Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BRL) is a global specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of branded and generic drugs. On July 18, 2008, Barr announced that it has entered into an agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) whereby the latter will acquire Barr for $7.46 billion plus the assumption of net debt of approximately $1.5 billion. We had issued a Sell rating on Barr after the company posted disappointing first-quarter results and slashed its full-year outlook. However, we moved back to a Hold rating following the Teva takeover announcement. This offer has come at the right time for Barr -- the deal should close later this year. We maintain a Hold rating with a $65 price target.Barr markets and sells generic pharmaceutical products in the U.S., Europe and certain other countries in the rest of the world. Its generic product portfolio ...

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s (BRL) first quarter results missed ours and the Street’s expectations by a huge margin with all the business segments performing poorly. Given the lack of significant catalysts, barring a favorable ruling in the Miraprex case, and the ongoing issues related to pricing pressure and intense competition in the generics market, we had advised investors to avoid the name for the time-being.

We had issued a Sell rating on the stock after the company posted disappointing first-quarter results and slashed its full-year outlook. However, we moved back to a Hold rating following the recent announcement regarding the takeover of the company by Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA). Teva and Barr entered into a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire Barr for $7.46 billion plus the assumption of net debt of approximately $1.5 billion. This offer has come at the right time for Barr - the deal is

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Lots of Israeli companies reporting earnings. Here are some highlights: Perrigo (PRGO): Tightened up 2008 guidance higher and beat revenues projections. Earnings release here. Early look at the stock is that investors aren’t impressed. See our recent commentary on PRGO’s generic nicotine gum. Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA): Earnings report here. Quarter over quarter growth looks to be 24% and profit down from CoGenesys charge. RRSat (RRST): Smacked yesterday after an earnings release. The 20% drop came after putting up pretty good top lines numbers. Margins came down quite a bit. Alvarion (ALVR): Stock popped after the wireless backhaul firm put up pretty good revenue numbers and a narrower loss. The stock jumped 15%. Earnings report here. See our analysis of the recent turbulence in the wireless market. Ness Technologies (NSTC): Revenues up 27% year-over-year and ...