November 27, 2000
MAINE STOCK TRENDS
Connecticut investment group buys 6 percent of I-Many
Copyright © 2000 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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New Canaan, Connecticut, investment firm Chilton Investment Company, Inc., has purchased about 1.9 million shares of I-Many (IMNY-18.75). The purchase, representing 6.09 percent of the company, was revealed in a 13 G (Statement of Beneficial Ownership) filed last week. I-Many announced that its founders, Mark Tilly and Mark Hyman have extended the lockup agreement on their shares in conjunction with their sale of 1.5 million shares to an institutional investor. Neither Tilly nor Hyman are officers or directors of I-Many. The new agreement prevents the 4,129,858 shares held by Hyman and Tilly from being sold until April 9, 2001. On that date, one-third of this amount will become available for sale; an additional one-third of their shares will become available on July 8, 2001; and the balance will become available on October 6, 2001.
I-Many provides professional services, software and Internet-based solutions that allow its clients and their partners to create and manage complex contract purchase arrangements for business-to-business e-commerce. The company's stock fell 3.2 percent last week.
ImmuCell (ICCC- 2.47) announced last week that Crypto-Scan® —, the company's product used in laboratory testing of water supplies for the presence of cryptosporidium parvum — has been approved as an official product under the recently enacted Water Supply Regulations by the United Kingdom's Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI).
The DWI has mandated continuous monitoring of more than 300 water sources in England and Wales under new regulations that became effective earlier this year. After a water sample is collected and concentrated, the Crypto-Scan immunomagnetic separation technology prepares the sample for microscopic detection of the cryptosporidium parasite. In 1993, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Wisconsin caused approximately 4,000 hospitalizations and more than 100 deaths. Since then, cryptosporidium has been noted as the cause of many outbreaks around the world.
ImmuCell's stock closed up about 1 percent for the week.
IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX-22.88) stock fell 6.39 percent last week. There wasn't any news or any analyst earnings revisions, but the drop in price caused us to go back and look at insider activity over the calendar year.
The stock fell into the teens during the summer of 1999 and remained there through the end of the year. This year, its price has ranged throughout the 20s. Over the past two years, the price has fallen as far as the low teens and risen as high as the upper 20's . The high price for this calendar year was $30.44, reached on February 25. A director acquired 504 shares at a price somewhere between $18.13 and $20.75 just nine days prior to that date. With the exception of that purchase, no insider has bought stock in IDEXX all year. There have however, been thirteen insider sales of the company's stock this year. With one exception, all of these sales have taken place when the stock rose above $26.00 a share. In addition, former president Jeff Langan filed last month to sell 18,302 shares.
Down the road from IDEXX in South Portland, Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS-19.25) stock was up 5.48 percent. Newswise, the company sold its standard military analog line to Arrow Electronics (ARW-24.06). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fairchild has already ceased production of military and aerospace products. WallStreet.com named the company one of the fastest growing companies in America. Nearly every actively traded company in America was screened with a focus on exceptional long-term sales growth, recent growth trends, size and stock price. Fairchild is one of the initial 40 companies to meet the criteria and participate in the program.
Heading back out Congress Street, we find UNUMProvident (UNM-26.06), which continued its slide last week. Standard & Poor's assigned its preliminary single-'A'-minus/triple-'B'-plus/triple-'B' ratings to UNUMProvident Corp.'s (UNUMProvident) $1 billion senior debt/subordinated debt/preferred securities universal shelf registration. A shelf registration enables a company such as UNUMProvident to file a proposed securities offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and then issue its securities a little at a time as the company's needs and market conditions warrant. Standard & Poor's affirmed its single-'A'-minus counterparty credit rating on UNUMProvident. The outlook is negative.
Commenting on the negative outlook, Standard & Poor's said, "Although UnumProvident's sales and earnings have improved thus far in 2000, the company must show that it can sustain more robust performance before a stable outlook is warranted." The stock fell 6.29 percent last week.
Incidentally, after third quarter earnings were released two weeks ago, Lehman Brothers increased its price target on UNUMProvident from $27 to $34 per share. Lehman increased its target based upon a forecasted expansion of the earnings multiple for UNUMProvident stock, which it believes will occur as the company's earnings become less volatile in future quarters.
Up in the snow-covered mountains, American Skiing Company stock (SKI-2.50) was up 8.11 percent last week, making it the top performing local stock for the week. Several of the company's ski resorts have opened and there are hopes of a good winter ahead.
The stock hit an intra-week, recovery high of $2.94 on both Monday and Tuesday last week. With the exception of a single trading day in early July, at which time the stock also briefly traded at the same $2.94 per share, the week's high was the highest price at which the company's stock has traded since January.
On Thanksgiving Day, a Reuters article appeared quoting Bryan Maher, an analyst at Credit Lyonnais Securities Inc., who said in an October research report that the company's shares are appropriate only for "speculative investors — or the most diehard American Skiing fans.'' Maher also suggested that the company's top executives should be removed.
"In our view, investors will not warm up to this story until they can be certain that the individuals responsible for creating the mess at American Skiing are no longer employed there," Maher wrote.
After the article appeared, the stock fell to $2.44, before closing off the week at $2.50. Year to date, the stock is down 27.5 percent.
Since becoming a publicly traded company in 1997, American Skiing has seen its stock price reach its highest levels of the calendar year during the period between October and December each year.
Add one more name to the insiders at Banknorth Group (BKNG-18.19) who are trimming their holdings in the northeastern bank holding company. Terrance Abbott filed to sell 7,510 shares of Banknorth stock. Other insiders who have either sold or filed to sell significant amounts of their Banknorth holdings in recent months include Chairman and CEO William Ryan, who has filed to sell approximately one-half of his holdings, executive vice president and General Counsel, Carol Mitchell, Director and former Family Bank President, David Hindle and Executive Vice President John Fridlington.
Banknorth stock closed up approximately 1 percent last week and is now trading at its highest price since November 1999 when it was known as Peoples Heritage Financial Group.
Brad McCurtain is president of Maine Securities Corporation. Maine Securities Corporation is an investment firm specializing in Maine's securities. From time to time, the corporation, its employees, and its clients may buy, hold, and/or sell positions in companies mentioned herein. As a regulated securities broker/dealer, the company and its employees are required to abide by all securities regulations at all times when communicating with the public. Brad McCurtain may be reached at info@MaineSec.com. Web site: http://www.MaineSec.com