Wednesday, May 29, 2002
MAINE STOCK TRENDS
Sifting through the filings and watching the charts
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
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NYER MEDICAL
Nyer Medical (NYER) released fiscal third quarter results last week. The Bangor-based distributor of medical equipment and owner of a small pharmacy chain, reported fiscal third quarter earnings of $0.02 a share and record nine-month earnings of $0.11 per share. Revenue was up 19.7 percent over the equivalent quarter last year.
Last year, Nyer switched from reporting its results on a calendar year to a fiscal year, which will end June 30.
FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR
Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) completed an offering of common stock late last week. The 20 million-share transaction was priced at $25.65. Six million shares of the offering represented a large shareholder selling some holdings in conjunction with the offering. A portion of the proceeds to Fairchild will be used to help retire some of the company's high cost debt.
Consensus estimates for Fairchild increased last week. Credit Suisse First Boston, one of the lead underwriters of last week's stock placement, increased its current year estimate from $0.33 to $0.39 per share. And CSFB also bumped next year's estimate from $1.18 to $1.25 per share. Lehman Brothers also moved its 2003 estimate up, to $1.24.
Earnings increases aside, in anticipation of the stock offering, Fairchild's stock fell. The stock dropped 13.8 percent last week.
AMERICAN SKIING
American Skiing Company (AESK) made a couple of filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission last week. The first revealed that its real estate development subsidiary, American Skiing Company Resort Properties, Inc., was in payment default under its senior secured credit facility with Fleet National Bank ("Fleet") and certain other lenders (the "Real Estate Credit Facility") due to the failure to make certain required payments of principal and interest under that facility, and all cure periods with respect to such payment default had expired. On May 21, 2002, attorneys representing the lenders under the Real Estate Credit Facility orally notified ASCRP that the lenders would be accelerating the entire remaining principal and accrued interest in the amount of approximately $63.4 million under the Real Estate Credit Facility. In addition, American Skiing is also in default on a separate note to Textron Financial Corporation and other lenders.
The other filing detailed some of the terms of the company's recent sale of Heavenly to Vail Resorts (MTN). It also presented a Jan. 27, 2002, pro forma balance sheet of the company giving reclassifying Steamboat from an asset held for sale to an asset held for use, it also gives effect to the Heavenly sale as if it had occurred then.
The sales of Sugarbush (last fall) and Heavenly (earlier this month) still leave American Skiing Company with about $457 million of liabilities on its balance sheet. As a result of the sale and reclassification, last year's fiscal year loss drops from $ 142 million to a loss of $119 million. The information is, as yet, still unaudited by the company's accountants, Arthur Andersen.
IMMUCELL
ImmuCell (ICCC) closed out the week trading below $3.00 per share. That's the first time that has occurred since last October. The stock finished down 6.3 percent.
I-MANY
The annual meeting season is winding down now. At 10 a.m. Thursday, I-many (IMNY) will hold its shareholder meeting. I-many recently fired Arthur Andersen as its accounting firm, but did not provide a reason for its actions.
IDEXX LABS
Finally, during a week in which the NASDAQ lost 4.5 percent of its value and in which all of the major indices fell, Idexx (IDXX) stood out among the pack, moving up moved 3.94 percent last week. More importantly, the stock quietly moved to and closed at a new recovery high last Friday. That is the highest price for the stock since the March 1997 and actually closed the gap. Back in March 1997, the company stunned analysts by reporting a buildup of inventories by its distributors and suggesting that growth would begin to slow from that of historic levels. There was no news to account for last week's move. Volume I IDEXX stock was slightly more than usual.
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