• Facet Biotech (NASDAQ:FACT) agreed to its purchase by Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) for $722 million or $27 per share.

• American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) announced plans to shutter all 28 Martin & Osa stores. The company is due to report results today, with fourth quarter earnings of 33 cents versus 19 cents a year ago anticipated.

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) added Bucyrus (NASDAQ:BUCY) to its Conviction Buy List with an $80 price target.

• Several analysts reiterated "buy" recommendations on J Crew (NYSE:JCG), raising price targets. Late yesterday the firm posted a swing to profitability in its fourth quarter and forecast better-than-expected current year results of $2.20-$2.30; Street estimates were $2.13.

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) Conviction Buy List changes included additions of Evercore Partners (NYSE:EVR) and Goodrich (NYSE:GR); deletions were Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) and Textron (NYSE:TXT) although buy ratings were maintained.

• Childrens' Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) reported inline earnings and revenues, with earnings of $1.03 and revenues of $462 million. Full-year guidance of

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Chicago, IL – January 26, 2010- Kevin Matras goes over a screen to find top stocks with strong dividends. Stocks in this week’s article include Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT), Aflac, Inc. (NYSE: AFL), Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR), Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) and Snap-on, Inc. (NYSE: SNA).

Screen of the Week written by Kevin Matras of Zacks Investment Research:

As different investment vehicles compete for investors' cash in this expected lower growth environment – the companies offering 'a little extra' (dividends) could have an edge.

What's interesting is that a lot of companies have cut their dividends while others have stopped paying them altogether, making the search for good paying dividends that much harder.

But they're out there if you're committed to finding them.

Smaller growth companies will typically not pay a dividend as they will pour all their money into growing their business.

The larger companies with solid earnings,

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Abbott Labs (ABT) recently announced that it has gained approval in Europe for a new diagnostic tool which will help determine the possibility of a pelvic mass being benign or malignant. The blood test named ARCHITECT human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) test, has been designed to facilitate the assessment of epithelial ovarian cancer.   It has been observed that the HE4 test, in combination with other tests such as the CA125 assay, could help measure the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in pre- and post-menopausal women who have a pelvic mass. The test, which has been developed with Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc., will run on Abbott’s ARCHITECHT systems.  According to Abbott, ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological cancers and the fifth-leading cause of death from cancer, in women. About 1 in 72 women is likely to develop ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Postmenopausal women ...

• General Electric (NYSE:GE) agreed with Vivendi to acquire the latter’s 20% NBC stake for $5.8 billion, down from Vivendi's previous valuation of $6.1 billion

• After yesterday's close, Guess (NYSE:GES) announced third quarter earnings of 69 cents a share, up from 67 cents a year ago, and better than the 51 cents anticipated, on revenues of $522.8 million, down from $527.9 million a year ago. Same-store-sales fell 3.4%.  Nevertheless, the firm guided higher, setting fourth quarter estimates at 77-80 cents

• Luxury retailer Saks (NYSE:SKS) received an improved outlook from Standard & Poor's Rating Services to "stable" from "negative."

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) removed Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) from its Conviction Buy List, taking Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) off its Conviction Sell List as well, while maintaining "buy" and "sell" ratings on the respective stocks

• Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) reported third quarter results one cent above estimates at 39 cents on inline revenues of $6.5 billion,

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Abbott Labs (ABT) recently signed a definitive agreement with PanGenetics BV for a pain candidate, PG110. Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will acquire global rights to PG110 which is a novel biologic that targets Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) for the treatment of chronic pain. PanGenetics will receive an upfront payment of $170 million and $20 million in milestone payments. This agreement should allow Abbott to expand its pain product portfolio and leverage its expertise in biologics. The commercial opportunity in the pain market is significant. There is major demand for the development of a treatment that would provide relief from pain without the potential of addiction and abuse. It is estimated that there are about 72 million diagnosed chronic pain patients in the U.S. and EU, and up to 30% of chronic pain patients get inadequate relief. Current treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 10, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Big Pharma & Biotech sector, including Alcon (ACL), Novartis (NVS), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Biogen Idec (BIIB) and Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR).

A synopsis of today’s Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/27081/Big+Pharma+and+Biotech.

In the pharma space, we are positive on stocks like Alcon (ACL) and Novartis (NVS). We believe these companies will continue witnessing revenue growth based on continued international penetration, new product launches and market share expansion. Pipeline expansion through in-licensing deals and acquisitions should also add to growth.

Novartis should see strong vaccine sales this flu season. The company has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its swine flu vaccine, which

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The pharmaceutical industry has witnessed major changes in 2009. Performance has been affected by factors like sluggish prescription trends, intensifying generic competition and limited phase III catalysts. The next five years are expected to reflect a significant imbalance between new product introductions and patent losses. According to IMS Health (RX), this is the main reason why global pharmaceutical market growth will be restricted to the mid-single digits through 2013. Over the next five years, products that currently generate about $137 billion in sales are expected to face generic competition, including Lipitor, Plavix and Seretide. At the same time, new products are not expected to generate the same level of sales as the products losing patent protection have. With most of the big pharma companies already facing patent challenges for their blockbuster products or likely to face them going forward, the companies have been looking toward mergers ...

U.S. stocks broke a three-day slide and rose more than 1% Monday as a fresh round of strategic corporate deal-making spurred hopes that normalcy is returning to the financial system.  The multi-billion dollar merger announcements signaled a resurrection in merger activity and investors picked up stocks. 

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 124 points, or 1.3% and the broader S&P 500 index rallied 19 points, or 1.8% and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 40 points, or 1.9%.  The share gains were broad based with 28 of the 30 Dow components advancing.  On the New York Stock Exchange, four stocks rose for each one that declined in price.  Only 978 million shares exchanged hands on the NYSE.  Trading was light due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.     

In a spate of big corporate merger announcements, Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) said it will pay $6.5 billion for Solvay's pharmaceutical business, and

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Abbott Labs (ABT) is looking to launch its XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System in China in the fourth quarter of 2009. The company recently received approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). In our opinion, the launch of XIENCE V in China should bring in significant incremental revenues for the company’s Vascular Product division, which posted sales of $2.2 billion in 2008. China is the second-largest drug eluting stent market in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan. With the launch in China, XIENCE V will be available in every Asia-Pacific market except Japan, where the product is currently being reviewed by the regulatory authority. XIENCE V’s launch in Japan in early 2010 could potentially add another $500 million market opportunity. CAD is the leading cause of death in China -- according to the China ...

In an attempt to takeover the European junk bonds after the financial crisis, Nycomed, one of the private equity-owned Swiss drugmaker has made a 4.5 billion Euros bid to purchase Solvay SA’s drug operations. The Zurich based company said that it this bid and takeover is finalized it will help them to reach their annual sales figures of $6 million which is why they have gone ahead and made such a high bid to buy Solvay’s pharmaceutical unit and operations. However, the Belgian conglomerate Solvay SA’s has not yet responded to the bid and has informed that they might take a little time to think about it and would not rush through the deal....