquired Roundup as part of its
$63 billion takeover of Monsanto in 2018.
The company has denied claims that Roundup or its active ingredient glyphosate causes cancer, saying decades of independent studies have shown the product is safe for human use.
The person said that Bayer believes an agreement with plaintiffs’ attorneys to ban advertising would limit the company’s future legal exposure since the “vast majority” of U.S. law firms that would bring such claims would be bound by the agreement.
Bayer declined to comment.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Thursday that Bayer was considering stopping retail sales of glyphosate while continuing to serve farmers, because the bulk of plaintiffs are private users. Bayer did not comment to Reuters on this report.
The company has ruled out putting a cancer warning on the weedkiller because market regulators such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have deemed it save to use, but that means lawsuits could keeping piling in.
In October, Bayer largely blamed law firms’ TV ad campaigns for the more than doubling of U.S. plaintiffs seeking damages to 42,700 within just three months.
A provision such as the one the company is considering could result in “dramatically fewer claims” so that the litigation is no longer a “big drag on Bayer’s balance sheet,” said David Noll, a professor at Rutgers Law School and expert in mass torts, who is not involved in the litigation.
In January, court-appointed mediator Ken Feinberg put the number of Roundup cancer claimants at more than 75,000, which includes those that have not been filed. Bayer said the claims it has been served with in court were below 50,000.
While such a provision is unusual, there is precedent.
As part of a 2013 settlement between Merck & Co and plaintiffs claiming the company’s Fosamax osteoporosis drug caused jaw injury, lawyers pledged that they did not intend to “solicit claims” that arose after the settlement.
Perry Weitz of Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the leading plaintiffs’ firms involved in the Roundup litigation, criticized an idea to bar firms from advertising for future clients.
“A company cannot ask a lawyer to enter an agreement to restrict his practice in the future,” he said.
He said there had not been “serious discussions about future cases,” but declined to elaborate.
Michael Miller of The Miller Firm, another major party in the talks, said that “it is possible, if done correctly, to manage the exposure to future claims.” He declined to elaborate. Three other plaintiffs firms who have brought the bulk of the claims – Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman; Andrus Wagstaff PC; Holland Law Firm – declined to comment. Moore Law Group PLLC did not respond to requests for comment.
Bayer’s shares have lost about 20% of their value since August 2018 when a California jury in the first lawsuit over Roundup found Monsanto should have warned of the alleged cancer risks. Bayer has lost two more jury verdicts and is appealing all three rulings.
The company has denied claims that Roundup or its active ingredient glyphosate causes cancer, saying decades of independent studies have shown the product is safe for human use.
The person said that Bayer believes an agreement with plaintiffs’ attorneys to ban advertising would limit the company’s future legal exposure since the “vast majority” of U.S. law firms that would bring such claims would be bound by the agreement.
Bayer declined to comment.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Thursday that Bayer was considering stopping retail sales of glyphosate while continuing to serve farmers, because the bulk of plaintiffs are private users. Bayer did not comment to Reuters on this report.
The company has ruled out putting a cancer warning on the weedkiller because market regulators such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have deemed it save to use, but that means lawsuits could keeping piling in.
In October, Bayer largely blamed law firms’ TV ad campaigns for the more than doubling of U.S. plaintiffs seeking damages to 42,700 within just three months.
A provision such as the one the company is considering could result in “dramatically fewer claims” so that the litigation is no longer a “big drag on Bayer’s balance sheet,” said David Noll, a professor at Rutgers Law School and expert in mass torts, who is not involved in the litigation.
In January, court-appointed mediator Ken Feinberg put the number of Roundup cancer claimants at more than 75,000, which includes those that have not been filed. Bayer said the claims it has been served with in court were below 50,000.
While such a provision is unusual, there is precedent.
As part of a 2013 settlement between Merck & Co and plaintiffs claiming the company’s Fosamax osteoporosis drug caused jaw injury, lawyers pledged that they did not intend to “solicit claims” that arose after the settlement.
Perry Weitz of Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the leading plaintiffs’ firms involved in the Roundup litigation, criticized an idea to bar firms from advertising for future clients.
“A company cannot ask a lawyer to enter an agreement to restrict his practice in the future,” he said.
He said there had not been “serious discussions about future cases,” but declined to elaborate.
Michael Miller of The Miller Firm, another major party in the talks, said that “it is possible, if done correctly, to manage the exposure to future claims.” He declined to elaborate. Three other plaintiffs firms who have brought the bulk of the claims – Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman; Andrus Wagstaff PC; Holland Law Firm – declined to comment. Moore Law Group PLLC did not respond to requests for comment.
Bayer’s shares have lost about 20% of their value since August 2018 when a California jury in the first lawsuit over Roundup found Monsanto should have warned of the alleged cancer risks. Bayer has lost two more jury verdicts and is appealing all three rulings.
https://www.marketscreener.com/BAYER-AG-436063/news/Bayer-considers-new-tactic-in-Roundup-settlement-talks-29921616/?countview=0
Pilots, flight attendants demand flights to China stop as global virus fear mounts
Pilots and flight attendants are demanding airlines stop flights to China as health officials declare a global emergency over the rapidly spreading coronavirus, with American Airlines’ pilots filing a lawsuit seeking an immediate halt.
China has reported nearly 10,000 cases and 213 deaths, but the virus
has spread to 18 countries, mostly, presumably, by airline passengers.
The United States has advised its citizens not to travel to China, raising its warning to the same level as those for Iraq and Afghanistan.
U.S. airlines, which have been reducing flights to China this week, were reassessing flying plans as a result, according to people familiar with the matter.
It is possible the White House could opt to take further action to bar flights to China in coming days, but officials stressed that no decision has been made.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, cited “serious, and in many ways still unknown, health threats posed by the coronavirus” in a lawsuit filed in Texas, where the airline is based.
American said it was taking precautions against the virus but had no immediate comment on the lawsuit. On Wednesday, it announced flight cancellations from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai, but is continuing flights from Dallas.
APA President Eric Ferguson urged pilots assigned to U.S.-China flights to decline the assignment. In a statement, the American Airlines’ flight attendants union said they supported the pilots’ lawsuit and called on the company and the U.S. government to “err on the side of caution and halt all flights to and from China.”
Pilots at United Airlines, the largest U.S. airline to China, concerned for their safety will be allowed to drop their trip without pay, according to a Wednesday memo from their union to members.
United announced on Thursday another 332 U.S.-China flight cancellations between February and March 28, though it will continue operating round trip flights from San Francisco to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The American Airlines pilot lawsuit came as an increasing number of airlines stopped their flights to mainland China, including Air France KLM SA, British Airways, Germany’s Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic.
Other major carriers have kept flying to China, but protective masks and shorter layovers designed to reduce exposure have done little to reassure crews.
‘COUNTDOWN’
A U.S. flight attendant who recently landed from one major Chinese city said a big concern is catching the virus and spreading it to families, or getting quarantined while on a layover.”I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation until I went there,” she said on condition of anonymity, describing general paranoia on the return flight, with every passenger wearing a mask.
“Now I feel like I’m on a 14-day countdown.”
Thai Airways is hosing its cabins with disinfectant spray between China flights and allowing crew to wear masks and gloves.
Delta Air Lines is operating fewer flights and offering food deliveries so crew can stay in their hotels. The carrier is also allowing pilots to drop China trips without pay, a memo from its union to members said.
Korean Air Lines Co Ltd and Singapore Airlines are sending additional crew to fly each plane straight back, avoiding overnight stays.
The South Korean carrier also said it was loading protective suits for flight attendants who might need to take care of suspected coronavirus cases in the air.
Airlines in Asia are seeing a big drop in bookings along with forced cancellations because of the coronavirus outbreak, the head of aircraft lessor Avolon Holdings Ltd said, adding the impact could last for some months.
The outbreak poses the biggest epidemic threat to the airline industry since the 2003 SARS crisis, which led to a 45% plunge in passenger demand in Asia at its peak in April of that year, analysts said.
Fitch Ratings said airlines with more moderate exposure to China and the Asia-Pacific region were likely to be able to re-deploy capacity to alternative routes to mitigate the effect on traffic, but that could increase competition on those routes and reduce airfares.
Air France, which maintained China flights throughout the SARS epidemic, suspended its Beijing and Shanghai flights on Thursday after cabin crews demanded an immediate halt.
“When the staff see that other airlines have stopped flying there, their reaction is ‘Why are we still going?’,” said Flore Arrighi, president of UNAC, one of the airline’s four main flight attendants’ unions.
The United States has advised its citizens not to travel to China, raising its warning to the same level as those for Iraq and Afghanistan.
U.S. airlines, which have been reducing flights to China this week, were reassessing flying plans as a result, according to people familiar with the matter.
It is possible the White House could opt to take further action to bar flights to China in coming days, but officials stressed that no decision has been made.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, cited “serious, and in many ways still unknown, health threats posed by the coronavirus” in a lawsuit filed in Texas, where the airline is based.
American said it was taking precautions against the virus but had no immediate comment on the lawsuit. On Wednesday, it announced flight cancellations from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai, but is continuing flights from Dallas.
APA President Eric Ferguson urged pilots assigned to U.S.-China flights to decline the assignment. In a statement, the American Airlines’ flight attendants union said they supported the pilots’ lawsuit and called on the company and the U.S. government to “err on the side of caution and halt all flights to and from China.”
Pilots at United Airlines, the largest U.S. airline to China, concerned for their safety will be allowed to drop their trip without pay, according to a Wednesday memo from their union to members.
United announced on Thursday another 332 U.S.-China flight cancellations between February and March 28, though it will continue operating round trip flights from San Francisco to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The American Airlines pilot lawsuit came as an increasing number of airlines stopped their flights to mainland China, including Air France KLM SA, British Airways, Germany’s Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic.
Other major carriers have kept flying to China, but protective masks and shorter layovers designed to reduce exposure have done little to reassure crews.
‘COUNTDOWN’
A U.S. flight attendant who recently landed from one major Chinese city said a big concern is catching the virus and spreading it to families, or getting quarantined while on a layover.”I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation until I went there,” she said on condition of anonymity, describing general paranoia on the return flight, with every passenger wearing a mask.
“Now I feel like I’m on a 14-day countdown.”
Thai Airways is hosing its cabins with disinfectant spray between China flights and allowing crew to wear masks and gloves.
Delta Air Lines is operating fewer flights and offering food deliveries so crew can stay in their hotels. The carrier is also allowing pilots to drop China trips without pay, a memo from its union to members said.
Korean Air Lines Co Ltd and Singapore Airlines are sending additional crew to fly each plane straight back, avoiding overnight stays.
The South Korean carrier also said it was loading protective suits for flight attendants who might need to take care of suspected coronavirus cases in the air.
Airlines in Asia are seeing a big drop in bookings along with forced cancellations because of the coronavirus outbreak, the head of aircraft lessor Avolon Holdings Ltd said, adding the impact could last for some months.
The outbreak poses the biggest epidemic threat to the airline industry since the 2003 SARS crisis, which led to a 45% plunge in passenger demand in Asia at its peak in April of that year, analysts said.
Fitch Ratings said airlines with more moderate exposure to China and the Asia-Pacific region were likely to be able to re-deploy capacity to alternative routes to mitigate the effect on traffic, but that could increase competition on those routes and reduce airfares.
Air France, which maintained China flights throughout the SARS epidemic, suspended its Beijing and Shanghai flights on Thursday after cabin crews demanded an immediate halt.
“When the staff see that other airlines have stopped flying there, their reaction is ‘Why are we still going?’,” said Flore Arrighi, president of UNAC, one of the airline’s four main flight attendants’ unions.
https://www.marketscreener.com/news/Pilots-flight-attendants-demand-flights-to-China-stop-as-virus-fear-mounts-worldwide–29916989/?countview=0
Aduro adds to rally as bargain hunters move in
Micro cap Aduro BioTech (ADRO +18.1%) is up on almost double normal volume. Shares have rallied 60% since touching $0.99 on December 23, 2019.
Shares were in a long-term downtrend before the recent rally, pressured by Novartis’ exit from STING pathway activator ADU-S100 and a recent downsizing that cut 59% of its workforce.
Despite the bad news, SVB Leerink’s Daina
Graybosch raised her fair value target to $7 (335% upside) from $3
citing the company’s modest valuation considering the upside if either
of two gene therapy programs are successful and/or one of its Big
Biopharma collaborations bear fruit.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3536944-aduro-adds-to-rally-bargain-hunters-move-in-shares-up-18
ResMed buys CPAP resupply software developer
ResMed (RMD -3.1%) subsidiary Brightree has agreed to acquire privately held SnapWorx, LLC, for an undisclosed sum.
The Brentwood, TN-based SaaS provider is focused on the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) resupply market.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3536954-resmed-buys-cpap-resupply-software-developerProfound Medical gets 2020 “Best Pick” honors from Raymond James
Profound Medical Corp (Profound Medical Corp Stock Quote, Chart, News TSX:PRN)
takes top honors from Raymond James analyst Rahul Sarugaser who in a
Monday update to clients upped his rating from “Outperform 2” to “Strong
Buy” while raising his price target from $35.00 to $45.00 for PRN.
Toronto-based Profound Medical’s TULSA-PRO technology, which is designed for the ablation of prostate tissue, combines real-time MRI with transurethral robotically-driven therapeutic ultrasound and closed-loop thermal feedback control. Last fall, the TULSA-PRO was given 510(k) marketing authorization in the US and Profound has started its marketing of the product.
On Monday, Profound announced the closing of its previously-announced equity offering of 3.4 million shares at $15.14 per share for net proceeds of C48.3 million. The injection puts PRN’s cash position at roughly $71.6 million, says Sarugaser, enough to call it the company’s last equity raise needed to fully commercialize the TULSA-PRO.
Sarugaser likes Profound’s move from a capital equipment sales model to a pure-play recurring revenue model, where the company will charge a pay-per-use fee with no installation costs. The analyst figures the model will reach a steady state COGS margin of 30 per cent by 2023, with Sarugaser projecting installations of ten, 22 and 38 units in years 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
“These units, we estimate, will have average utilization rates increasing from 74, to 90, to 106 annual patients per device during those same years, driving revenues of $11.1 million, $27.2 million, and $63.4 million, respectively. Given that we anticipate PRN generating $5.4 million in 2019FY, we recognize that $11.1 million in 2020 appears relatively modest. These light 2020 revenues we see as a function of PRN substituting short-term capital equipment revenue with massive, long-term recurring revenue. We view this as a deft strategy enacted by PRN’s veteran management,” Sarugaser wrote.
The analyst warns that while PRN’s share price could have less upside over the shorter term, for investors looking at the long-term Profound “represents an extremely attractive investment proposition” and thus gets Sarugaser’s “2020 Best Pick” status.
In particular, Saruagser has high praise for Profound’s management, saying
“We remind you that PRN’s CEO, Dr. Arun Menawat, and CFO, Mr. Aaron Davidson, previously worked together at Novadaq technologies, growing the company from a small, Toronto-based start-up to a billion dollar Nasdaq-listed company, which was eventually sold to Stryker for 20x sales (US $700 million). This seasoned management team, indeed, has been there, done that. We have deep confidence in management’s capacity to execute the deft plan they have set out for PRN. For all these reasons, we have selected PRN as our 2020 Best Pick,” Sarugaser says.
The analyst sees PRN registering $11 million in revenue in fiscal 2020 and an EBITDA loss of $23 million. At the time of publication, his new $45.00 target represented a projected 12-month return of 182 per cent. PRN finished 2019 up 168 per cent for the year.
Toronto-based Profound Medical’s TULSA-PRO technology, which is designed for the ablation of prostate tissue, combines real-time MRI with transurethral robotically-driven therapeutic ultrasound and closed-loop thermal feedback control. Last fall, the TULSA-PRO was given 510(k) marketing authorization in the US and Profound has started its marketing of the product.
On Monday, Profound announced the closing of its previously-announced equity offering of 3.4 million shares at $15.14 per share for net proceeds of C48.3 million. The injection puts PRN’s cash position at roughly $71.6 million, says Sarugaser, enough to call it the company’s last equity raise needed to fully commercialize the TULSA-PRO.
Sarugaser likes Profound’s move from a capital equipment sales model to a pure-play recurring revenue model, where the company will charge a pay-per-use fee with no installation costs. The analyst figures the model will reach a steady state COGS margin of 30 per cent by 2023, with Sarugaser projecting installations of ten, 22 and 38 units in years 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
“These units, we estimate, will have average utilization rates increasing from 74, to 90, to 106 annual patients per device during those same years, driving revenues of $11.1 million, $27.2 million, and $63.4 million, respectively. Given that we anticipate PRN generating $5.4 million in 2019FY, we recognize that $11.1 million in 2020 appears relatively modest. These light 2020 revenues we see as a function of PRN substituting short-term capital equipment revenue with massive, long-term recurring revenue. We view this as a deft strategy enacted by PRN’s veteran management,” Sarugaser wrote.
The analyst warns that while PRN’s share price could have less upside over the shorter term, for investors looking at the long-term Profound “represents an extremely attractive investment proposition” and thus gets Sarugaser’s “2020 Best Pick” status.
In particular, Saruagser has high praise for Profound’s management, saying
“We remind you that PRN’s CEO, Dr. Arun Menawat, and CFO, Mr. Aaron Davidson, previously worked together at Novadaq technologies, growing the company from a small, Toronto-based start-up to a billion dollar Nasdaq-listed company, which was eventually sold to Stryker for 20x sales (US $700 million). This seasoned management team, indeed, has been there, done that. We have deep confidence in management’s capacity to execute the deft plan they have set out for PRN. For all these reasons, we have selected PRN as our 2020 Best Pick,” Sarugaser says.
The analyst sees PRN registering $11 million in revenue in fiscal 2020 and an EBITDA loss of $23 million. At the time of publication, his new $45.00 target represented a projected 12-month return of 182 per cent. PRN finished 2019 up 168 per cent for the year.
Profound Medical gets 2020 “Best Pick” honours from Raymond James
Lilly launches migraine med Reyvow
Eli Lilly (LLY -1.7%) announces that
Reyvow (lasmiditan) C-V 50 mg and 100 mg tablets, indicated for the
acute treatment of migraine with or without aura, is now available for
prescription and will be available in U.S. pharmacies in the next
several days.
Lasmiditan is
an orally available 5-HT1F receptor agonist that blocks pain
transmission without the side effects of the class of migraine therapies
called triptans. The 5-HT1F receptor is
a serotonin subtype that lacks the vasoconstrictive properties of other
serotonin receptors which can cause adverse cardiac events in patients
with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease.
The FDA approved the medicine in October 2019. The time lag before launch was due to a DEA review of the drug’s classification.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3536929-lilly-launches-migraine-med-reyvow
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)