Target to $379 from $332
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Stock-Lending Firm Processing Over $2TN In Transactions, Goes Dark In Cyberattack
Amid the meltup of most shorted names in the past two days, numerous daytraders were greeted with an unexpected notification from their broker when they tried to short (or re-short) some of these highflying ultra junk names: "rejected."
There was much confusion why so many were unable to short these very popular shorts, especially if the shorts were willing to pay the oftentimes exorbitant Hart To Borrow rates on the shorts, but today we finally got an answer: as Bloomberg reports, EquiLend - a fintech that processes trillions of dollars of securities-lending transactions every month - suffered a cybersecurity attack that shut down some of its operations just days after announcing its sale to a private equity firm.
Radnet Acquires Seven Outpatient Imaging Centers in Phoenix
RadNet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDNT), a national leader in providing high-quality, cost-effective outpatient diagnostic imaging services, today announces that its joint ventured Arizona Diagnostic Radiology Group, LLC (“Arizona Diagnostic Radiology”) has acquired seven outpatient imaging centers in Phoenix Arizona from Evernorth Care Group.
The acquisition will expand outpatient imaging services for Evernorth Care Group patients, who will now have access to Arizona Diagnostic Radiology’s nine additional imaging centers in the Phoenix market. Additionally, the newly acquired imaging centers will implement RadNet’s digital health solutions, including radiology information and image management systems and DeepHealth’s artificial intelligence platform. These solutions are focused on optimizing operational workflow, improving the patient experience and driving accuracy and earlier detection.
Elevance forecasts 2024 profit above estimates after Q4 sales beat
Elevance Health forecast 2024 profit above Wall Street's expectations on Wednesday, after higher premiums in its commercial insurance business and strong demand in the Carelon health services unit helped it beat fourth-quarter sales estimates.
The raised forecast comes at a time when rivals such as Humana and UnitedHealth have flagged high costs in the fourth quarter, due to an increase in medical services among older adults.
Humana said last week that the increase in demand for medical care among older adults would hurt its fourth-quarter results and could potentially hit its 2024 outlook, if those costs persist.
However, Elevance's medical costs came in below analysts' estimates. The company said higher premiums from some of its health insurance plans accounted for the increased expense.
Its benefit expense ratio - the percentage of premiums spent by an insurer on medical care - was 89.2% in the fourth quarter, compared to analysts' average estimate of 89.4%, according to LSEG data.
Sales at its Carelon health services business, under which Elevance operates the pharmacy benefit management unit, rose 14%, to $12.4 billion in the fourth quarter.
On an adjusted basis, the health insurer expects full-year profit of more than $37.10 per share in 2024. Analysts are expecting a profit of $37.05 per share.
Its adjusted profit of $5.62 per share missed Wall Street's estimates by 2 cents in the fourth quarter. The company reported a 7.1% rise in total expenses, citing an acceleration in its investments for growth.
However, total revenue rose 7%, to $42.45 billion in the fourth quarter, above analysts' estimate of $42.05 billion.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-elevance-health-forecasts-2024-112832942.html
Ackman Ramps Up Israel Support With 5% Stake in Tel Aviv Bourse
- Bill Ackman and wife Neri Oxman among investors buying stake
- Ackman has spoken out against antisemitism since war began
Bill Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman have bought a stake in the Tel Aviv bourse, one of the most prominent investments in Israel since its war with Hamas erupted.
Ackman, 57, who has railed against a rise in antisemitism since the Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent retaliation, and Oxman are buying 5% of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Ltd. The deal is part of a roughly 18.5% stake sale to foreign and local investors for 353 million shekels ($95 million), meaning the couple would have paid $25 million, according to calculations by Bloomberg.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-24/bill-ackman-wife-neri-oxman-buy-5-stake-in-tel-aviv-bourse-lrre6a11
Kura Oversubscribed $150 Million Private Placement
Funding from existing investors, including EcoR1 Capital, an affiliate of Deerfield Management and Suvretta Capital –
– Pro forma cash, cash equivalents and investments expected to provide runway into 2027 –
– Management to host virtual investor event at 8:00 a.m. ET on January 30 to highlight preliminary combination data for ziftomenib –
Kura will host a virtual investor event featuring company management and investigators from the KOMET-007 trial of ziftomenib in combination with standards of care at 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. The event will be webcast live and can be accessed on the Investors section of Kura’s website at www.kuraoncology.com. An archived replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the live event.
Abbott forecasts 2024 earnings largely below estimates
Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday forecast 2024 profit largely below Wall Street estimates despite meeting quarterly earnings expectations, sending the medical device maker's shares down 2.5% in premarket trading.
Expectations around performance of medical device makers have increased over the last one month after health insurers flagged higher medical costs earlier this month as people, especially older adults, go back for medical procedures they had delayed during the pandemic.
Abbott's forecast also follows strong earnings beat by peers Johnson & Johnson and Intuitive Surgical, with bellwether J&J also expecting medtech-related procedures to remain elevated in 2024.
At first glance, Abbott's profit forecast is "a touch light" compared to Wall Street expectations, Mizuho Securities analyst Anthony Petrone said.
He added that medical devices sales beat was driven by its electrophysiology products, which may face competition later this year from newer devices to treat irregular heart rhythm.
Overall, the medical devices unit generated $4.44 billion in sales for the fourth quarter, higher than estimates of $4.33 billion.
The strong med-tech sales was also partly due to strength of its glucose monitoring device FreeStyle Libre, which brought in sales of $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter, up 25.5% year-on-year.
Abbott is banking on Libre for growth, targeting annual sales of $10 billion by 2028.
Its diagnostic segment revenue, which surged during the pandemic, recorded sales of $2.5 billion, in line with estimates but down 22.7% due to a sharp fall in COVID-19 testing-related sales.
It recorded COVID testing sales of $288 million, but did not provide an annual outlook.
Abbott also forecast 2024 adjusted profit in the range of $4.50 to $4.70 per share, with the mid-point below analysts' estimate of $4.64 per share, according to LSEG data.
Excluding items, Abbott's quarterly profit was in line with the average of analysts' estimates of $1.19 per share.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/abbotts-strong-medical-device-sales-123425202.html
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