Celera Corp. (CRA) reported break-even earnings in the third-quarter, compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 6 cents. The company earned a cent in the year-ago quarter.   Net revenues for the quarter came in at $40 million as against $45.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Segment wise revenues from lab services were $24.2 million compared to $30.1 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily because of lower reimbursement rates. Revenues from products came in at $10.0 million compared to $10.5 million in the prior year quarter. Revenues for the quarter were primarily from sales of Celera-manufactured products and royalties from sales of RealTime assays used on the m2000 system from Abbott Molecular, a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories (ABT). Corporate revenues for the quarter came in at $5.8 million as against $5.2 million in the prior year quarter. The $0.6 million increase was primarily attributable ...

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI) reported third quarter net loss of $49 million or 32 cents per share, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company reported a net loss of $74.2 million or 50 cents in the year ago quarter. The lower net loss for the quarter was primarily attributable to increased revenues from manufacturing and development services and lower operating expenses. Revenues for the quarter came in at $18.834 million which reflected an increase of 60.6%. Revenues were inclusive of $8.7 million from manufacturing and development services, $8.9 million recognized under the company’s agreement with Novartis (NVS) pertaining to hepatitis C drug Zalbin, and $1.0 million recognized under the agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) pertaining to the potential blockbuster lupus drug Benlysta. Research & development spend declined 36% to $34.8 million in the quarter. Selling general & administrative expenses declined 6.3% to ...

The deal between Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Wyeth was completed yesterday after the receipt of final regulatory approvals. Wyeth will cease to trade as an independent entity from today. Under the terms of the deal, Wyeth shareholders will receive $33 cash (without interest) and 0.985 Pfizer shares for every Wyeth share.   The cash-and-stock deal, which was valued at $68 billion when it was announced nine months ago, stood at about $66.9 billion based on Wednesday’s closing prices. Pfizer borrowed about $22.5 billion to this transaction. Pfizer expects the combined companies to realize synergies of about $4 billion by 2012. The deal is expected to be accretive to earnings by the second full-year following closing. Roughly one-half of the savings are expected to come from Selling General & Administrative costs with the balance coming from Research and Development. Pfizer intends to incrementally pay down the debt financing and ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 8, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: CRA International (CRAI), FTI Consulting Inc. (FCN), Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN), LECG Corporation (XPRT) and Navigant Consulting Inc. (NCI).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

CRAI’s Q3 Results Disappoint

CRA International’s (CRAI) third quarter results were disappointing. The company earned 31 cents per share, significantly down from the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents.

Results were impacted by the ongoing uncertainty of the global recession as clients reduced

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CRA International’s (CRAI) third quarter results were disappointing. The company earned 31 cents per share, significantly down from the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents. Results were impacted by the ongoing uncertainty of the global recession as clients reduced their spending, while the company continued to experience stalled litigation cases and consulting project delays. Revenue for the quarter was $86.3 million, down from $111.2 million in the prior-year period. Gross margin was 32.9% compared to 33.8% in the year-ago period, reflecting a decrease in revenue. Selling general and administrative expenses were down to $20.0 million from $24.9 million in the year-ago quarter as a result of CRAI’s aggressive cost-control efforts. Operating income for the quarter was $6.2 million, down from $10.2 million the year-ago period. Operating margin declined 190 basis points to 7.2%. Utilization rate during the quarter was 69%, a decrease from ...

Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Plc. (ACN) reported fiscal fourth-quarter results after the closing bell yesterday. The company’s GAAP net income fell to $254.7 million, or 39 cents per share, from $434.8 million, or 67 cents per share a year ago. Excluding a restructuring charge, earnings per share came in at 63 cents, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The New York-based company said total revenues slipped 16.1% year over year to $5.5 billion, while net revenues, excluding reimbursements, declined 14.2% to $5.15 billion. The sluggish revenue performance was caused by weak global economic conditions and unfavorable currency translations. The company stated that Consulting revenues dipped 19.2% year over year to $2.9 billion, while Outsourcing revenues fell 6.7% to $2.2 billion. New bookings during the quarter also contracted to $5.54 billion, compared to a record $7.67 billion in the year-ago period. Net Revenues by Operating Group...