Replies to post #89 on Speculative Options Plays (SPECOPS)

[CoolHandLucas]

TRMS - Trimeris Falls
Friday March 16, 12:22 pm ET
Biopharmaceutical Company Trimeris Down As Executives Retire and Roche Deal Revised

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of biopharmaceutical company Trimeris Inc. skidded in premarket trading Friday, a day after the company said two top executives are retiring, and announced it will buy back intellectual property from F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd.

Chief Executive and Chief Science Officer Dani P. Bolognesi's retirement is effective today, while CFO Robert Bonczek will step down April 30.

ThinkEquity Partners analyst Vinny Jindal downgraded the stock to "Sell" from "Accumulate," and cut his price target to $7 per share from $11. He said the Morrisville, N.C., company could still be a buyout target, but is not likely to grow in the short term because of the confusion surrounding the retirements.

"We question both the timing and reasoning behind both actions and are left with little sense of confidence as to Trimeris' future," he said. "With many questions and few answers, we believe there exists too high a level of uncertainty to recommend purchase of Trimeris shares."

Morgan Stanley analyst Steven Harr said Fuzeon, an HIV drug developed by Trimeris that Roche is marketing, will face stronger competition and may have an uncertain future.

"With today's news, Trimeris appears to be a ship without a rudder, lacking both permanent management and a short or long-term strategy," he said.

Trimeris stock dropped $1.77, or 17.6 percent, to $8.30 in premarket trading.

[CoolHandLucas]

BKUNA - BankUnited's Stock Is a Victim of Subprime Fallout, Analysts Say

Ahead of the Bell: BankUnited
Wednesday March 14, 9:31 am ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- The risky "subprime" mortgage market is collapsing, and taking some victims with it.
One of those victims, analysts said, is BankUnited Financial Corp., a Coral Gables, Fla.-based bank with 75 branches and $13.6 billion in assets.

BankUnited Financial's stock lost almost 10 percent on Tuesday and is down 27 percent for the year. Analysts said BankUnited Financial's shares are suffering from the sell-off in the subprime mortgage industry, which is racked with payment defaults and withering credit quality.

Analysts said BankUnited Financial has exposure to mortgage credit, and more frequent payment defaults hurt the bank's earnings. But the plunge in the stock is overdone, according to some.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Bishop raised his rating on BankUnited Financial to "Hold" from "Sell." He said he's concerned about BankUnited Financial's earnings outlook and expects the bank to report higher credit costs. Howver, he believes those costs will be contained.

Because the market assumes the bank will suffer the same fate as subprime mortgage lenders, contained credit costs would spark a rally in the shares, he said.

"There has been a change of sentiment for financials that has painted the entire group with the same broad brush," Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Laurie Hunsicker wrote in a client note. "The market is clearly more risk-averse. ... Now is the time to bottom fish on names such as BankUnited Financial, trading at less than book value."

Hunsicker cut her price target on BankUnited Financial to $32 from $37, but only because of a change in investor psychology. The target is still 56.4 percent higher than Tuesday's close of $20.46.

Shares of BankUnited Financial rose 89 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $21.35 in premarket trading Wednesday.

[CoolHandLucas]

TRMS - Insider transactions as of 3/25/2007