>>> US Filings, Offerings and Pricings

Filings, Offerings and Pricings

Filings:
  • YRC Worldwide (YRCW) filed for a ~20.61 mln share common stock offering by selling stockholders which includes ~17.727 mln shares of our Common Stock issued to the selling stockholders hereunder pursuant to the Transactions as described below, and ~2.333 mln shares of our Common Stock to be issued upon the conversion of our Class A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $1.00/share.
  • Arrowhead Research (ARWR) files for $200 mln mixed securities shelf offering.
Offerings:
  • Idera Pharma (IDRA) announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock and pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering.
  • HCI Group (HCI) to cancel Series A Preferred Stock conversion rights.
  • NRG Yield (NYLD) announced offering of $300 mln in aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2019.
  • Athlon Energy (ATHL) announced a public offering of 12 mln shares of common stock by selling stockholders.
  • Agenus (AGEN) has commenced an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock.
Pricings:
  • Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO 13.78) priced ~7.692 mln shares of common stock at $13.00/share.
  • Cepheid (CPHD 49.13) upsized offering by $50 mln and priced $300 mln of 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2021.
  • Epizyme (EPZM 30.00) priced its underwritten public offering of ~4.492 mln shares of its common stock at a price of $29.25/share before underwriting discounts; EPZM is selling 3 mln shares of its common stock in this offering, and certain existing stockholders are selling ~1.492 mln shares

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: MYGN +15.9% (plans to acquire Crescendo Bioscience for $270 mln in cash which will be reduced by $25 mln for the repayment of a loan made to Crescendo and customary adjustments in accordance with the acquisition agreement; acquisition to be accretive to earnings beginning in fiscal year 2016), DATA +14.6%, USNA +13.1%, RL +7%, GIMO+6.8%, LVLT +6.7%, ARMK +6% (ticking higher), OCLR +5.6%, BBSI +5% (light volume), GNW +4.4%, CKSW +4.3% (light volume), NANO +3.6%, MRK +2.2%, GSK +1.8%, ACLS +1.2% (light volume), AFL +0.9%, CERN +0.7% (light volume), EL +0.7%, BWLD +0.6%.

M&A news: NATL +8.3% (American Financial Group to acquire NATL for $28.00/share in cash without interest; commences tender offer for stake).

A few financial related names showing strength: NBG +6.3%, ING +2.7%, DB +1.2%, BBVA +1.1% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC).

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: MT +1.6% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC Securities ), IAG +1.4%, ABX +1.3%, NEM +1% (CEO says he has no plans to issue equity to pay down debt; no acquisitions pending; still opportunities to sell non-core assets - Reuters ), VALE +0.8% (Vale upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley), .

Other news: SEV +34.2% (Sevcon entures joint-venture agreement with Chinese Tier 1 auto supplier), WPCS +10.1% (continued strength), OMER +9.3% (FDA grants Fast Track designation to Omeros' OMS824 Huntington's disease program), IDIX +8.5% (Baupost Group discloses 35.38% active stake in amended 13D filing; reports purchase of ~16.4 mln shares), SWIR +4.5% (still checking), CALL +3.5% (announced dismissal of class action lawsuit), RYAAY +3.3% (still checking), INCY +1.7% (Merck signs clinical collaboration agreements to evaluate novel combination regimens with MK-3475 ), TM +1.5% (still checking), PCAR +1.2% (following late move higher that was attributed to Class 8 trucking data; also upgraded at Baird), MMM +1% (authorizes $12 bln share repurchase program), GOOG +1% (EU Commission obtains from Google comparable display of specialised search rivals; tgt to $1500 from $1350 at Bernstein), NUS +0.9% (following USNA results), YELP +0.8% (favorable commentary on Mad Money - Cramer suggested that MSFT could look to purchase a company like YELP or other cloud names), TSLA +0.4% (WantChinaTimes discusses comments from Elon Musk that China will be second largest market for Tesla electric vehicles).

Analyst comments: AGNC +1.4% ( upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan), CNC +0.5% (upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citigroup )

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: QNST -14.7%, XOOM -12.9% (also plans to acquire BlueKite for ~ $15 million in cash and equity), GHDX -10.2%, PACB -9.7% (light volume), KEYW -9.1%, HAIN -7.7%, ESIO -7.3%, CHRW -7.1%, BBG -6.1% (light volume), CTSH -4% ( announces 2:1 stock split ), SYT -3.6%, ADP -3.1%, ATW -2% (light volume), BIRT -1.7% (light volume), THO -1.7%, MAC -1.3%, ARWR -1% (also files for $200 mln mixed securities shelf offering), GILD -0.1%, EXP -0.1%.

Casino gaming names lower following Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau data - January gross gaming revenue +7%: MPEL -7%, LVS -3.4%, WYNN -3.3%, MGM -2.1%

Other news: AAV -10.4% (Advantage Oil and Gas announces completion of strategic alternatives review, disposition of Longview common shares, three year development plan & Glacier Phase VII Budget Approval), IDRA -6% (announces public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants), AGEN -5.2% (commenced an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock), CVS -3.2% ( to Stop Selling Tobacco at all CVS/pharmacy Locations), UA -3.1% (Adidas has filed a lawsuit against UA for patent infringement, according to reports), JCP -2.6% (WSJ Heard on the Street Column profiles cautious view on JCP), NYLD -2.4% (announces offering of $300 mln in aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2019 ), HALO -2% ( prices 7,692,307 shares of common stock at $13.00), KORS -1.1% (modestly pulling back), WGO -1% (following THO guidance), EXPD -1% (following CHRW results), AMZN -1% (Barron's profiles cautious view), AMBC -0.8% (following late weakness on Peurto Rico downgrade), YRCW -0.7% (files for ~20.06 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders ), EPZM -0.5% (priced its underwritten public offering of ~4.492 mln shares of its common stock at a price of $29.25/share before underwriting discounts; EPZM is selling 3 mln shares of its common stock in this offering, and certain existing stockholders are selling ~1.492 mln shares, TWTR -0.5% (Barron's profiles cautious view), RAI -0.4% (following CVS news), KRFT -0.3% (following HAIN results).

Analyst comments: RPTP -8.6% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Wedbush), CENX -2.7% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen), PHG -1.2% ( downgraded to Hold from Buy at ING Group), SIRI -0.9% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich).

>>> Polo Ralph Lauren beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs above

Polo Ralph Lauren beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs above consensus (raises FY14 rev guidance, lowers margin guidance); adds $500 mln to buyback

Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $2.57 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.51; revenues rose 9.2% year/year to $2.02 bln vs the $2.01 bln consensus.

Excluding the net negative impact from foreign currency translation and discontinued businesses, net revenues increased ~11%. Revenue growth was broad-based, with the Americas, Europe and Asia all reporting high single digit increases or better in constant currency.

Wholesale segment sales grew 14% to $840 million in the third quarter of Fiscal 2014. Wholesale revenue growth was primarily a result of strong momentum in core North American merchandise categories, the contribution from the newly transitioned Chaps menswear operations and improved trends in Europe.

Retail sales rose 6% to $1.1 billion in the third quarter, reflecting the incremental contribution from new stores, including newly transitioned operations in Australia/New Zealand, and comparable store sales growth that was partially offset by the net negative impact of foreign currency translation.

Gross profit margin of 58.2% was 110 basis points lower than the comparable prior year period, primarily due to the mix impact from the integration of the Chaps menswear operations and unfavorable foreign currency dynamics that more than offset improved profitability in core operations.

The Company's Board of Directors authorized an additional $500 million stock repurchase program permitting the co to purchase shares of Class A Common Stock, subject to market conditions. This amount is in addition to the $230 million available at the end of the third quarter of Fiscal 2014 as part of a previously authorized stock repurchase program, bringing the Company's total current authorizations to $730 million.

Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 net revs +10-12% to ~$1.81-1.84 bln vs. $1.81 bln Capital IQ Consensus; including an ~100 basis point net negative impact from foreign currency translation and discontinued businesses. Operating margin for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2014 is expected to improve 50-90 basis points from the 11.1% achieved in the comparable prior year period as a lower gross margin is more than offset by anticipated operating expense leverage despite continued investments to support the Company's strategic growth objectives.

The Company is raising its full year, Fiscal 2014 revenue outlook to 7% growth, which is the high end of the previous 5-7% range and includes an ~150-200 basis point net negative impact from foreign currency translation and discontinued businesses. Based on the anticipated fourth quarter margin dynamics, operating margin for Fiscal 2014 is expected to be 110-120 basis points below the prior year's record 16.2%, which compares to the prior outlook of an ~75 basis point contraction.

WSJ : A Loeb hopes to bank on his name

A Loeb hopes to bank on his name

One recent morning, Jamie Kempner sent an email to 5,998 rich and powerful friends to tell them he was quitting his job on Wall Street to join the family firm.
The note was more than a courtesy: Kempner also wants their business.
The son of a legendary socialite and a scion of the Loeb banking family, Kempner is hoping to tap his generations-old network of contacts, many of them among New York's most venerable names, to build a merchant bank that will invest in deals as well as give merger advice.
In doing so, Kempner, a 30-year veteran of investment bank Lazard, hopes to restore the Loeb name to its former glory as one of New York's first families of finance.
Kempner, 56 years old, is taking over the day-to-day operations of Loeb Partners from his father Thomas Kempner, who is 86. The firm for many years mostly invested money on behalf of the extended Loeb clan, including members of the Bronfman family, who are related to the Loebs by marriage. His dad will remain chief executive of the firm.
"What I view my dad as having done is caretaking the family name," Kempner said. "I want to grow it."
Not coincidentally, the merchant-banking model he is pursuing is heavily dependent on relationships. Such firms use their own capital for deals and provide advisory services, in a more-traditional approach to banking. Ventures such as merchant banks have become popular of late as bankers leave Wall Street firms battling regulatory scrutiny and strike out on their own.
The younger Kempner is starting by reaching out to many of the boldfaced names who graced his family's living room as a boy during the legendary parties thrown by his late mother, socialite Nan Kempner—a "Gatsby world," as he recalled it.
"If you name a city I could probably call a family to do me a favor," Kempner said about his extensive network, which includes family friends, Lazard clients and classmates from his alma maters, Yale and Harvard universities.
But the insularity of that world presents its own risks: a bad deal can lead to a soured relationship. Finding new opportunities in a tepid merger environment also could be challenge.
"Family is not a good reason to give anybody money," said Edgar Bronfman, the former CEO of Warner Music Group who is a second cousin of Kempner. "So it's much more important that if that person happens to be a family member, they have intelligence, savvy, good instincts."
Bronfman said he thinks Kempner fits the bill and would consider investing in deals he recommends. -lazar Kempner conceded he is nervous. "I don't want my cousins (who are Loeb Partners shareholders) to say, 'What have you done for me lately?'" he said, adding that he hopes to find enough deals to generate cash to pay dividends.
Kempner's brother, Thomas Kempner, Jr., is also a powerful player in finance. He co-founded Davidson Kempner Capital Management, one of the largest US hedge funds with $22 billion in assets. Thomas Kempner Jr, who declined to comment, doesn't have a role at Loeb Partners.
Despite its standing, Kempner's family arguably isn't even the best-known Loeb name today. That likely belongs to Dan Loeb, who runs the activist hedge fund Third Point, and isn't related to Kempner's family.
Kempner's great-grandfather Carl Loeb founded the investment bank Carl M. Loeb & Co with his sons in 1931, having left Germany nearly 40 years earlier to work in the US metal industry. At the time, they weren't considered "real Loebs" because the banking family of Solomon Loeb, whose firm Kuhn Loeb & Co eventually merged with Lehman Brothers, had been in town for decades, according to Stephen Birmingham's 1967 book 'Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York'.
Bankers and family members say the Loebs—along with the Seligmans, the Guggenheims, the Lehmans and others—represent a generation of banking families whose firms helped finance the growth of corporate America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
These families were also active philanthropists. For instance, Kempner's great-grandfather Carl Loeb and his wife Adeline donated $305,000 (about $2.5 million in today's dollars) in the early 1950s to build the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.
The Loebs "demonstrated that much can be accomplished in the old-time way—through a judicious mixture of marriages, sons, mergers, and money," Birmingham wrote.
Carl Loeb's firm went through several mergers, including a sale in 1979 to Sandy Weill's Shearson Hayden Stone, a deal that created one of the largest Wall Street brokerages at the time. The elder Kempner then started Loeb Partners in 1982 to manage the family's money.
Unlike many merchant banks, Loeb Partners doesn't have a fund to do deals. Instead, Kempner plans to pass the hat to other wealthy families and individuals on a deal-by-deal basis, and expects to invest up to $25 million per deal in deals of up to $100 million in value.
Paul Fribourg, the chief executive of family-run Continental Grain Co. who has known Mr. Kempner for 30 years, already is pursuing co-investing opportunities with Loeb Partners. "He'll do it in the right way, and with the backing of his investors and his family, and not to make a fast buck," said Fribourg. "It's a great role model for all of us who do have family businesses."
Kempner said he was thrilled at the interest generated by his initial email—he said his calendar is booked for weeks.

(Pimco) Inv. Outlook - Bill Gross - Feb 2014

In days of old
when knights were bold
and ladies most beholden
straw seemed like silk
and water, milk
and silver almost golden

Not so sure about that limerick – it was probably a cruel world – those days of old. Yet much of it was fascinating and in some cases surreal. The relationship of “man” and God, for instance. Or better yet … “man,” animals and God. Unlike today, when most believe that animals were put on this Earth for humanity’s pleasure or utility, most people in the Middle Ages believed that God granted free will to Adam, Eve and all of His creatures. Animals were responsible in some strange way for their own actions and therefore should be held accountable for them.

>>> Merck misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY14 EPS in-line, revs

Merck misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY14 EPS in-line, revs

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.88 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.89; revenues fell 3.6% year/year to $11.32 bln vs the $11.35 bln consensus.
  • Co issues guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $3.35-3.53 vs. $3.49 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs of $42.4-43.2 bln vs. $43.28 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Q4 Pharma sales highlights:
  • JANUVIA 1121 mln,
  • ZETIA 716 mln,
  • REMICADE 620 mln,
  • GARDASIL 394 mln,
  • JANUMET 503 mln,
  • ISENTRESS 442 mln,
  • VYTORIN 436 mln,
  • NASONEX 327 mln,
  • PROQUAD, M-M-R II and VARIVAX 273 mln,
  • SINGULAIR 298 mln,
  • Animal Health 871 mln,
  • Consumer Care 390 mln,
The gross margin was 59.3% for the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to 64.6% for last year's fourth quarter, reflecting unfavorable impacts of 13.7 and 10.4 percentage points, respectively, from the acquisition-related and restructuring costs noted above.

In addition, the company expects full-year 2014 non-GAAP marketing and administrative as well as R&D expenses to be below 2013 levels due to continuing prioritization and focused spending on core product lines and upcoming launches.

The company expects its full-year 2014 non-GAAP tax rate to be in the range of 24 to 26 percent; the rate does not include a 2014 benefit of an R&D tax credit.

Owl Creek Said to Short Denmark Expecting Sovereign Debt Crisis

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Owl Creek Said to Short Denmark Expecting Sovereign Debt Crisis 2014-02-04 15:23:04.807 GMT

(For more news and information from Bloomberg’s hedge-fund newsletter, see BRIEF <GO>.)

By Kelly Bit Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Owl Creek Asset Management LP, one of last year’s best-performing hedge-fund firms, is betting against Denmark’s sovereign bonds in anticipation of a debt crisis, according to two people familiar with the matter. The $3.2 billion New York-based firm also bought credit default swaps on Danske Bank A/S, the country’s biggest lender, founder and investment chief Jeffrey Altman said last week at a conference panel discussion in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the people, who attended and asked not to be identified because the information is private. Danes owe their creditors 321 percent of disposable incomes, a world record that Altman referenced, according to the people. One catalyst for a debt crisis may be the country’s $550 billion home loan industry, the world’s biggest per capita, which grew after cheap credit fed a borrowing spree, Altman said, according to the people. “Analysis both from the central bank and the business ministry show that homeowners’ economy is quite robust,” Karsten Beltoft, director at the Danish Mortgage Bankers’ Federation, said by phone. “They can handle pretty large increases in interest rates, so I am not so worried about debt levels.” Kenni Leth, a spokesman for Danske, declined to comment on the trade, saying the bank is in its silent period before the Feb. 6 publication of full-year earnings.

Top Performer

Owl Creek Overseas rose 49 percent last year and ranked sixth in Bloomberg Markets’ annual hedge fund ranking. Altman, who founded the firm in 2001 after working with value investor Michael Price, made money with a bet that the world’s airlines would need new jets, and he profited from owning preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage finance firms. Patrick Clifford, a spokesman for Owl Creek with Abernathy MacGregor Group Inc., declined to comment on the panel discussion. Denmark became Scandinavia’s weakest economy after a housing bubble that burst in 2008 triggered a community banking crisis. Danske Bank has lost 135,000 clients in the past 16 months and customer satisfaction is the lowest in at least six years, according to pollster Voxmeter.

Pensions, Homes

Denmark’s central bank Governor Lars Rohde and Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon said last month indebtedness isn’t a threat because households can tap pensions and home equity if they get into trouble. The savings are equivalent to almost 1 1/2 times gross domestic product, central bank data show. Still, the Financial Supervisory Authority in Copenhagen is considering measures to crack down on mortgage-lending policies in an effort to tackle record debt levels, Ulrik Noedgaard, director general at the watchdog, has said. The country, which boasts a stable AAA credit grade at Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings, cut its prediction for how much it will need to borrow as the budget deficit narrows. The Finance Ministry in December said it plans to borrow 112 billion kroner ($20.3 billion) in 2014, down from an August goal of 130 billion kroner.

For Related News and Information: Scandinavian Debt Crisis Waiting to Happen Puzzles Krugman NSN MZE3JV6JIJUZ <GO> Danish Premier Rebuilds Cabinet After Goldman Deal Dispute NSN N0F83I6KLVR5 <GO> Bloomberg active indexes for funds: BAIF <GO> Top fund story: TFUN <GO>

--With assistance from Peter Levring, Christian Wienberg and Frances Schwartzkopff in Copenhagen and Omar R. Valdimarsson in Reykjavik. Editors: Christian Baumgaertel, Josh Friedman

To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Bit in New York at +1-212-617-1097 or kbit@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at +1-617-210-4624 or cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: MYGN +15.2%, DATA +13.3%, USNA +13.1%, IDIX +8.5%, OCLR +5.6%, GNW +4.4%, NANO +3.9%, CALL +3.5%, GIMO +3.5%, ING +2.7%, CTSH +2.4%, BWLD +2.1%, DB +1.2%, ACLS +1.2%, NEM +1%, MMM +1%, NUS +0.9%

Gapping down: QNST -14.7%, XOOM -12.9%, GHDX -10.2%, KEYW -9.1%, PACB -8.1%, HAIN -7.7%, ESIO -7.3%, MPEL -7%, IDRA -6.9%, CHRW -6.2%, AGEN -5.2%, SYT -3.6%, NYLD -2.4%, HALO -2%, ATW -2%, THO -1.7%, BHP -1.3%, MAC -1.3%, BBL -1.1%, WGO -1%, EXPD -1%, KORS -1%, AMBC -0.8%, YRCW -0.7%