US HOT STOCKS: DineEquity, Qualcomm, Sprint Nextel, YRC -2-

12th Jul 2010 18:13

Shares of DineEquity Inc. (DIN, $31.03, +$2.16, +7.49%), parent of IHOP and Applebee's, gained following a mention in this week's issue of Barron's. The article noted that shares of the company have been hammered, but if its chief executive's strategy works out, investors could be richly rewarded. If DineEquity's deleveraging campaign succeeds, the company's shares, now in the high 20s, will get a boost. One analyst contends that they could hit 100 in five years. Kandi Technologies Corp. (KNDI, $3.21, +$0.13, +4.22%) received an order valued at RMB4.1 million ($604,000) for 60 of the Chinese recreational and electric vehicle maker's all-electric low-speed vehicles from Hangzhou's postal service. Canada's Pengrowth Corp. (PGH, $9.15, -$0.80, -8.05%) Monday said it had agreed to acquire Monterey Exploration Ltd. (MXL.T), a Canadian junior oil and gas company in which it holds an 18% stake, to gain access to gas reserves in northeast British Columbia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration set a Feb. 25, 2011, target to decide whether to approve Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc.'s (PLX, $6.15, -$0.17, -2.69%) drug for a rare genetic disease, later than the Israeli biopharmaceutical company expected last month. The treatment, taligulucerase alfa, is being developed for Gaucher's disease under a special protocol assessment with the FDA, which helps speed the approval process along. Protalix submitted a rolling new drug application for the drug which has received orphan drug status to the FDA in April. Goldman Sachs added Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM, $35.03, +$1.12, +3.30%) to its conviction buy list, as it sees the cellphone-chip maker as a key beneficiary of accelerating smartphone growth, particularly in Android. The firm estimates that every 1% share shift from feature photes to Android-based smartphones translates to 6 cents in per-share earnings upside. Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (S, $4.49, +$0.21, +4.79%) contract subscriber losses look to be better than expected, Macquarie said, trimming its forecast for cancelled contracts to 325,000 from 350,000 for the second quarter. The firm said the telecom company improved its rate of turnover, and didn't suffer from the usual effects of the iPhone launch from AT&T Inc. (T, $24.78, -$0.06, -0.22%). Macquarie expects some seasonal increase in turnover in the third quarter with the full impact of the iPhone. Firm says it likes Sprint on recent pullback, and believes consensus estimates look too conservative. Retailer Tuesday Morning Corp. (TUES, $4.72, +$0.41, +9.51%) reported fourth-quarter sales of $200.8 million and a same-store sales increase for the quarter of 6%. The company said it expects to report second-quarter earnings of 2 cents to 4 cents. The company is expected to fully release the fourth-quarter results on August 24. UQM Technologies Inc. (UQM, $3.99, +$0.35, +9.62%), a developer of alternative energy technologies, said it has received an initial order for over fifty PowerPhase electric propulsion systems as part of the fleet build and vehicle development activities of an established international automobile manufacturer. Deliveries under the order are scheduled to occur in the fourth calendar quarter of 2010 and the first calendar quarter of 2011. Shares of Valhi Inc. (VHI, $15.66, +$0.96, +6.53%) continued climbing for the fourth straight trading session following last week's disclosure of sizable stock purchases by the waste management and chemical company's chairman, self-made billionaire investor Harold C. Simmons. Briefing documents for Thursday's FDA panel on biopharmaceutical company Vivus Inc.'s (VVUS, $10.69, -$0.83, -7.20%) Qnexa obesity drug won't be released until Tuesday, according to the agency. There was hope documents would be out prior to two-day hearing on GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK, $35.07, +$0.23, +0.66%) Avandia beginning Tuesday. The documents should provide insights into some key aspects of the committee's agenda, but timing has caused confusion on the Street. YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW, $0.19, +$0.08, +70.66%) said volume rebounded strongly in the second quarter from early this year, helping to result in a much-improved bottom line, as the largest trucking company in the U.S. continues its struggle to remain above water. -By Dow Jones Newswires; write to [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 12, 2010 13:13 ET (17:13 GMT)