Medtronic Earned 62 Cents a Share
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 22nd, 2007 at 9:19 am

The AP has the details:

Medical device maker Medtronic Inc.’s profits grew 12.6 percent in the first quarter, but it will be looking to some of its new products to keep that momentum going for the rest of the year.
The maker of pacemakers, spinal implants and insulin pumps has hit a few speedbumps recently, especially in the important market for implantable defibrillators and pacemakers. Recalls at rival Guidant Corp. as well as Medtronic have hampered the market.
New products, including its Endeavor drug-coated stent and its BRYAN Cervical Disc implant, should help, said President and incoming CEO Bill Hawkins.
“It’s really the breadth of our whole portfolio that is going to drive growth in the back half of this year,” he said in an interview.
Medtronic could also get a boost from recovery at its Physio-Control subsidiary for external defibrillators. Plans to spin it off were put on hold after shipments were suspended in January because of unspecified quality problems.
Hawkins told analysts that the company has been working with the FDA on corrective action, and that it has resumed limited shipments, and plans to resume full U.S. shipments in the second half of the current fiscal year. Hawkins said Medtronic would still look to spin off Physio-Control “at the appropriate time.”
Fridley-based Medtronic had launched a direct-to-consumer advertising campign for its implantable heart devices, but Hawkins said on Tuesday that campaign has wrapped up.
Medtronic said it earned $675 million, or 59 cents per share, up from $599 million, or 51 cents per share, during the same period last year. Revenue rose almost 8 percent to $3.13 billion, from $2.9 billion a year ago.
Not counting certain items, Medtronic said it earned 62 cents per share. That matched the expectation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Non-U.S. revenue of $1.18 billion was up 16 percent. For the quarter, 38 percent of Medtronic’s revenue came from outside the U.S.

Here are the recent financial stats:
Quarter………..EPS………….Sales
Jul-01…………$0.28………..$1,455.70
Oct-01………..$0.29………..$1,571.00
Jan-02………..$0.30………..$1,592.00
Apr-02………..$0.34………..$1,792.00
Jul-02…………$0.32………..$1,713.90
Oct-02………..$0.34………..$1,891.00
Jan-03………..$0.35………..$1,912.50
Apr-03………..$0.40………..$2,148.00
Jul-03…………$0.37………..$2,064.20
Oct-03………..$0.39………..$2,163.80
Jan-04………..$0.40………..$2,193.80
Apr-04………..$0.48………..$2,665.40
Jul-04…………$0.43………..$2,346.10
Oct-04………..$0.44………..$2,399.80
Jan-05………..$0.46………..$2,530.70
Apr-05………..$0.53………..$2,778.00
Jul-05…………$0.50………..$2,690.40
Oct-05………..$0.54………..$2,765.40
Jan-06………..$0.55………..$2,769.50
Apr-06………..$0.62………..$3,066.70
Jul-06…………$0.55………..$2,897.00
Oct-06………..$0.59………..$3,075.00
Jan-07………..$0.61………..$3,048.00
Apr-07………..$0.66………..$3,280.00
Jul-07…………$0.62………..$3.127.00

Headline of the Day
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 21st, 2007 at 10:16 pm

Whta Should I Consider for College Loan?

Medtronic’s Earnings
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 21st, 2007 at 12:19 pm

Medtronic (MDT) will release its earnings after the close today. The earnings are still humming along even though the stock hasn’t done much. Here’s a look at MDT’s stock (blue line, left scale) and earnings-per-share (gold line, right scale).

Here’s the earnings preview from Medtronic:

Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. reports earnings for the fiscal 2008 first-quarter on Tuesday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.
OVERVIEW: Concerns about lagging sales of its implantable heart devices followed the company into the quarter as Chief Executive Arthur Collins moved closer to his August retirement date.
In June, the company received Food and Drug Administration approval for an implantable pain reliever, aimed at treating chronic lower back pain. It also raised its quarterly dividend 14 percent to 12.5 cents per share and elected two independent board members, raising the total number of board members to 14.
In July, the company said its drug-coated stent Endeavor showed positive results in a late-stage study comparing it with rival Boston Scientific’s Taxus. Also in July, the company was issued a warning letter from the FDA saying the company did not properly report problems with some of its medical devices. The problems stem from the company’s Minneapolis plant where drug infusion pumps are made. The FDA noted that the company had already fixed the problems, but had failed to report them within the required 30-day period.
During the quarter the FDA also approved Medtronic’s Prestige Cervical Disk System, which the company said is an alternative to surgery for people suffering from degenerative disc disease. Medtronic also said it would buy Kyphon, a spinal implant maker, for $3.9 billion.
BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect profit of 62 cents per share for the quarter on revenue of just under $3.17 billion. During the first quarter of fiscal 2007, the company earned 51 cents per share on revenue of $2.9 billion. In May, Medtronic said it would no longer provide guidance more than a year ahead and would stop providing quarterly guidance.
ANALYST TAKE: Leerink Swann & Co. analyst Jason Wittes said he expects the company to meet Wall Street expectations. Sales of implantable cardiac devices are expected to rise 9 percent to $732 million, with a large surge in sales figures from outside the U.S., he said.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Joanne Wuensch also said she expects first-quarter results to meet Wall Street expectations and said implantable cardiac device sales will be a key focus.
WHAT’S AHEAD: Wall Street and the company are waiting for the FDA’s decision on Endeavor. The company previously said it expects approval by the end of the year. Analysts are also waiting for more information on the Kyphon buyout, for which there is no set closing date.
STOCK PERFORMANCE: Medtronic shares fell 5 percent during the first quarter to close at $50.81 on July 27. The company’s fiscal year ends April 27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Countrywide
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 21st, 2007 at 10:34 am

The chart says it all.

Biggest Daily Declines in 3-Mo T-Bill Rates
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 20th, 2007 at 5:47 pm

Going back to 1954:
Date………………………………………..Change
December 19, 1980……………………-1.27
January 5, 1981………………………..-1.13
February 22, 1982…………………….-0.94
September 16, 1974………………….-0.85
March 27, 1980…………………………-0.81
April 28, 1980…………………………..-0.81
August 2, 1982…………………………-0.81
June 15, 1981…………………………..-0.81
February 18, 1982……………………..-0.77
November 15, 1973……………………-0.77
May 26, 1981…………………………….-0.75
September 27, 1974……………………-0.72
September 19, 1974……………………-0.71
April 22, 1980…………………………….-0.68
August 20, 2007…………………………-0.67

Poll: Traders Would Commit Felony for $10 Million
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 20th, 2007 at 3:58 pm

From the NY Post (where else?):

Wall Street traders don’t mind committing the crime – it’s doing the time that gives them the willies.
More than half of traders questioned in a recent survey said they would trade on illegal insider information if the deal allowed them to pocket a $10 million profit – provided there was zero chance they would be caught.
If there was a 10 percent chance of getting cuffed by the Feds and perp-walked, then the percentage of traders willing to break the law drops from 58 percent to 28 percent. Only 7 percent of an obviously prison-averse trader community said they would do the crime if there were a 50 percent chance of an indictment. (Yep, traders know how to play odds – Eddy)
The survey, which polled 2,500 traders, was taken by Trader Monthly magazine.
Ty Wenger, the editor of the magazine, attributed the high number of traders willing to commit a felony to the huge premium placed on their having an edge. “That edge is the difference between being highly successful or going belly up; there is no guaranteed money,” Wenger said. “Morality can’t be a big part of the job.”
Perhaps it is no surprise then that the do-the-crime-but-do-no-time traders said that the public figure they despise the most is Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Spitzer is the former state Attorney General who made his mark during eight years in office by cracking down on Wall Street – specifically investment banks, mutual funds and insurance companies.
Sixty-two percent of traders in the survey cited Spitzer as being the most hated, far ahead of ex-New York Stock Exchange boss Dick Grasso, who finished second at 20 percent. John Thain, Grasso’s successor, garnered 11 percent with Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, getting 7 percent.
And speaking of Grasso, traders are just about evenly split over whether or not he got a bad rap with the Spitzer suit, claiming he was overpaid – 52 percent think he earned every penny.
“Grasso got a bad rap,” one trader, Andre Duncan of Mercer Capital, told the magazine. “People that short deserve all the money they can get.” Duncan trades short-term equities.
While we’re talking about money, 21 percent of traders questioned said they didn’t donate any of their salary to charity.
Other topics addressed by the survey, which will appear in the monthly’s next issue, to hit the stands Aug. 29:
* If you could swap lives for a year with one of the following traders, he would be . . .? Stevie Cohen, 42 percent; T. Boone Pickens, 27 percent; Paul Tudor Jones, 25 percent; and James Simons, 6 percent.
* If you could have one super power that you could use to trade, it would be . . .? Mind reading, so I could out-think everyone on the trading floor, 68 percent; Invisibility, so I could go around screwing other traders, like Patrick Swayze did in “Ghost,” 19 percent; and superhuman speed, so I could click my mouse faster, 13 percent.

90-Day T-Bill Below 3%
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 20th, 2007 at 11:57 am

Unbelievable.

According to the futures market, there’s a 380% chance of a Fed rate cut in September. Today could be the first 60-point decline in short-term T-bills in 25 years.

Targeting Cramer
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 20th, 2007 at 11:23 am

It didn’t take Murdoch long. Barron’s went after Cramer this past weekend:

Cramer is unapologetic about his self-promotion, but he acknowledges his bad calls, too. What he hasn’t done is tell his viewers the overall score for his two-plus years of Mad Money picks. When he hits his “Buy Buy Buy” sound-effect button, can viewers expect market-walloping results?
In trying to figure that out, we came across YourMoneyWatch.com, a Website started by Michael McGown, a retired securities analyst who worked for several major brokerage firms. McGown started the site not long after the show started, and says Cramer sent a complimentary e-mail after noticing it. McGown counts only Cramer’s clear and unconditional Buy recommendations, following a sensible set of rules. McGown tracks the stock until Cramer says sell. “As a person watching the show,” says McGown, “I think it’s a fair way to rate him.”
Over two years, YourMoneyWatch has tracked 1,300 Mad Money picks. It’s this tally that shows Cramer’s stocks lagging behind the Dow and the S&P 500. This year, Cramer’s done better. McGown’s data show his picks up 3.2%, while the S&P is up 2%; the Dow, 4.9%; and the Nasdaq, 3.7%. CNBC says the YourMoneyWatch data, as well that of Cramer’s Mad Money Website, are “not authoritative.”
Hoping to get Cramer’s advice on how to measure his Mad Money picks, I called him a few weeks ago. He tore into me. “I’ve never read a single article that I thought wasn’t a massive distortion of what the show’s all about,” he said. When I said I just wanted to see Mad Money’s record, he replied: “I’ve never seen an analysis that I’ve regarded as honest, and I doubt yours is any different.”

Encountering Rudy
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 20th, 2007 at 11:06 am

Living in DC, I often seen famous politicos roaming the streets. Or at least, famous for DC. Once I came close to running over a senator (by accident). But in the Hamptons this weekend, Barry Ritholtz (not a Guiliani fan) found himself sitting next to the former mayor.

“Mr. Mayor! Good luck in the presidential race. Unfortunately, its going to be an uphill battle, thanks to the current occupant of the White House. But we’re New Yorkers, and we wish you the best.”

I think someone’s pulling to be Fed Chair.

Were Stocks Underpriced in 1929?
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on August 20th, 2007 at 11:01 am

I’ve never heard this argument before:

Consider the Great Depression, which, we were taught, was the ultimate morality play. The 1920s markets were bubbly madness. Little true growth underlay the price increases. Then came 1929. The decade of splurge required a decade of penance.
This cuts out a lot of reality. While the stock market of the late ’20s was probably too high, it was not high enough to cause “The Grapes of Wrath.” A few years ago, Edward Prescott, a Nobel Prize winner, and Ellen McGrattan looked at the Dow in a paper for the Minneapolis Fed. Stock prices relative to fundamental values of corporations were underrated, even in August 1929, they concluded.

Could have fooled me. (And the entire market.) I’ll look over the paper later.