Polymedica schlägt Erwartungen - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[betterthantherest]

Reuters
Polymedica declares 2-for-1 stock split
Tuesday September 9, 8:39 am ET

NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - PolyMedica Corp (NasdaqNM:PLMD - News), a marketer of diabetes test kits, on Tuesday declared a two-for-one stock split to increase the liquidity of its common shares.

The company said the split will be effected in the form of a dividend on Sept. 29 to shareholders of record on Sept. 19.

The company has about 12.5 million shares outstanding and will have about 25 million after the split. Shares closed at $52 on Monday on the Nasdaq.

[betterthantherest]

MULTEX ABRIDGED BUSINESS SUMMARY

PolyMedica Corporation, incorporated in 1988, is a national medical products and services company. The Company is a nationwide provider of direct-to-consumer medical products and supplies, primarily its Liberty brand products, through television advertising to seniors with diabetes and respiratory disease. PolyMedica operates three business segments: Liberty Diabetes, including Liberty Medical Supply, a direct-to-consumer provider of diabetes and related products and services; Liberty Respiratory, including Liberty Home Pharmacy, a provider of respiratory medications and supplies, and Pharmaceuticals, including PolyMedica Healthcare, Inc., a provider of over-the-counter (OTC) urinary tract discomfort products, as well as Liberty Medical Supply Pharmacy, a provider of prescription oral medications, and PolyMedica Pharmaceuticals (U.S.A.), Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of prescription urology products.

[betterthantherest]

MULTEX ABRIDGED FINANCIAL SUMMARY

PolyMedica Corporation is a nationwide provider of direct-to-consumer specialty medical products and services, primarily focused on the diabetes supply and consumer healthcare markets. For the three months ended 6/30/03, net revenues rose 21% to $98.9 million. Net income before accounting change rose 21% to $11.1 million. Revenues reflect higher sales from all business segments. Earnings also benefited from lower operating expenses as a percentage of sales.

[Mannerl]

is schlecht...

...denn der Thread hat keinen "Link"/"Hinweis auf der rechten Seite" zu PLMD.

Try ist again better.

Oder mach es einfach betterthanthistread!

[betterthantherest]

Insider buying bei Polymedica

www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/878748/000120919103021552/xslF345X02/doc4 .xml

800 Stück zu etwas über 53$.

Über 40.000$

Vielleicht steht der Kauf im Zusammenhang mit den DOJ Ermittlungen. Sollten diese eingestellt werden, dürfte es für die Shorties ziemlich eng werden.

Kursgewinn heute über 5%.

[Mannerl]

800 Stück ?? !!

...und das ist eine Meldung wert?

[betterthantherest]

@Mannerl

Und das Ganze auch noch zu über 53$.

Der gute Mann hätte vor zwei Monaten noch 40% billiger einsteigen können.

Warum kauft er gerade jetzt, nach den starken Anstiegen?

Ich hatte bisher eine Verkaufsorder bei 98$.
Die war für den Fall gedacht, dass der Kurs überraschend wegen der Shorties nach oben schießen könnte.

Ich habe die Order gestrichen, da ich gerne noch länger dabei bleiben möchte.

Wer weiß, wohin die Reise noch geht.

[Mannerl]

98 Dollar!

meinst Du das ernst?

soviel ist doch dann die Firma auch nicht Wert!
wär ja dann eine richtige Blase!

...

ich denke 40000Dollar sind für "solche" Leute vielleicht nicht viel!
wir beide wissen nicht warum "die" jetzt Aktien von ihrer eigenen Firma kaufen!

...und Aktien werden immer gehandelt! Aslo wo ein Käufer ist ist auch ein Verkäufer! Egal wie s bei der Firma aussieht!

Ich habe bei 39 gekauft und habe auch schon einen Riesengewinn!

.......

ums so höher doch der Kurs steigt umso niedriger werden doch dann die Kennzahlen auf die Du doch großen Wert legst!

[betterthantherest]

Die derzeitige Bewertung von PLMD ist meiner Ansicht nach, nur dann gerechtfertigt, wenn sich die Wachstumsraten wie bisher entwickeln, aber da spricht ja auch einiges dafür.

Das Verkaufslimit hatte ich wirklich nur für den Fall gesetzt, dass die Aktie wie eine Rakete abgeht. Man weiß ja nie.

Mir ist schon einiges an Geld durch die Lappen gegangen, weil ich mich nach starken Kursanstiegen nicht von Aktien getrennt hatte. Meistens fallen die Kurse nach diesen Höhenflügen doch wieder stark zurück und dann könnte man noch mehr Aktien mit dem gewonnen Geld kaufen, bzw. es wo anders investieren.

Du musst dir mal VRTX ansehen. Ich hatte meinen Einsatz bereits versiebenfacht und nicht verkauft. Heute bin ich wieder da, wo ich angefangen habe. Das ist wirklich ärgerlich.

Eigentlich ist es mir am liebsten, wenn die Aktien einfach so vor sich hin steigen.

So viele wirklich gute Firmen, in die man guten Gewissens sein Geld stecken kann, gibt es leider nicht.

[Mannerl]

lief heute wieder gut

[betterthantherest]

PLMD hat schon zwei mal bei 60$ schlapp gemacht.

Ich könnte mir aber vorstellen, dass es dieses Mal klappt und wir schon bald Kurse über 60 sehen werden.

Ich hätte jedenfalls nichts dagegen.

[Mannerl]

zu 9!

meiner Meinung nach kannst Du (hier aus dem fernen Süddeutschland!) nicht vorhersehen ob das Wachstum der Firma über mehrere Quartale gleich bleibt! Irgendwann läuft die Aktie weil "einfach der Chart stimmt" ???? !!!!

Für mich als Anleger kann ich ja getrost dasitzen und zusehen, weil bis jetzt die Story stimmt und der Markt an sich nach oben (noch!) geht!

Was übersehen?

Mannerl

[betterthantherest]

Ich denke, dass man bei PLMD derzeit nicht viel falsch machen kann.

Interessant wird es auch nach dem anstehenden Split.

Seit dem Split bei Bijou Brigitte (die habe ich unter 10€ gekauft) reißen sich die Leute richtig gehend um die Aktien.

[betterthantherest]

Mannerl,

da du schon länger bei WO dabei bist, kannst du dich vielleicht erinnern, wie sich die Zahlen der User, welche tagsüber online sind, so entwickelt hat?

Ich meine, dass die Zahl ständig ansteigt und dass immer mehr zu Aktien gepostet wird als zu anderen Themen.

Mehr Interesse an Aktien, mehr Käufer = höhere Kurse und man fühlt sich doch gleich viel better.

[betterthantherest]

Wer den wahren Wert von PLMD sehen möchte,

gehe auf die Seite

http://www.valuepro.net/

und gebe in das entsprechende Feld "PLMD" ein.

[Mannerl]

52W HIGH: New 52-Wk High for PLMD @ $57.650 up1.01%
September 18, 2003 07:12:12 AM ET

Sep. 18 | Knobias

Ridgeland, MS, SEP 18, 2003 --This is the 2nd 52 WEEK HIGH alert for PLMD in the past 7 calendar days.

The share price for Polymedica Corporation (NASDAQ NM: PLMD) reached a new 52-week high today, trading at $57.650, up $0.575 (1.01%) from its previous close of $57.075

[betterthantherest]

Der Höchstkurs hat aber nur kurz gehalten.

Die Region kurz vor 60$ ist scheinbar nicht so einfach zu überwinden.

[Mannerl]

von den 60 sind wir wieder Meilenweit entfernt!

[betterthantherest]

Wenn ich nicht schon so viel Geld in PLMD gesteckt hätte, würde ich diese gedrückten Kurse sogar noch zum Nachkauf nutzen, derzeit ginge mir jedoch meine Streuung zum Teufel.

Ich denke das der anstehende Split noch etwas bewirken wird (hoffentlich Positiv).

Am meisten bin ich aber nach wie vor auf den Ausgang der DOJ Untersuchungen gespannt. Wenn man sich nur vorstellt, es wird bei PLMD seit 2,5 Jahren ermittelt.
Hätte man etwas gefunden, dann wäre das doch sicherlich bereits öffentlich gemacht worden.
Ich glaube einfach fest daran, dass nichts weltbewegendes dabei herauskommen wird und dann spricht in meinen Augen einfach nichts mehr gegen höhere Kurse.

[Mannerl]

sind die Untersuchung(vor)ergebinisse nicht schon bekannt gegeben worden!

vor 2 Wochen war da doch mal eine Nachricht herausgekommen!....war das nicht als die Aktie um 15% gewann?

...

muss mal nochmals nachlesen!

Mannerl

[betterthantherest]

Das hatte etwas mit der SEC zu tun. Es ging dabei um Unstimmigkeiten bei der Bilanzierung.

Die SEC hat sich aber der Ansicht von PLMD angeschlossen.

[Mannerl]

und was macht die doj?

[betterthantherest]

Was das DOJ so treibt kann man unter

http://www.usdoj.gov/

nachlesen.

Das United States Department of Justice kümmert sich wohl um alles was gemeinhin als kriminell bezeichnet wird.

Bei PLMD ging es meines Wissens darum, dass Produkte an Kunden versandt wurden, welche bereits verstorben waren. Ist aber auch kein Wunder, wenn man sich die Kundenstruktur und das Vertriebssystem ansieht. Solange das Unternemen die Waren zurück nimmt, ist daran auch nichts auszusetzen. Scheinbar gab es aber einen gewissen Mister Assensio (oder so ähnlich) der PLMD beim DOJ angeschwärzt hat.
Der Grund warum er das machte, ist ganz einfach. Er versuchte aus Shortverkäufen Profit zu schlagen, was im auch gelungen sein könnte.
Sollten sich die Anschuldigungen jedoch als falsch herausstellen, so könnte ich mir vorstellen, dass gegen diesen Mann wegen Kursmanipulationen ermittelt wird.

Könnte ein schöner Boomerang werden.

[Mannerl]

so was kann doch eigentlich jeder Firma passieren !

...ob kriminell oder nicht, ist deswegen die ganze Firma "schlecht"?

[betterthantherest]

Man könnte das Ganze auch mit einem Zeitungsabonement vergleichen.

Ich habe meine Zeitung für ein Jahr bestellt und im Voraus bezahlt. Sollte ich nun in diesem Jahr das Zeitliche segnen, so kann man doch dem Verlag keinen Vorwurf machen, wenn die Zeitung noch so lange zugestellt wird, bis mein Tod der entsprechende Stelle bekannt gemacht wird.

Gerade weil ich die Umstände bei PLMD ähnlich sehe, bin ich so zuversichtlich.

[Mannerl]

?

MFG
Mannerl

[Mannerl]

hier muss irgendwas in der Luft liegen!

[betterthantherest]

zu #27

Ja, Geld.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Declares Increased Quarterly Dividend
Wednesday October 8, 8:30 am ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2003--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share of PolyMedica common stock. The $0.15 cash dividend represents a 20 percent increase over the previous split-adjusted quarterly dividend of $0.125. The dividend is payable on November 17, 2003 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 5, 2003.

Commenting on the dividend, Lead Director and Interim CEO Samuel L. Shanaman said, "We are pleased that PolyMedica`s consistent financial performance and strong cash flow continue to provide us with opportunities to enhance shareholder value as we continue to grow the business. The increased dividend amount reflects the confidence we have in the Company`s future."

PolyMedica announced a 2-for-1 stock split on September 9, 2003. The additional shares were distributed to shareholders on September 29, 2003.

[Mannerl]

ValuEngine Upgrades Nortel, Siebel, Polymedica to `5` Rating


Oct 14, 2003 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- (FinancialWire) (Investrend
Research Syndicate) ValuEngine, Inc. (www.ValuEngine.com) has upgraded four
companies, including Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT), General Probe (NASDAQ:
GPRO), Polymedica Corp. (NASDAQ: PLMD) and Siebel Systems (NASDAQ: SEBL) to a
"5" rating, the research firm`s highest

[betterthantherest]

Um so höher die Marktkapitalisierung, um so größer das Interesse.

Jetzt fehlt nur noch eine gute Nachricht zu den Ermittlungen.

[Mannerl]

"Konsolidierung?" oder etwas was andere schon eher wissen?

[betterthantherest]

Letzten Freitag gings noch schlimmer abwärts.

Ich glaube bei PLMD gibt es ein großes Interesse den Kurs zu manipulieren. Bei einem Anteil von 31% an short verkauften Aktien ist es kein Wunder, wenn immer wieder versucht wird den Kurs massiv zu drücken.

Wenn das Geschäft so weiter läuft wie bisher, mache ich mir keine Sorgen. Auf lange Sicht zählen nur die Gewinne, auch wenn der Kurs zwischenzeitlich stark schwankt.

[betterthantherest]

Super Zahlen von PLMD und ein Ende des Wachstums ist nicht in Sicht.


PolyMedica (ticker: PLMD, exchange: NASDAQ) News Release - 28-Oct-2003
PolyMedica Announces Results For Fiscal 2004 Second Quarter Ended September 30, 2003

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2003--PolyMedica Corporation:

* FY2004 2Q Net Revenues of $105 Million, up 20% Year over Year
* Net Income of $12.1 Million, up 23%Year over Year
* Diluted EPS of $0.47, up 21% Year over Year
* Cash Flow from Operations of $13.9 Million, up 101% Year over Year

PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD) today announced its financial results for the fiscal 2004 second quarter ended September 30, 2003.

Net Revenues

Net revenues for the fiscal 2004 second quarter were $105.2 million, compared to $88.0 million for the fiscal 2003 second quarter.

Earnings

Net income for the fiscal 2004 second quarter was $12.1 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, compared to $9.8 million, or $0.39 per diluted share (on a split-adjusted basis) for the fiscal 2003 second quarter.

As previously announced, PolyMedica completed a 2-for-1 stock split during the fiscal 2004 second quarter; the additional shares were distributed to shareholders on September 29, 2003.

Cash Flow

Cash flow from operations was $13.9 million for the fiscal 2004 second quarter, compared to $6.9 million for the fiscal 2003 second quarter, an increase of 101 percent, and the Company`s balance of cash and short-term investments increased from $32.6 million to $43.0 million during the fiscal 2004 second quarter.

Commenting on the results, Lead Director and Interim CEO Samuel L. Shanaman, said, "We are pleased to be able to report another solid quarter for the Company. Cash flow from operations during the quarter was particularly impressive, helped by strong collections, and our free cash flow improved dramatically."

Shanaman continued, "Our business continues to perform very well. Our strong cash generation allows us to continue to grow the business, make significant improvements to our infrastructure, enhance our liquidity and, at the same time, return cash to our shareholders, as reflected in the recently announced 20 percent increase in our quarterly dividend."

Guidance

For the quarter ending December 31, 2003, the Company currently expects to report net revenues of $106 - $110 million and earnings per share (diluted) of $0.47 - $0.49.

Conference Call and Replay

PolyMedica management will host a conference call and live Webcast today, Tuesday, October 28, at 4:30 p.m., EST, to discuss the Company`s fiscal second quarter. To listen to the conference call over the Internet, go to www.polymedica.com or www.companyboardroom.com. Go to either Web site at least 15 minutes early to register and download and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to participate, a rebroadcast will be made available at www.polymedica.com and www.companyboardroom.com for 90 days after the call. It will be available shortly after the call.

About PolyMedica (www.polymedica.com)

PolyMedica is a rapidly growing national medical products company. The Company is best known through its Liberty brand name and innovative direct-to-consumer television advertising to seniors with diabetes and respiratory disease. Building on its technology-based operating platform and compliance management focus, PolyMedica continues to expand its product offerings in these chronic disease and other categories.

[betterthantherest]

Folgendes bezieht sich auf das heutige Conferenz Call und stammt aus dem Yahoo Board.

CEO says tenor of conversation has changed dramatically! In addition DOJ is very professional and understands things are "different" now from 2+ years ago.

In addition he is is very "optimistic"

[Mannerl]

PolyMedica To Present At CIBC World Markets Healthcare Conference

WOBURN, Mass., Nov 5, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD) is scheduled to present next week at the CIBC World Markets Fourteenth Annual Healthcare Conference in New York. The presentation will take place on Monday, November 10, 2003 at 9:30 a.m., EST. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at www.polymedica.com or www.cibcwm.com

WHAT: Presentation at CIBC World Markets Healthcare Conference by:
-Samuel L. Shanaman, Lead Director and Interim CEO
-Stephen C. Farrell, Senior Vice President and CFO
-Warren K. Trowbridge, President, Liberty Medical Supply, Inc.

WHEN: Monday, November 10, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. (EST)

LIVE WEBCAST: Available at www.polymedica.com or www.cibcwm.com

REPLAY: Available for 30 days after the presentation at
www.polymedica.com

[betterthantherest]

Scheinbar ist die Nachricht gut für über 5% Anstieg.

Was für ein Gefühl muss es für einen Shortseller sein, wenn man zusehen muss, wie diese Aktie steigt und steigt. Nach unten kann eine Aktie auf Null gehen. Nach oben gibt es nur die Unendlichkeit.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Announces Retirement of President Arthur Siciliano
Thursday November 6, 2:05 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2003--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) announced today that its President, Arthur Siciliano, Ph.D., will retire on March 31, 2004. Dr. Siciliano, who was one of PolyMedica`s founders, will relinquish his responsibilities as President effective immediately and remain with the Company through March as a Senior Adviser. Following his retirement, Dr. Siciliano will continue to serve as an outside consultant to the Company.

Interim CEO and Lead Director Sam Shanaman said, "PolyMedica is very thankful to Art for his thoughtful and groundbreaking leadership over the past 15 years. In my time with the Company, Art has been a valued partner and an important source of knowledge and advice." Shanaman added, "We congratulate Art on his upcoming retirement and wish him all the best. We`re happy that Art will continue to be a resource for the Company through his active role as a consultant."

Dr. Siciliano said, "The last 15 years have been particularly gratifying. It`s been a joy to watch PolyMedica as it has developed into the national medical products company that it is today. While I`m looking forward to retirement, I`m excited to remain a part of the Company`s continuing evolution."

Arthur Siciliano, 60, has been with PolyMedica since its inception in 1988. Prior to PolyMedica, Siciliano worked for several biotech, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Siciliano holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Connecticut, and a Master in Business Administration degree from Babson College.

[Mannerl]

gibt es irgendwas was ich noch nicht weis???Und andere schon????

?Mannerl?

[betterthantherest]

Zumindest die Kunden sollten PLMD nicht ausgehen.

THE HME NEWSWIRE

November 17, 2003

Diabetes cases rise to record levels

WASHINGTON - More than 18.2 million U.S. residents have diabetes, including about 5.2 million people whose diabetes is undiagnosed, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced last week.

The estimate is the highest ever, reflecting that "we are diagnosing more people who live with diabetes and the overall prevalence of this disease continues to increase," Thompson said.

The report also found that among people who are at least 20 years old, diabetes affects 14.9% of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 11.4% of non-Hispanic blacks, 8.4% of non-Hispanic whites and 8.2% of Hispanics.

"Clearly, diabetes remains a serious and growing health threat," Thompson said, adding that increasing public awareness and promoting better lifestyle choices are key to prevention.

The number of people with diabetes in developing countries could increase from 115 million in 2000 to 284 million in 2030 because of increasingly unhealthy diets and decreased exercise levels, stated the World Health Organization.

Diabetes is the cause of at least one in 20 deaths worldwide, costs nations between 2.5% and 15% of their annual health care budgets and generates significant indirect costs, such as loss of productivity, the WHO reported.

The WHO also announced that it is working with the International Diabetes Federation to launch a global effort to prevent diabetes and other diseases related to unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. About 90% of diabetes cases worldwide are type-2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and lack of exercise.

[betterthantherest]

Nur wegsterben sollten die Kunden natürlich nicht.


One in three children born in 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes
Oct 13 2003
A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers some grim statistics about the surge of diabetes in America. According to Health, United States, 2003, the percentage of Americans diagnosed with diabetes increased by 27 percent between 1997 and 2002.

In June at the American Diabetes Association 63rd Annual Scientific Sessions, CDC researchers reported that an alarming one in three Americans born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes.

Two of the biggest risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being overweight and leading a sedentary lifestyle, growing trends that have led to record highs of obesity in both children and adults in the U.S. The new CDC report, which features a special section on diabetes, reported obesity statistics for the U.S. that have more than doubled over the past twenty-five years. Among adults age 20 to 74, sixty-five percent were overweight or obese in 1999-2000.

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most costly, life-altering chronic diseases, and is now also one of the most prevalent. Recent data published by the ADA pegged the annual cost of diabetes in both direct medical expenses and lost productivity at $132 billion annually. There are currently 17 million Americans with diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death among U.S. women and sixth among men in 2001.

The good news is that even moderate lifestyle changes, including physical activity of at least 150 minutes a week, can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

[Mannerl]

seit gestern ist das Unternehmen anscheinend um ein Zehntel weniger Wert als vorgestern!

[betterthantherest]

So weit ich das sehe, gibt es in Amerika Bestrebungen die Kosten im Gesundheitsbereich zu senken. Ich habe gelesen es gehe dabei um gerade mal 4%.

Damit ist die Reaktion der Börse mehr als übertrieben.

Bei PLMD gab es in der Vergangenheit schon mehrfach sehr starke Kursschwankungen.

Ich sehe daher keinen Grund, um mich von meinen Aktien zu trennen.

[betterthantherest]

Hier ein wenig Hintergrundinformation zum Medicareprogramm.
Dies könnte ein Grund für den Kursrückgang der letzten Woche sein.

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON - In the prelude to a last, tense showdown, the Senate voted to limit debate Monday on landmark legislation to create a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare while giving private insurance plans an expanded role in the program for 40 million seniors and disabled Americans.
The vote was a bipartisan 70-29 to end a filibuster led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, but the Massachusetts Democrat and other opponents of the measure immediately launched another attack. This one, invoking arcane Senate budget rules, obliged supporters of the bill to gain 60 votes to prevail.
"It will be close," conceded Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the Tennessee Republican and former heart transplant surgeon who has made passage of the measure a key goal of his first year as head of Senate Republicans.
Frist accused opponents of the bill of resorting to "procedural tricks to obstruct" passage of legislation making the most sweeping changes in Medicare since the program`s creation in 1965. "Waiting is not going to produce a better bill. Waiting will deny seniors a benefit," he said.
"The Senate is on trial," countered Kennedy, who was present and voting in the Senate 38 years ago when democrats pushed through the bill to create the giant government health care program. "Let us not reverse the historic decision our country made in 1965. Let us not turn our back on our senior citizens so that insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies can earn even higher profits.,"
Passage of the bill would mark a triumph for President Bush (news - web sites) and the GOP congressional majority on an issue that Democrats have long exploited to their advantage in political campaigns.
Failure, after months of struggle, would hand Democrats perhaps their biggest legislative victory since Bush took office a little less than three years ago.
At its heart, the legislation marked a compromise of sorts, the new drug benefit long sought by Democrats, combined with a Republican-backed plan to give private insurance companies a vast new role in health care for the program`s beneficiaries.
The scope of the bill went far beyond that, though, including an additional $25 billion for rural hospitals and health care providers, a requirement for higher-income seniors to pay more for Medicare Part B coverage and billions of dollars to discourage corporations from eliminating existing coverage for their own retirees once the new government program begins.
The bill also would satisfy other goals of conservatives, including creation of tax-preferred health savings accounts, open to individuals who purchase high-deductible health insurance policies. Most controversial of all, the legislation would create a limited program of direct competition between traditional Medicare and private plans, beginning in 2010.
The measure cleared the House on a vote of 220-215 shortly before dawn on Saturday, after a roll call that was held open for three hours while Bush, Speaker Dennis Hastert and other leading Republicans lobbied furiously to avert a defeat.

[Mannerl]

die fallen und fallen!

[betterthantherest]

Das tut schon immer weh, wenn man seine Gewinne so schwinden sieht.

Macht nichts, ich bleib dabei.

[betterthantherest]

Ich kann keine cup sehen.

Re: forming the bottom right now
by: wankhede99
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy 12/02/03 10:23 am
Msg: 56145 of 56146

Yes it is forming the base of the cup, and is the right time to buy. May take a while to form the right side upward slope of the cup.

[betterthantherest]

Das hat was.


WHAT`s UP HERE!!! I DON`T GET IT!!!
by: ndavenport_mba (M/Oakland, CA) 12/03/03 11:14 am
Msg: 56193 of 56201

Wow there is a lot of chatter here over trivia! What is UP? Let`s put things in perspective.

STOCK PRICE. PLMD is up 500% in the last 5 years going from $5 to $25 today even factoring in the 20% loss over the past month. A 20% decline after what was over a 600% gain, and some people want to start getting excited? Look at the long-term. This would be analogous to having a house that you buy for 100K, it appreciates over 5 years to over 600K, then it drops to 500K. Is that even worth discussing?

CAPITALIZED MARKETING EXPENSES. I assert that this is absolute trivia and of virtually no consequence. I don’t know this for sure, but that is my sense and I will tell you why. First, does anyone know the period of amortization? Now let me give you an analogy that will explain why this accounting treatment ends up making virtually no difference in most cases. Let’s say you as a business owner capitalize your marketing expenses over 5 years, and your yearly marketing expenses are 100K. So in the first year that you capitalize, the actual expenses are a whopping 80K less than the stated expenses. But watch what happens over time:

Actual Stated
Year 1 100k 20K
Year 2 100K 40k (20K from year 1 plus 20K from year 2)
Year 3 100K 60K
Year 4 100K 80K
Year 5 100K 100K

If anybody wants to get real excited about this, I hope you have some data that shows that PLMD is in a unique situation here; otherwise the typical scenario just is not that material from an accounting perspective.

For all of you short-term people, I highly recommend the article “Investors Can Be Their Own Worst Enemy.” (Go under BRKA quotes in Yahoo and you will find it under Headlines). The three mistakes it cites are:

· Checking portfolios too often
· Trading too often (can you imagine somebody got a 50% gain and sold PLMD in 98, and missed another 450% gain!). The article’s study says that infrequent traders averaged 18.5% return while frequent traders averaged 11.4% over the same period.
· Getting distracted by Shiny Objects.

I hope that this puts some perspective on things. In 5 years, do any of you think that the 20% decline this year will be of any consequence? I don`t. I would expect that in 5 years, PLMD sells for 20 times earnings and earnings are $3-4 per share. PLMD would then sell for $60-$80. In the short run, I just don`t care. Do any of you check your house value every day? Best of luck to all of you.

[betterthantherest]

Was zum aufbauen.

44 Reasons to buy PLMD
by: numbers_help
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy 12/04/03 09:20 am
Msg: 56226 of 56289

Here are all the reasons why you want to own this stock or add to your position.

This list has been posted numerous times over the past year... Worth reading again!

1) 31.5% Revenue growth compounded annually over last 3 fiscal years. `00 $157M, `01 $220M,
`02 $270M `03 $356M

2) 29 Consecutive Quarters of net Revenue increases. Quarter ending 06/30/2003 PLMD posted year over year revenue growth of 21% to $98.9M

3) 19 Consecutive quarters of higher earnings. Quarter ending 06/30/2003 net income before accounting change rose 21% to $11.1M

4) A sound business model reflected in higher than industry average profit margins that exceed 10%. Quarter ending 06/30/2003 profit margins were 11.2%

5) Rapidly growing cash flow. Last 4 quarters PLMD has achieved a 45% increase in cash flow from operating activities. From $6.9M the Qtr ended in SEP 2002 to $10.0M in the Qtr ended JUN 2003.

6) An oustanding balance sheet. $25.6M in cash as well as the other reasons listed below.

7) Current Ratio of 5.4. 2 or better is considered good.

8) Debt to Equity of 1% Basically no debt.

9) Exceptional management effectiveness as reflected in the seven year average return on equity of 15.66% Industry average is 7.7%

10) Seven year average return on assets 12.12%

11) Inventory turns at an annualized basis of 8.7 times for the Qtr ended 06/30/2003. Well above the industry average.

12) Trailing P/E of about 16 as compared to the S&P 500 of 33.

13) Dividend of $.60/share or yield of 2.2% as 10/15/2003. Dividend was just recently raised by 20% by the Board of Directors.

14) A short interest in the stock as of 10/15/2003 of 6.8M shares, about 25% of the total shares outstanding. Industry average is 5.8% Short interest holders represent guaranteed future buyers in the stock.

15) PLMD is a leader in one of fastest growing sectors in America. An estimated 17M Americans
have diabetes of which at least 7M are seniors covered by Medicare and the number is rapidly growing.

16) Expanding product lines. Net revenues from Pharmaceuticals segment increased 77.4% to $11.54 million in the three months ended June 30, 2003, as compared with $6.51 million in the three months ended June 30, 2002

17) Growing database of very satisfied and loyal customers (about 600,000).

18) Using the large current database to accelerate sales growth of other products. Already filling 500 orders a day on prescriptions mostly to the current customers. (Cross selling.)

19) The potential to sell prescriptions to the current customers alone in addition to the business they are doing is 1 Billion Dollars.

20) Nearly Recession Proof. It is highly unlikely that PLMD`s customers would stop their orders because of the economy for the obvious health reasons and since they are reimbursed by Medicare.

18) Medicare approved systems. The system is so state of the art that Microsoft and Intel are going to use it as a platform for other software.

19) Vertical & Horizontal expansion. They are using the same system in preparation to take care of Medicaid Customers. As more states allow on line approvals. There are 35 million potential customers in Medicaid program. The payout is 100% instead of 80% so no bad debt problems.

20) New business of Prescription Pharmacy by mail, where in short time already profitable. Also Clinical lab distributes and processes tests, became fully operational. 24,000 current customers received test kits. Pleased with results of early marketing efforts. HVA1C is different from other businesses; their primary contact is with the doctors, not the customer. If successful in providing docs with important tool, they will be enhancing relationship with the doctors. Potential to make contribution to revenue and profit. Important new marketing channel to acquire patients at modest cost through doctors. 160K docs in

[betterthantherest]

44 Reasons contd.
by: numbers_help
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy 12/04/03 09:21 am
Msg: 56227 of 56289

22) Recognizable name. They sell some items under their own brand name, with high profit margin.

23) Current growth strategy can be financed entirely from cash flow from operating activties without endangering the dividend. In other words PLMD currently has no need to issue new debt or make a secondary stock offering!

24) Scalable CRM and distribution systems

25) Superior buying power to competition (Economies of Scale). This will eventually be true even in prescription area or any other product they sell due to large satisfied repeat customer data base.

26) Well positioned for expansion via take-over. After their own expansion is completed by the end of this year, they will have increased the capacity by 5 times leaving lot`s of room for rapid growth. All this done from their own cash flow and without straining their balance sheet or cash flow.

27) Hugely successful marketing strategy. TV Adds, direct marketing Doctors, follow up phone calls to the current customers are all in place. Cusotomer base and premium services that cannot be easily duplicated by others. Spokesperson Wilford Brimly has high credibility with target market of senior citizens.

28) Continued confidence in the business model reflected in managment`s guidance. SEP 2003 analyst revenue estimate is 106M. An estimate 7.2% sequential growth and 20.6% annual growth.

29) EPS estimates are for $.46/share vs $.44/share the prior quarter 4.5% sequential growth or 18% annualized

30) Revenue forecast for the full year a $432M a 21% increase over the fiscal 03 number of $356M

31) Net income is forecast at $1.90/share vs a restated $1.02/share from fiscal 03, an 87% increase.

32) Sky Capital one the brokers/analysts following the company has noted heavy increase in customer call volume into the new call center.

33) SEC has approved companies accounting for advertising. This issue is behind them.

34) Managment halted their legal automatic insider selling as of April 2003 and have not sold since then.

35) The Management is now pro active regarding the DOJ investigation. After two years not one board member has resigned and the company has continued its tremendous growth despite all the noise. The employees have testified time and time again there is nothing here that is being done wrong and they are running the company with state of the art software and controls and have nothing to fear.

36) The Interim President has agreed to minimum wage salary in return for stock in PLMD. Talking about insider confidence!

37) As to the Competitive Bidding or any other system coming out of the prescription benefits for Sr`s; PLMD will be on top of it and will take advantage of it. They have low cost facilities, volume buying and customer list and the management says that they will take advantage of any changes that may along. Prescription Drugs for Seniors currently in the Senate to be passed by 80/20 is a positive for PLMD. They can sell to their current customers and collect additional funds.

[betterthantherest]

44 Reasons Contd.
by: numbers_help
Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy 12/04/03 09:22 am
Msg: 56228 of 56289

38) The stock was 20th in the top 100 Growth companies of Business Week for 2001, (BW June 10 issue) and since it has continued with tremendous growth this year while lot`s of companies have taken a step backward, it was in the top 15 for 2002.

39) It was number 4 in Boston Area Growth companies; (according to Boston Globe.)

40) Recent stock split should increase the liquidity of the stock.

41). Increase in Liberty Diabetes active customers from 440,000 as of 3/31/02 to 545,000 as of 3/31/03. Growth of 8,750 customers a month over past 12 months, 23.8% increase.

42) Increase in Liberty Respiratory active customers from 46,000 as of 3/31/02 to 63,000 as of 3/31/03, growth rate of 36.9%.

43). Continuing to decrease dependence on diabetes supplies as main source of revenue (expressed as a percentage of net revenues): 2002: 74.1%; 2003: 68.7%. Liberty Respiratory - 18.7% in 2002; 21.2% in 2003. Liberty Pharmaceuticals - 7.2% in 2002; 10.2% in 2003.

44)Several different posters have used a variety of fundamental methods to establish a fair market value of $90-$150/share roughly half it`s current price (pre split).

[betterthantherest]

Nun ist klar warum PLMD so stark gefallen ist. Allerdings sehe ich die erwarteten Gewinne für 2005 schon wieder als positiv. Beim derzeitigen Kursniveau ergibt es ein PE ratio von ca. 10.
Getroffen werden auch die Konkurrenten von PLMD, was durchaus zu PLMDs Nutzen sein könnte. Die besseren Unternehmen werden auch in Zukunft als Sieger hervorgehen.
Mal sehen wie weit es noch nach unten geht. Ich werde diese Übertreibung zum Kauf nutzen.

Reuters
UPDATE - PolyMedica says Medicare bill to hurt profit
Wednesday December 17, 8:52 am ET

(Adds details paragraphs 2, 5-10)

NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - PolyMedica Corp. (NasdaqNM:PLMD - News), a provider of diabetes test kits, said on Wednesday its quarterly earnings would suffer because of the recently passed changes to the U.S. Medicare program.

Shares of PolyMedica slipped to $21.40 in electronic trading before the market opened, down from a closing price of $23.20 on Tuesday.

The company expects to take a charge of 34 cents per share for the fiscal third quarter ending in December to write down the value of its respiratory business, which will likely receive lower reimbursements under the new Medicare plan.

PolyMedica previously said third-quarter earnings would reach 47 cents to 49 cents per share.

For the year-ago quarter, PolyMedica reported earnings of $10.4 million, or 83 cents per share, before the effect of a two-for-one stock split.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ending March 31, 2004, the company expects profit between 42 cents and 46 cents per share on revenue of $108 million to $112 million. The earnings would be about flat with the fiscal fourth quarter ended in March 2003.

For the following fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, PolyMedica expects earnings of $2.00 to $2.10 and revenue of $465 million to $485 million.

Under the Medicare plan, reimbursement rates in 2004 for diabetes testing supplies will be frozen at 2003 rates. The company expects an overall reduction in 2005 reimbursement rates for diabetes test strips and lancets of about 3 percent.

However, the act also contains some provisions that should have a positive effect on PolyMedica`s diabetes business.

[betterthantherest]

Interims CEO Shanaman sieht ebenfalls positive Aspekte, trotz der anstehenden Veränderungen.



Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Comments on Recent Medicare Legislation, Discusses Company Outlook
Wednesday December 17, 8:09 am ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2003--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News)

* PolyMedica Well Positioned to Benefit in Growing Diabetes Market Long Term; Industry-Leading Scale Should Mitigate Reduced Reimbursement Levels Beginning in 2005
* Changes in Medicare Reimbursement Rates for Inhalation Drugs in 2005 Leads PolyMedica to Suspend Direct Response Advertising to Respiratory Patients Effective Immediately; Company to Take a Non-Cash Charge Related to Respiratory Advertising Asset in Quarter Ending December 31, 2003
* Expects Revenue of $108 - $112 Million, Diluted EPS of $0.42 - $0.46 in Quarter Ending March 31, 2004; Expects Revenue of $465 - $485 Million, Diluted EPS of $2.00 - $2.10 in Year Ending March 31, 2005

PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) today issued a statement commenting on the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (the "Act"), which was signed into law on December 8, 2003. While it will likely take some time for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") to fully develop detailed implementation rules, the Company is reallocating resources among its business segments to adapt to this new legislation.

Description of Relevant Changes in the Act

Diabetes Supplies

For 2004, reimbursement rates for diabetes testing supplies will be frozen at 2003 rates. Beginning in 2005, reimbursement rates for diabetes test strips and lancets will be reduced by the percentage difference between the median amounts paid by the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan in 2002 and the prices Medicare paid for these items in 2002. The maximum adjustment for test strips and lancets appears to be 4.1 percent and 5.36 percent, respectively, but the actual percentage decrease in payment amounts for any particular provider will depend on the geographic distribution of its customers. Based on a preliminary interpretation of the Act, PolyMedica currently expects an overall reduction in reimbursement rates in 2005 for test strips and lancets of about 3 percent.

The Act also contains a number of provisions that should have a positive influence on the Company`s diabetes business. Beginning in 2005, Medicare coverage will be provided for an initial physical examination and for regular diabetes screening tests, which should increase the incidence of diagnosis of diabetes and potentially expand the Medicare market for testing supplies and other diabetes products. The Act also provides up to $100 million over the next three years for chronic care improvement programs to improve clinical quality while potentially reducing the long-term cost of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Respiratory Medications

Beginning in 2004, payment amounts for inhalation drugs reimbursed under Medicare will be reduced from 95 percent to 80 percent of average wholesale price ("AWP"). Beginning in 2005, reimbursement for inhalation drugs will be reduced to 106 percent of average sales price ("ASP"), a new benchmark that will be determined by sales data submitted by the drug manufacturers.

The Act also directs the General Accounting Office to conduct a study of the adequacy of current reimbursements for inhalation drug therapy under the Medicare program and report its findings to Congress not later than one year from the effective date of the Act. If the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that the ASP methodology does not reflect the widely available market price or is inherently unreasonable, the Secretary will have the authority to adjust payments to providers either up or down.

Pharmaceuticals

The Act establishes a voluntary prescription drug benefit under a new Part D of the Medicare Program. Starting in 2006, coverage will be available through both prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage prescription plans and will include new coverage for insulin and syringes, as well as prescription drugs. The Act also creates a Medicare-approved Prescription Drug Discount Card Program that will go into effect in the spring of 2004. Liberty will begin distributing its own non-Medicare endorsed drug discount card to customers and their spouses this week. The Liberty Drug Card will allow Liberty`s customers to obtain discounts for cash purchases at over 50,000 participating pharmacies, and potentially greater discounts through the mail from Liberty`s pharmacy.

Impact on PolyMedica

Commenting on the new legislation, Samuel L. Shanaman, Lead Director and Interim CEO, said, "The Act presents us with both challenges and opportunities. With respect to our Liberty Diabetes business, the Act defines Medicare reimbursement rates for the next several years, giving us a predictable revenue stream for some time and allowing us to pursue a more aggressive growth strategy. Because of our leadership position in diabetes, and the purchasing power and economies of scale that we enjoy, we are optimistic we can find ways to compensate for the January 2005 reduction in reimbursement rates for diabetes supplies. Smaller providers of diabetes testing supplies may not fare as well, and we would expect some consolidation to take place as a result."

Shanaman continued, "There are a number of provisions in the Act, such as early diabetes screening and the chronic care improvement programs, that could accelerate the growth of the senior diabetes market. As a whole, the Act is a strong endorsement of the potential benefits associated with more proactive treatment of people with diabetes and other chronic diseases. The presence of chronic care improvement programs in the Act reaffirms the value of our customer compliance model, and creates a potentially significant opportunity for the Company to partner with disease management organizations, insurers and others to provide products and supplies to program participants and help seniors with diabetes to more effectively manage their disease. We view these developments as strong positives for the Company and its customers.

"We are less optimistic regarding the Act`s impact on our respiratory business, and we have some concerns regarding the availability of inhalation drugs to Medicare recipients after 2004," said Shanaman. "While the ASP benchmark scheduled to go into effect in January 2005 is not well defined at this point, we have made the decision, effective immediately, to stop direct response advertising for new respiratory customers until we get further clarification regarding the actual implementation of the ASP methodology. We will continue to provide the same excellent level of service our respiratory customers are accustomed to, but normal attrition will result in a steady decline in both revenue and shipment volumes over the next year or so. Cash flow next year from our respiratory business, however, should be very strong, given that we do not expect to spend any money on marketing programs, and we intend to use the additional cash flow to accelerate the development of our diabetes business and to position ourselves for future growth. When we enter calendar 2005, our Respiratory business should account for less than 10 percent of our revenues."

Commenting on the senior prescription drug benefit beginning in 2006, Shanaman said, "We believe that providing drug coverage for seniors represents a tremendous opportunity for PolyMedica, and through our Liberty Pharmacy we are very well positioned. In the near term, we see an opportunity to attract new customers through our own drug discount card. We believe this initiative will not only support the growth of our Liberty Pharmacy, but also help to attract new customers to our diabetes business."

Financial Outlook

Because of the reduction in reimbursement rates for inhalation drugs contemplated by the Act, PolyMedica`s respiratory customers will generate less revenue than they have been in the past. As a result, in the quarter ending December 31, 2003 the Company intends to take a one-time, non-cash charge of approximately $14 million, or approximately $0.34 per diluted share, to write down the carrying cost of its Liberty Respiratory direct response advertising asset to net realizable value. The Company had previously provided guidance for the fiscal third quarter of net revenues of $106 - $110 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.47 - $0.49.

For the fiscal 2004 fourth quarter ending March 31, 2004, the Company expects to report net revenues of $108 - $112 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.42 - $0.46.

For the following fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, the Company expects to report net revenues of $465 - $485 million and diluted earnings per share of $2.00 - $2.10.

[betterthantherest]

8:12AM PolyMedica guides below consensus (PLMD) 23.20: Company responds to recently signed Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, says because act will reduce reimbursement rates for inhalation drugs, PLMD`s respiratory customers will generate less revenue. As a result, company will take Q3 (Dec) charge of $14 mln, or $0.34 per share, to write down advertising assets. For Q4 (Mar), company now sees EPS of $0.42-0.46 vs Reuters consensus of $0.51 on revenues of $108-112 mln. For FY05, PLMD now sees EPS of $2.00-2.10 on revenues of $465-485 mln, Reuters surveys one analyst with estimates on Y05, who estimates $1.85 per share.

[betterthantherest]

Und wieder ein Beispiel für buy on bad news.

Da haben wahrscheinlich viele, so wie auch ich, noch tiefere Kurse erwartet. Für Shorties kann so etwas tödlich sein.

PLMD ist immer für Überraschungen gut.

[betterthantherest]

Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Announces Promotion of Peter McKenzie to Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Liberty Healthcare Group
Tuesday December 30, 8:20 am ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 2003--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) today announced the promotion of Peter McKenzie to Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Liberty Healthcare Group, the parent company for all of Liberty`s businesses. Mr. McKenzie will also continue to serve as President of Liberty`s diabetes business.

Commenting on McKenzie`s promotion, interim CEO and Lead Director Samuel Shanaman said, "Peter has done a marvelous job of developing our diabetes business over the past four years. Under his leadership and direction, Liberty`s diabetes business has grown from $125 million to $275 million in revenues. His promotion reflects the increasing responsibilities he has assumed since his arrival at Liberty."

From 1995 to 1998, McKenzie served as Corporate Controller at PolyMedica.

[Mannerl]

Polymedica interim CEO gets permanent title
Tue January 13, 2004 05:43 PM ET

NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - PolyMedica Corp. (PLMD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday its lead director and interim chief executive officer, Samuel Shanaman, was named to the permanent position of chief executive and was elected chairman.
Current Chief Financial Officer Stephen Farrell was named president of Liberty Healthcare Group, the company`s main subsidiary, the Woburn, Massachusetts-based company said. Farrell replaced Keith Trowbridge, who resigned to pursue other opportunities.

[betterthantherest]

Das nenn ich mal eine gute Nachricht. Ich halte sehr viel von Shanaman und bin echt gespannt, wie die Börse diese Nachricht aufnimmt.

[betterthantherest]

Übrigens ließ sich Shananman mit Aktien bezahlen.

Damit sitzt er wirklich mit den Aktionären im selben Boot.

[betterthantherest]

Ein recht interessanter Artikel und ganz weit unten steht auch etwas über PLMD.


SmartMoney.com
Cinderella Stocks
Wednesday January 14, 3:39 pm ET
By Paul Sturm

OVER THE YEARS I`ve written more columns about Wall Street analysts and their work than on any other subject. I`ve discussed earnings estimates, revisions in earnings estimates and dispersion of earnings estimates. I`ve examined upgrades and downgrades. And I`ve explored the nuances of sell recommendations, buy recommendations and consensus recommendations.

I`m not alone, of course. Financial economists scrutinize analyst output in fanatic detail. On one academic database alone, I counted nearly 100 research papers in the past six months on the subject. In what follows I`ll highlight recent discoveries that I find particularly insightful. I`m also going to introduce you to the investment equivalent of the dark side of the moon: stocks that analysts ignore. Invest some time to learn about them and these overlooked companies can be very good buys.

For years economists have been aware of what they call the "neglected firm effect." Companies with little or no analyst coverage tend to perform better than companies that analysts follow closely. The classical explanation is straightforward. Neglected companies are generally small, with thin trading volume and volatile prices. Owning these stocks carries above-average risk, so they should provide higher returns. End of story, at least in theory.

There is, however, a growing gap between theory and reality. Forget the stock market, and think college basketball. A strand of offbeat economic research indicates that the odds on games between large schools predict the outcomes remarkably well. But the odds on games between small schools have significantly less predictive power. That creates an opportunity for informed bettors, and I think there are similar opportunities for informed investors.

I`ll offer some thoughts about how to get that edge later. But first consider the rewards of owning neglected stocks. To get a fix on this, I ran some experiments. Using Zacks Research Wizard, one of my favorite screening tools, it`s possible to backtest strategies. So I benchmarked companies with no analyst coverage against about 100 companies with the highest composite analyst ratings.

I limited my search to stocks with a market value above $500 million. Using Research Wizard`s maximum two-year look-back period, I created new portfolios every month, with 30-day holding periods. Both groups consistently topped the S&P 500. But my no-analyst stocks, with an average annual return of 14.5 percent, beat the analyst favorites by better than 2 to 1.

This small sample and short time period are far from scientific and subject to considerable error. But the strong showing of neglected stocks intrigues me. It comes at a time when securities firms are cutting costs and research budgets are shrinking. Fewer analysts mean less coverage, particularly of low-profile firms that don`t do a lot of investment-banking business.

The average company in my 2,000-stock universe enjoys the attention of nine analysts. But the number of companies covered by two analysts or fewer has risen from 200 to over 300 in the past two years. I used these neglected stocks as the basis for this month`s table, but the reduction in coverage is even more dramatic among smaller companies. In 2001 there were estimates from at least one analyst for about 2,400 firms with a market value below $500 million. Today that figure has dropped to 1,700-which translates into 700 newly ignored companies.


Besides being on the decline, Wall Street research is also narrowly focused. Analysts concentrate on stocks with above-average recent performance, and they tend to shun losers. They also like some industries lots better than others. Of the nearly 150 stocks followed by more than 20 analysts, half are technology plays. Predictably, these overhyped stocks are expensive: They have a median price/earnings multiple of 28 and price/book ratio of 3.3.

Economists argue that lots of analyst coverage is good for the market. The more attention investors pay to a company, the more quickly share prices react to new information. That "efficiency" encourages trading, boosts volume and leads to more-stable prices — ultimately making it easier for companies to raise capital.

I don`t disagree. But I think there can be a higher return on your intellectual capital at the other end of the spectrum. Forget trying to outsmart the 30 well-paid analysts who work flat-out to understand Cisco or Oracle. I prefer to invest my time where there`s less competition and the rewards of success are greater.

Today`s information playing field is remarkably level. SmartMoney.com and similar Web sites are treasure troves of financial, ownership and stock-performance data. Investor-relations sections at company Web sites add context, offering everything from old press releases to PowerPoint presentations from recent conferences. The pickings can be especially good at neglected firms, which often work harder to communicate.


I`m amazed, too, by conference calls. Securities and Exchange Commission rules mandating equal access to information have made these sessions the preferred form of corporate disclosure. Anyone can listen — for free — either in real time or on a replay. You get the numbers and the nuance. For me, the fewer the participants, the better the call. When a dozen analysts are angling to impress management (or one another), I`m often confused. Fewer questions can make for a clearer message. More good news for fans of neglected stocks.

Back to this month`s table. My neglected stocks (314 in all) contain some familiar names — Dreyer`s Grand, Neiman Marcus, Steelcase. With a heavy sprinkling of banks, retailers and energy companies, the group is also more diversified than the tech-heavy roster of widely followed companies. These neglected stocks are cheaper, too: median price/earnings ratio, 19; price/book ratio, 1.9. That`s the below-market territory where I prefer to shop. Trading volume averages more than 100,000 shares per day. Thin for institutions, but not a problem for most individuals.

I narrowed the field using yardsticks of performance and value. To get a diverse group, I ran my screens using industry medians. In performance terms, the eight stocks in the accompanying table are in the top half of their industries based on five-year revenue and earnings growth. In value terms, they`re in the bottom half based on current price/book and P/E ratios. That`s a combination I like: Neglected . . . but with above-average historical growth and below-average current prices.

Autoliv, based in Sweden, is 40 percent owned by U.S. investors and a leading supplier of automotive airbags. Curtiss-Wright (as in Orville and Wilbur) sells aerospace control systems, mostly to the military. It just hiked its dividend 20 percent and split its shares. Downey, an Orange County, Calif., S&L with lots of low-cost grocery-store branches, is big in adjustable-rate mortgages — which reduce risks for lenders. Interactive Data, meanwhile, provides stock and bond prices to 8,000 institutional customers. Revenue growth is above 10 percent, and margins are expanding.

PolyMedica, which sells medical products via direct mail to senior citizens with diabetes, boasts 30 percent growth. A recent SEC accounting inquiry spooked investors, but the agency has backed down. School Specialty is less controversial. As the largest distributor of school supplies, it`s a low-risk play on increases in education spending. Stewart is the fourth-largest (and fastest-growing) title insurer with data- related sidelines, such as courthouse automation systems. Finally, there`s Thomas Industries, a ho-hum manufacturer of pumps and lighting fixtures that just posted record sales and profits.

I haven`t found a free Web screener that lets you create a list of neglected firms. But earnings estimates at all the big financial sites are organized in a way that makes it easy to see how many analysts cover a particular company. And don`t forget the ultimate advantage of owning a stock that no one follows: If someone does get interested, Wall Street`s initial recommendations are almost always buys.

[betterthantherest]

Ich suche nach Aktien, welche sich betterthantherest entwickeln.

Hier eine kleine Bilanz der Aktien, zu welchen ich mich auf dem WO-Board positiv geäußert habe.

Zuerst Aktien mit eigenen Threads.

Der schwache Dollar hat leider meine Performance in Euro gedrückt, jedoch gehe ich davon aus, dass es sich hierbei nur um ein temporäres Phänomen handelt.


American Home Mortgage Investment Corp (AHH)
Thread vom 29.04.03 eröffnet bei 11,73$, Kurs zuletzt 21,78$.

Polymedica Corp (PLMD)
Thread vom 09.09.03 eröffnet bei 14,80$, Kurs zuletzt 23,15$.

World Acceptance Corp (WRLD)
Thread vom 12.05.03 eröffnet bei 11,17$, Kurs zuletzt 23, 15$.
Mein Einstiegskurs lag sogar bei nur 7,00$.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (FDP)
Thread vom 03.06.03 eröffnet bei 23,58$ Kurs zuletzt 24,16$.

Böwe Systec
Thread vom 17.12.03 eröffnet bei 40,30€, Kurs zuletzt 39,50€
Hier bin ich bereits unter 20,00€ eingestiegen und haben nachgekauft.

Aktien mit positiven Postings:

Bijou Brigitte
Einstiegskurs ca. 10,00€, Kurs am 16.01.2004/ 45,20€.

Ceotronics
Einstiegskurs ca. 1,96€, Kurs am 16.01.2004/ 2,80€.

Eichborn
Einstiegskurs ca. 0,90€, Kurs am 16.01.2004/ 1,00€.
Hier bin ich auf einen grottenschlechten Vorstand hereingefallen.

Kleindienst Datentechnik
Einstiegskurs ca. 2,38€, Kurs am 16.01.2004/ 4,85€.

Neschen
Einstiegskurs ca. 5,19€, Kurs am 16.01.2004/ 4,30€
Hier warte ich noch auf Gewinne.

Wedeco
Hier war ich zwischenzeitlich skeptisch, habe aber durch die Übernahme 37% Gewinn eingefahren.

Ich glaube doch sagen zu können, dass ich mit meinen bisherigen Einschätzungen nicht schlecht gelegen habe.

[betterthantherest]

Polymedica zahlt wieder eine unveränderte Dividende von 0,15$.
Bei einem Wechselkurs von 1,25 ergibt das 0,12€.
Umgekehr wäre es natürlich schöner.

Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Declares Quarterly Dividend
Wednesday January 21, 7:55 am ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend for the fiscal 2004 third quarter of $0.15 per share of PolyMedica common stock. The dividend is payable on February 16, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 5, 2004.

[betterthantherest]

Die Entlassungen könnten im Zusammenhang mit den Ermittlungen der Behörden stehen. Es wäre auch langsam an der Zeit diese endlich abzuschließen.


Medical supplier fires 25 workers

Liberty Medical Supply denies terminated employees` claims that a much larger layoff at the company is planned.

By Chris Kauffmann staff writer
January 22, 2004

PORT ST. LUCIE — Liberty Medical Supply has terminated 25 employees this week in a move described as a "tuning of the business" that coincides with the change in management announced last week.

"This is just a normal review and tuning of the business, which is to be expected with new management," Denise DesChenes, spokeswoman for PolyMedica Corp. (Nasdaq:PLMD), the Woburn, Mass.-based parent of Liberty Medical, said Wednesday.

Advertisement

W. Keith Trowbridge resigned last week after five years as president of the diabetes test provider in order to pursue what he said were other interests.

Stephen Farrell, PolyMedica`s chief financial officer, has assumed Trowbridge`s role at the company, which is St. Lucie County`s largest private employer with about 2,000 employees.

About 20 current and former employees, who either contacted Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers or were contacted by the papers about the layoffs, said this week`s terminations were a first step to a much larger planned layoff. None wanted to be identified publicly.

However, company officials vigorously denied that more layoffs are coming or that the 25 layoffs had anything to do with the ongoing federal investigation into allegations of Medicare fraud at Liberty Medical.

FBI agents raided Liberty Medical`s offices in August 2001, as well as homes belonging to two Liberty Medical employees, carrying off truckloads of documents and computer equipment. Last year, PolyMedica agreed to have its local employees interviewed directly by the U.S. Attorney`s Office.

Separately, PolyMedica announced Wednesday it had declared a cash dividend of 15 cents per share for the third quarter.

[betterthantherest]

PLMD im nachbörslichen Handel

32$.

http://quotes.nasdaq.com/quote.dll?mode=frameset&kind=&symbo…

Vielleicht gibt es gute Nachrichten.

[betterthantherest]

Reuters
UPDATE - PolyMedica net hurt by respiratory unit charge
Thursday February 5, 4:53 pm ET

NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) - PolyMedica Corp. (NasdaqNM:PLMD - News), a marketer of diabetes test kits, on Thursday posted a drop in quarterly profits, citing a charge for its respiratory business due to changes in Medicare reimbursement.

Net income for the fiscal 2004 third quarter fell to $2.2 million, or 8 cents per share, from $10.4 million, or 41 cents, a year ago.

The results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, included a noncash charge of $14 million, or 34 cents a share, to write down the value of the company`s Liberty Respiratory unit and a charge of $3.1 million, or 7 cents, to set aside additional reserves for estimated overpayments by Medicare.

The Woburn, Massachusetts-based company has hired an independent consulting firm to analyze Medicare claims it filed over a 6-year period for a certain category of charges and estimate how much it had been overpaid by the federal insurance plan for the elderly and disabled.

It said preliminary results of the firm`s analysis indicate PolyMedica was overpaid $5.7 million for the unspecified category, which required the additional $3.1 million in reserves during the quarter.

The company said it is conducting an internal review "in parallel" with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the Medicare overcharges.

The company said the consulting firm`s analysis showed its Medicare claims of $12 million for a different category of its products largely during 1999 and 2000 contained documentation that "was consistent with the full quantity shipped and billed." But it said the documentation was not strictly in accordance with Medicare rules.

PolyMedica said it continues to expect net revenues of $108 million to $112 million and diluted earnings per share of 42 cents to 46 cents for the fiscal quarter ending March 31.

[betterthantherest]

Mehr Informationen und Zahlen gibt es unter

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040205/55713_1.html

[betterthantherest]

Wie bereits angekündigt belasten Abschreibungen auf das Atemwegsgeschäft das Ergebnis im 3.Quartal. Hierdurch sinkt der Gewinn auf 0,08$ von 0,41$ im Vergleich zum Vorjahr.

Die Abschreibung bedeutet einen einmaligen Effekt und wirkt sich nicht auf die Cash-Situation des Unternehmens aus.

Der Cashflow verbesserte sich vielmehr von 7,8 Mio. $ auf 14,9 Mio. $.

Der Bargeldbestand und der Bestand an handelbaren Wertpapieren erhöhte sich von 43 Mio. auf 57 Mio. $.

Für CEO Shanaman ein exzellentes Quartal mit neuen Rekorden bei den operativen Leistungen und einer weiter gestärkten Bilanz.

Shanaman weißt auf eigene Anstrengungen hin, die Hintergründe im Zusammenhang mit den behördlichen Untersuchungen aufzuklären. Hierbei wird die Zusammenarbeit mit den Ermittlern hervorgehoben. Er hofft auf eine baldige und zufrieden stellende Lösung.

Für das 4. Quartal werden die Erwartungen von 0,42 bis 0,46$ pro Aktie bestätigt.

Insgesamt gehe ich von weiter steigenden Umsätzen und einer damit einhergehenden Verbesserung der Gewinnsituationen aus.

Das Geschäftskonzept PLMDs ist großartig und zudem noch weiter ausbaufähig.

[betterthantherest]

Den gestrigen Conference Call kann man sich unter

http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/1/38621.html

anhören.

[betterthantherest]

Die Karten werden neu gemischt. Inzwischen wurde das ehemalige Management vollständig ausgetauscht. Der neue Senior Vice President scheint genau der richtige Mann für die anstehenden Aufgaben bei PLMD zu sein.

Shananman spricht von der nächsten Wachstumphase. So etwas höre ich gern.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Names William B. Eck As Senior Vice President And Chief Of Healthcare Affairs
Tuesday February 10, 9:37 am ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) today announced that it has named William B. Eck to the new position of Senior Vice President, Chief of Healthcare Affairs and Deputy General Counsel, effective March 1, 2004.

Eck will have overall responsibility for PolyMedica`s health law compliance matters and for the health law aspects of all strategic transactions. He will report directly to Samuel L. Shanaman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PolyMedica.

Eck is currently an attorney and principal shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, P.A. and chair of its Miami Business Health Group. He is an expert on Medicare regulation, and has over 21 years of experience representing institutional clients in healthcare regulatory, enforcement, compliance and transactional matters.

"Bill has a strong background as a healthcare lawyer and Medicare expert," said Shanaman. "He has an outstanding reputation in this industry, and he has the legal talent and industry knowledge to help guide PolyMedica through the healthcare landscape as we begin our next phase of growth."

"Having worked with PolyMedica in my time at Greenberg Traurig, I have been very impressed by the Company`s commitment to best practices in the regulatory arena and by its strategic opportunities. I am looking forward immensely to working together with Sam and his management team to resolve the issues with the Department of Justice as quickly as possible and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the new Medicare Act and the healthcare marketplace generally," said Eck.

Biography

William B. Eck, 47, is currently an attorney and principal shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, P.A., a national law firm with over 1200 attorneys, where he has practiced law since 1989, representing Medicare Part B suppliers, hospitals and other providers, medical device companies, healthcare delivery systems, long term care companies and managed care organizations. His experience includes representing Part B suppliers and other providers in healthcare regulatory compliance matters, including False Claims Act cases, qui tam cases, OIG investigations, and negotiation and implementation of corporate integrity agreements. In addition, Eck`s practice has focused on the development and implementation of compliance programs and in general compliance and governmental reimbursement advice. He has also represented providers and suppliers in a wide variety of merger and acquisition, and equity and debt financing transactions. Prior to his tenure there, Eck was a partner at the law firm of Mershon Sawyer. He began his career at the law firm of Ross & Hardies.

Eck has published several articles dealing with legal and regulatory health care issues and has frequently lectured on health law. He is a member of the Health Law Section of The Florida Bar and the American Health Lawyers Association, and is Florida Bar Board Certified in Health Law. Eck holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago.

[betterthantherest]

How long is your long-term?
By Mark Hulbert, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:01 AM ET Feb. 10, 2004


Which of the following two hypothetical companies produces more earnings, per dollar invested, over the next five years?

* Firm A, whose earnings are projected to grow 10 percent per year, and whose stock is trading at a price/earnings ratio of 15.
* Firm B, whose earnings are projected to grow 25 percent per year, and whose stock is trading at a P/E ratio of 35.

The answer, believe it or not, is Stock A, according to Steven Check, a value-oriented adviser who edits the Blue Chip Investor newsletter -- and to whom credit goes for this example.

As the first step in appreciating the mathematics behind Check`s example, consider a $100 investment in each of these two companies.

In the case of Firm A, this $100 " purchases" $6.67 of the current year`s earnings (which is just the $100 divided by its P/E ratio). In contrast, because Firm B has a much higher P/E ratio, $100 invested in the company corresponds to just $2.86 of current earnings.

Of course, this $6.67 in earnings at Firm A will be growing at a lower rate than the $2.86 in earnings at Firm B. But even so, five years is not long enough for accumulated earnings of an investment in Firm B to outpace those for Firm A.

In fact, it is not even close.

Accumulated earnings over the next five years of a $100 investment in Firm A will amount to $51.44, in contrast to $32.17 for Firm B.

Which leads to another brainteaser: How long will it take before accumulated earnings of an investment in Firm B outpace an investment in Firm A?

Check`s answer: " It`s not until year 12 that case No. 2`s superior growth allows its accumulated cash earnings to overtake case No. 1`s."

Of course, this example does not automatically imply that Firm B is an inferior investment to Firm A. But several other things must fall into place in order for Firm B to be a better investment.

One big prerequisite for Firm B is that its earnings actually grow this fast, and not just for a year or two but for a dozen years. The odds of that occurring are next to zero, according to Josef Lakonishok, a finance professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lakonishok and two co-researchers reached this conclusion by measuring how many publicly traded companies between 1951 and 1997 had their earnings grow at above the median rate for several years in a row.

Since, over time, the median growth rate in earnings is less than 10 percent per year, the researchers were imposing a relatively modest requirement, especially compared to Firm B in Check`s example, whose earnings are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 25 percent.

Nonetheless, Lakonishok and his fellow researchers found that it was extremely rare for companies to grow this fast for five or more years in a row. (Their study appeared last April in the Journal of Finance.)

The other obstacle in the way of performing well with an investment in Check`s hypothetical Firm B has to do with the typical investor`s holding period. If that is just a couple of years or less, which is average, then most investors will not be investing in the company for long enough that its superior growth rate makes up for its sky-high P/E ratio.

To put this argument another way: For a short-term investment in Firm B to work out, investors must rely on its P/E ratio staying high. But that`s a far different kind of gamble than investing in the company`s earnings.

Check writes: " If you talked to money managers that pay 35 times earnings for stocks, they`d tell you they`re buying into the company`s long-term growth prospects. Ironically, these same money managers usually have a stock holding periods averaging less than two or three years."

Not surprisingly, the companies that Check prefers are those that are trading for P/E ratios that are much lower than those of Firm B in his example. For example, here are the 11 companies that he has added to his model portfolio over the last 12 months:

[betterthantherest]

http://www.quicken.com/investments/strategies/?p=PLMD&strate…

[betterthantherest]

http://www.quicken.com/investments/strategies/?p=PLMD&strate…

[betterthantherest]

Ich denke die Kunden werden PLMD nicht ausgehen. Die fetten Amis werden über kurz oder lang Zuckerkrank und somit potenzielle Kunden.



Liberty Medical Taps Rapp Collins

March 31, 2004

By: Mickey Alam Khan
Senior Editor
[e-mail]

Liberty Medical Supply Inc., a direct-to-consumer Medicare provider of diabetes testing supplies, medicine and management products, named Rapp Collins Worldwide, New York, to run a direct response television ad campaign, among other direct marketing efforts.
The agency`s direct work will support Liberty Medical`s current TV ads featuring actor Wilford Brimley. It also is charged with conducting a market evaluation and developing a plan to expand the client`s diabetes market segments.

As support, Rapp Collins will use fellow Omnicom Group Inc. shops OMD for media services and Porter Novelli North America for public relations work on the account. Spend on direct marketing was not disclosed. But Liberty Medical has a total marketing budget of $55 million.

Founded in 1989, Liberty Medical was bought seven years later by PolyMedica Corp., a medical products and services company.

Appointing a new direct marketing agency along with PR support is meant to achieve two objectives for Liberty Medical. One is to target its current customer base of Medicare seniors with a new DRTV spot. The other is to extend its marketing footprint to diabetes patients in other market segments.

In the past 15 years, Liberty Medical has home-delivered health products to more than 1 million customers.

[betterthantherest]

Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Declares Quarterly Dividend
Wednesday April 7, 4:05 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend for the fiscal 2004 fourth quarter of $0.15 per share of PolyMedica common stock. The dividend is payable on May 17, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 5, 2004.

[Mannerl]

es ist eigentlich gerechter die Dividenen vierteljährich auszubezahlen als jährlich!
Aufwand ist wahrscheinlich bedeutend höher!

[betterthantherest]

Ich habe Aktien von einer amrikanischen Versicherung und die schütten gerade mal 0,02$ pro Aktie aus, obwohl diese über 35,00$ notiert. Da finde ich es Schwachsinn, überhaupt etwas auszuschütten. Ein gewisses Verhältnis zum Kurs sollte schon gegeben sein.

Bei PLMD wurde die Dividende in der letzten Zeit mehrfach erhöht und ich denke es wird so weitergehen.

[betterthantherest]

THE STOCKPICKERS
Muscle building
Armada fund manager likes Harsco, PolyMedica, Cott
By Gregory Robb, CBS Marketwatch.com
Last Update: 12:03 AM ET April 20, 2004

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Richard Giesen looks for small-cap stocks that pack a big punch.

"The fact that they are small-cap should not fool investors into thinking that they have a very small influence on their markets," said Giesen, co-manager of the Armada Small Cap Value fund (AMRIX: news, chart, profile).

"What excites me about these companies is yes, they are relatively unknown," Giesen added, "but look at what kind of dominance and size they possess within their respective markets."

Armada Small Cap Value is no lightweight itself, with assets of about $885 million. The no-load fund`s 51 percent gain in the last year trails its small-cap value peers by about 3 percentage points, fund research firm Lipper reports.

The underperformance is due to "the dash for trash" in the market over the past year as investors snapped up tiny companies with no earnings history, Giesen said. Companies without earnings represented 9 percentage points of the 46 percent gain in the Russell 2000 index in 2003, he noted.

"We are very happy with the performance," Giesen said of the fund. "We are not going to change our discipline."

At the top of Giesen`s fight card is Harsco (HSC: news, chart, profile). One part of the company`s business provides essential services to the steel industry. "It is a play on the increase in the production levels, not the commodity," Giesen said.

Shares of Harsco closed Monday at $45.17, up 8 cents.

Another scrappy company is PolyMedica Industries (PLMD: news, chart, profile), which is the largest supplier of diabetic materials in the U.S. under the Liberty Medical brand.

"There are a lot of tail winds that will help the company grow its franchise," Giesen said. Cases of diabetes are multiplying, he added, and obesity at a younger age is becoming more prevalent.

Shares of PolyMedica Industries gained 37 cents on Monday to close at $27.58.

Cott Corp (COT: news, chart, profile), the largest private-label soft drink manufacturer in North America, is also among Giesen`s favorites. The company supplies several retailing giants, including Wal-Mart Stores.

"This company is rising on the coattails of the expansion of its largest retail accounts," Giesen said.

Shares of Cott Corp closed Monday at $29.65, up 25 cents.
Armada Small Cap Value (AMRIX)

[betterthantherest]

Mr. Pyle dürfte eine echte Bereicherung für PLMD darstellen. Morgen soll es neue Zahlen geben.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

Thomas O. Pyle Joins PolyMedica`s Board of Directors
Monday May 24, 1:46 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation today announced the appointment of Thomas O. Pyle to its Board of Directors. Pyle has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare field, having served as Chief Executive Officer of both Harvard Community Health Plan (HCHP) and MetLife HealthCare. He joins PolyMedica`s Board as an outside director and will serve on the Audit and Compensation Committees.

"We are very pleased to add Tom to the Company`s Board of Directors," said PolyMedica Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Samuel L. Shanaman. "Tom`s experience is virtually unmatched in our industry, and he will bring a wealth of new knowledge and insight to the Board. His industry perspective will be vital to PolyMedica, as the Company continues to grow and explore new strategic initiatives. Additionally, Tom`s expertise in the health policy field will be an extremely valuable asset to the Company."

Pyle built HCHP into one of the nation`s largest non-profit healthcare organizations. Its membership was 18,000 when he joined HCHP in 1972, and during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer from 1978 to 1991 the plan grew from 80,000 to 525,000 members. In 1993, Pyle became Chief Executive Officer of MetLife HealthCare and oversaw the combination of the MetLife insurance business with that of Travelers, creating METRA, then the largest company in healthcare with approximately $15 billion in sales.

"I`m looking forward to serving on the PolyMedica Board and working with its accomplished group of directors and leadership team. PolyMedica is an exciting company with a great deal of potential. I`m confident I can help PolyMedica in its continued growth and as it navigates our increasingly complex healthcare environment."

Pyle, 64, also has significant experience in the field of health policy, having served on the President`s Task Force on Healthcare Reform, and as Chairman of the Jackson Hole Group and the national and Massachusetts HMO trade organizations.

Pyle has served as a director of numerous public companies. He is a former board member of Lincare Holdings, Millipore Corporation, AMISYS Health Systems Inc., UniLab Corporation, and KBL Healthcare Acquisition Corporation. He currently serves as a director of Mykrolis Corporation. He has also sat on the boards of several private and non-profit groups, including Medical Education for South African Blacks, Pioneer Institute, eMed Technologies, and Chickering Group. In addition, he was the founding chairman of Controlled Risk Insurance Co., the malpractice insurance company that insures all of the Harvard Medical School faculty and the Harvard-affiliated medical institutions.

Pyle holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

[betterthantherest]

15% Gewinnanstieg im Vergleich zum Vorjahresquartal sind doch schon mal nicht schlecht.

Reuters
Polymedica 4th quarter net rises
Wednesday May 26, 4:14 pm ET

NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - PolyMedica Corp. (NasdaqNM:PLMD - News), marketer of diabetes test kits, on Wednesday reported higher fourth-quarter profits.

Fourth-quarter net income increased to $12.6 million, or 47 cents per share, during the fourth quarter ended March 31 from $10.9 million, or 43 cents per share, a year ago.

The company also said it expects net revenue of $109 million to $114 million and diluted earnings per share of 45 cents to 49 cents for the first quarter ending June 30, 2004.

[betterthantherest]

Die Dividende bleibt unverändert bei 0,15$.

Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Declares Quarterly Dividend
Tuesday July 13, 2:30 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend for the fiscal 2005 first quarter of $0.15 per share of PolyMedica common stock. The dividend is payable on August 16, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 5, 2004.

[Mannerl]

gehört zwar nicht ganz hier her!

wieso wird eigentlich in den USA die Dividende 4mal im Jahr ausgeschüttet und bei uns nicht?

Eigentlich ist es zwar für den Aktienbesitzer vorteilhafter,aber für die Firma müßte es doch mit mehr kosten verbunden sein!

was übersehen?

[betterthantherest]

Das mit den Kosten stimmt. Deshalb hat McDonalds auf halbjährliche Zahlung umgestellt.

Ich denke in Amerika dient die Aktie, im Gegensatz zu Deutschland, verstärkt auch als Altervorsorge. Aus diesem Grund nehme ich an, hat man sich auf eine vierteljährige Ausschüttung verständigt, um einen auf das ganze Jahr verteilten Geldfluss zu erreichen.

Würde ich ausschließlich von meinen Dividenden leben müssen, so wäre mir eine vierteljährige Auszahlung auch lieber.

[betterthantherest]

Ich bin ja schon mal auf die neuen Zahlen gespannt. Da die Belastungen für Abschreibungen auf das Atemwegsgeschäft wegfallen, sollten diese nicht allzu schlecht sein. Ein Ende der Ermittlungen der DOJ ist immer noch nicht abzusehen und das nach drei Jahren. Das erstaunt mich inzwischen doch schon sehr.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica To Report First Quarter Fiscal 2005 Results On July 27, 2004
Thursday July 15, 2:30 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 15, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) will announce its First Quarter Fiscal 2005 Financial Results for the period ended June 30, 2004 on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 after the market closes. The Company will hold a conference call and live webcast later that afternoon at 4:30 p.m., EDT.

WHAT: PolyMedica Conference Call to Discuss First Quarter Fiscal
2005 Results (for the period ended June 30, 2004)

WHEN: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 at 4:30 p.m. (EDT)

LIVE WEBCAST: Available on www.polymedica.com and
www.fulldisclosure.com

REPLAY: Available for 90 days after the call at www.polymedica.com
and www.fulldisclosure.com

[Mannerl]

hier ein Bericht über das "Kranksein" in den USA!
Ich denke man kann ihn auch hier her posten, den jeder liest ja nicht die SZ!

MFG
Mannerl
...

Medikamentenpreise

Das Risiko trägt der Patient


Der Arzneimittelumsatz pro Kopf der Bevölkerung ist mit mehr als 700 Dollar pro Jahr rund dreimal so hoch wie in den meisten EU-Staaten.

Amerikanische Patienten profitieren allerdings von relativ billigen Generika, der kostengünstigen Nachahmung lang bewährter Medikamente. Ihre Preise sind oft niedriger als in Europa.

In den EU-Staaten wirken vielfältige staatliche Auflagen und Festbeträge der Krankenkassen kostentreibend. Dagegen sorgt ein harter Wettbewerb zwischen kleineren Generikaherstellern in den USA für niedrige Preise.

Allerdings ist der Marktanteil von Generika in den USA mit zwölf Prozent deutlich niedriger als zum Beispiel in Deutschland mit 17 Prozent.

Nach Meinung von Kritikern setzen die großen US-Pharmakonzerne alles daran, dass dieser Anteil möglichst klein bleibt. Denn das große Geld lässt sich nur mit neuen, vor allem auch so genannten Life-Style-Präparaten machen.



...und die Dicken
Dabei geht es nicht so sehr um die Bekämpfung lebensbedrohlicher Krankheiten, sondern um Leiden, die eher eine Folge der ungesunden Lebensweise sind, wie Bluthochdruck und Fettleibigkeit.

Der Cholesterinsenker Lipitor von Pfizer ist zum Beispiel mit einem Jahresumsatz von neun Milliarden Dollar das weltweit umsatzstärkste Medikament.

Um die hohen Preise zu umgehen, bestellen immer mehr US-Bürger ihre Medikamente im Nachbarland Kanada. Die Einfuhr ist eigentlich illegal, doch sie wird sogar von vielen Bundesstaaten gefördert, die sich davon eine Senkung ihrer Zuschüsse für die Gesundheitsversorgung von Senioren erhoffen.

Die US-Pharmaindustrie protestiert dagegen heftig und versucht mit allen Mitteln, eine Gesetzesinitiative im Kongress zur Liberalisierung dieses Handels zu verhindern.

(SZ vom 19.7.2004

[betterthantherest]

Was ich immer sage.

Kapitalismus bedeutet freier Handel und das senkt die Preise.

Anderseits muss die Entwicklung neuer Medikamente durch entsprechende Gewinne belohnt werden, da die Forschung sonst zum erliegen käme.

[Mannerl]

ganz schön gegrillt gestern!

[betterthantherest]

Heute nach Börsenschluss gibt es die Zahlen zum ersten Quartal. Hoffentlich waren das keine Insider, die auf Grund schlechter Zahlen verkauft haben. Wäre aber auch arg offensichtlich.

Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass hier immer noch sehr viele Shortverkäufer engagiert sind und versuchen im Vorfeld der Zahlen den Kurs zu drücken.

Erfreulich wäre es, wenn endlich die Einstellung der Ermittlungen vermeldet werden könnte. Das würde den Aktiekurs vermutlich nach oben katapultieren.

[betterthantherest]

Net income plus 24%.

Da die Anzahl der Aktien um 8,6% zugenommen hat, steigt der Gewinn pro Aktie nur um 13,6%. Ich denke aber, das kann sich immer noch sehen lassen.

[betterthantherest]

Ich hätte nicht erwartet eine Kaufempfehlung zu PLMD in deutscher Sprache zu finden, wobei ich die Aktie derzeit als zu teuer betrachte. Man sollte lieber auf Rückschläge warten. Die gab es in der Vergangenheit ja oft genug.


19.08.2004 16:48:
Update PolyMedica Corp.: Buy

Die Analysten von Jefferies & Co bewerten in ihrer Analyse vom Donnerstag, 19. August 2004 die Aktie von PolyMedica (Nachrichten) neu mit dem Rating "Buy". Das Kursziel für die Aktie liegt momentan bei 34 $.

[betterthantherest]

The fall and rise of Liberty Medical
By Lori Becker

Sunday, August 22, 2004

PORT ST. LUCIE — In the past three years, Liberty Medical Supply Inc. has nearly doubled its revenues, payroll and customer base — all while under federal investigation for Medicare fraud.

The nation`s largest supplier of diabetes-testing supplies, Liberty dominates its market, serving more than 640,000 Medicare-eligible senior citizens.

"It hasn`t impacted our ability to grow," Liberty President Stephen Farrell said of the federal investigation still looming over St. Lucie County`s largest private employer.

"We have great people. We`re making a difference in the lives of seniors, and our customers are rewarding us by coming back. We are a more successful company than we were in 2001."

Three years ago Saturday, 85 FBI agents began a two-day raid of Liberty`s four Treasure Coast offices and two executives` homes, seizing thousands of documents and computers as they looked for evidence of Medicare fraud. Three weeks later, terrorists struck New York City and Washington, and the Liberty investigations were shelved.

The federal probe is still open. Investigators have said little since and remain tight-lipped.

"All I can really say is it`s pending," Judy Orihuela, an FBI spokeswoman in Miami, said last week.

Similar responses came from the U.S. Attorney`s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Department of Health and Human Services` Office of the Inspector General — who are all part of civil and criminal investigations into Liberty on allegations of health care fraud, improper revenue recognition and obstruction of justice, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Liberty`s owner, PolyMedica Corp.

PolyMedica, of Woburn, Mass., has said repeatedly that it is cooperating with investigators, but company officials are equally vague on the status of the probe.

"PolyMedica is having a constructive, ongoing dialogue with the government agencies involved in the investigation, and the company believes that all parties are working toward a resolution of the investigation as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement last week.

Based on its own review, PolyMedica said it owes Medicare $5.7 million for claims filed between 1997 and 2003. The company has set aside this amount as it waits on the outcome of the government`s investigation.

"During this six-year period, we processed almost a billion dollars of claims to Medicare, so the amount in question is just over half of a percent of those billings," PolyMedica Chief Executive Officer Samuel Shanaman said in a conference call with investors in February. "We have found no evidence of a systemic plan to overbill Medicare."

Claims handled manually

An independent consulting firm, hired in early 2003 to analyze Liberty`s Medicare claims, turned up the overpayments. The company fills customers` orders based on verbal requests from doctors` offices. Written orders are received later and sometimes differ.

Until early 2000, Liberty employees had to manually check the written orders against the original verbal requests, and sometimes discrepancies between the two were missed, company officials said. The system is now computerized.

"We work hard every day to do the right thing. We`re not perfect, but we try to be," said Farrell, 38, who took the helm in January after Keith Trowbridge stepped down. (The company has made several changes in its top leadership since the probes began.)

The internal review, completed in June and shared with federal investigators, also pointed to claims filed in 1999 and 2000 in which the company`s shipment records didn`t strictly follow Medicare rules. The amount at issue is $12 million, but the company stands behind its methods and has not put any money in its reserves to address these claims.

Analysts say the internal review results were welcome news on Wall Street, finally answering some questions about the company`s liability.

"It shows, that in terms of magnitude, it was not really huge," said Robert Wasserman, research director with Fort Lauderdale-based Dawson James Securities. "But I don`t think the Street is taking that to the bank. They`re going to wait and see what the FBI says."

The government agencies opened the probe into the company in June 1999, government documents show. The SEC also launched an investigation of PolyMedica in December 2001, reviewing the company`s public disclosures, financial reports and accounting practices. Five months later, the SEC closed the investigation without taking any disciplinary action, Liberty officials said.

While all these investigations have been swirling around PolyMedica, Liberty`s business has been booming as the number of Americans with diabetes climbs to 18.2 million.

"Diabetics don`t care if the company they`re buying their supplies from is accused of fraud by the federal government," said Sharon di Stefano, research director for Wall Street`s Sky Capital LLC. "Every quarter, they post better and better earnings. Investors realize that it`s a cash cow for them at this point."

PolyMedica`s earnings were up 24 percent last quarter, starting out the 2005 fiscal year at $13.8 million. Revenues were $111 million for the quarter, a 12 percent increase over 2004`s first quarter.

For the 2004 fiscal year, PolyMedica brought in nearly $423 million, a 92 percent increase from its 2001 revenues of $220 million. Also during that time since the FBI raid, the company`s customer base has jumped from 389,000 to 690,000, and its number of full-time employees has climbed from 1,077 to 1,919, the company said.

Liberty`s mail-order diabetes supply business is PolyMedica`s biggest moneymaker, bringing in $78 million last quarter. The company makes most of its money on testing strips used by diabetics to monitor their blood sugar.

Liberty attributes much of its success to national TV ads featuring actor Wilford Brimley. The company plans to spend $50 million this year on the campaign, said Peter McKenzie, Liberty`s chief operating officer.

"If you`re a senior with diabetes, you know who is Liberty is," McKenzie said.

PolyMedica`s Liberty Healthcare Group also sells respiratory medications and supplies to about 65,000 customers suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. And the company sells prescription drugs to its existing diabetes and respiratory customers through its pharmacy segment.

However, the company is scaling back its respiratory business after Medicare reduced its reimbursement rates for those medications in January. Revenues for Liberty Respiratory were down 20 percent to $15.8 million last quarter, and company officials said Liberty will exit the business if the federal rules don`t change.

PolyMedica bought Liberty from founder Mark Libratore in 1996. The company`s payroll has been steadily climbing since it moved its headquarters, and 400 employees, from Palm City to Port St. Lucie in May 2000.

In December of that year, a month after news of the federal fraud allegations first surfaced in Barron`s magazine, the company announced plans to double its workforce over the next two years and create a four-building complex along U.S. 1 just north of Port St. Lucie Boulevard.

The company has since opened a 72,000-square-foot diabetes supplies facility, a 59,000-square-foot distribution center, a 64,000-square-foot respiratory supplies facility and a 120,000-square-foot building for its pharmacy business.

Liberty`s call center, with enough phone lines for a small city, handles more than 20,000 calls a day from customers. The distribution center ships products to more than 150,000 customers a month, McKenzie said.

Liberty employees, not including its executives, make an average of $11.83 an hour, McKenzie said. Entry-level employees start at $8.50 an hour plus incentives.

"They do a terrific job of bringing people in and training them," said Don Root, executive director of St. Lucie County`s Economic Development Council. "They have nice facilities, good benefits, and they pay well. I couldn`t ask for a much better employer."

Stock price suffers

While the federal probe has apparently not held back Liberty`s operations, it has hit the company`s stock price, said di Stefano, one of several analysts who say PolyMedica`s stock is undervalued.

Trading around $29.50 last week, PolyMedica stock has been volatile over the past few years, jumping and falling as news of the various investigations surfaced. In general, the company`s stock has been on an upward climb since late 2002.

"It should be a $40 stock," di Stefano said.

As the investigations linger, however, Wall Street has less fear Liberty will be nailed for fraud, Wasserman said.

"Medicare reimbursement, it`s not an easy thing. It`s more art than science," he said. "You`re seeing this more in the health care sector. These overpayments are not fraud. They were just mistakes.

"I don`t think, given what`s happening, that fraud is going to be an outcome of the investigation. Yes, the FBI is looking at their operations, but the operations continue. If they were really doing something wrong, the government would have come in and shut them down."

Some investors, however, aren`t hedging that bet.

"If it remains pending indefinitely, that`s uncertainty and uncertainty casts a shroud on the stock," di Stefano said. "Investors don`t like uncertainty. They want to know something, whether it`s positive or negative."

Until then, Liberty is planning more expansions. The company`s next steps are widening its market beyond senior citizens to reach diabetics of all ages, and then diversifying its operations beyond the diabetes sector, Farrell said.

"We expect to continue to grow our presence in this area," he said. "The results have been terrific. What we`ll never know is, could they have been even better."

[Mannerl]

warum findest Du diese Firma überbewertet?

[betterthantherest]

Na ja, vielleicht nicht gerade überbewertet, aber eine anständige Sicherheitsmarge sollte schon drin sein.

Es kommen ja doch immer wieder Gelegenheiten noch günstiger einzusteigen.

Es gilt nach wie vor, im Einkauf liegt der Gewinn.

[betterthantherest]

Glück muss man haben. Der Hurricane Frances hat PLMD weitestgehend verschont.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica`s Facilities in Port St. Lucie, Florida Withstand Hurricane Frances
Tuesday September 7, 2:15 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) today announced that its Liberty facilities in Port St. Lucie, Florida suffered only minor damage from Hurricane Frances over the Labor Day weekend. As of Tuesday morning, all of the Company`s facilities in Florida have power and are operating. However, the surrounding community sustained significant damage, and many of the Company`s employees are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm and have not yet been able to return to work. The Company expects to be at full operating capacity by the end of the week.

Samuel L. Shanaman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "This has been a difficult period for much of Florida, and our thoughts go out to those who have been affected by the storm. I am proud that our employees are working hard through this period to provide the medical supplies our customers need."

[betterthantherest]

Wenn es in Deutschland schon so schlimm ist, wie sieht es dann erst in den USA aus.

Somit beste Voraussetzungen für Polymedica.


Diabetiker-Tag
Zuckerkranke immer jünger

| 18.09.04 |
Auf acht Millionen wird die Zahl der Diabetiker in Deutschland inzwischen geschätzt, der Anteil junger Kranker steigt. Schuld sind falsche Lebensgewohnheiten.

Die Volkskrankheit Diabetes droht in Deutschland in eine Epidemie auszuarten. Schon jeder zehnte Bundesbürger hat zu hohe Blutzuckerwerte. Als Ursache nennen Fachleute vor allem eine „Amerikanisierung“ der Lebensgewohnheiten: zu viel ungesundes Essen kombiniert mit mangelnder Bewegung. Der Deutsche Diabetikerbund, der an diesem Samstag in Kassel den Deutschen Diabetikertag organisiert, fordert daher, Diabetes-Fachärzte auszubilden. Außerdem befürworten viele Experten Aufklärungskampagnen, die vor allem der steigenden Zahl junger Zuckerkranker Rechnung tragen.

90 Prozent aller Zuckerkranken leiden am Typ-2-Diabetes, auch Altersdiabetes genannt. Die Bauchspeicheldrüse reagiert auf Überernährung mit ständig höherer Produktion von Insulin, das der Körper für die Nährstoffverwertung benötigt. Irgendwann brechen aber die natürliche Insulinausschüttung und damit ein ausgeglichener Blutzuckerspiegel zusammen. Der Betroffene braucht Insulin von außen.
Der viel seltenere Typ-1-Diabetes ist eine angeborene Stoffwechselstörung. Das körpereigene Abwehrsystem zerstört die insulinproduzierenden Zellen in der Bauchspeicheldrüse. Dieser Diabetes beginnt meist schon im Jugendalter. Die Betroffenen müssen ein Leben lang fremdes Insulin spritzen.

„Viele nehmen Diabetes nicht allzu ernst“, sagt Monika Toeller vom Deutschen Diabetes-Forschungsinstitut in Düsseldorf. „Es ist erschreckend, wie viele übergewichtige Kinder und Jugendliche einem begegnen, die kaum mehr in ihre Jeans passen.“ Früher habe Altersdiabetes Menschen ab 60 getroffen, inzwischen werde die Zuckerkrankheit bei 30-Jährigen diagnostiziert. „Wir müssen Wege finden, die junge Generation anzusprechen“, sagt Toeller. „Wir brauchen im ganzen Land eine Kampagne, sonst werden wir dem nicht mehr Herr.“

„Mangelnde Bewegung und Überernährung sind die Hauptursachen von Diabetes“, sagt auch der Sprecher der Deutschen Diabetes-Gesellschaft, Prof. Peter Bottermann. Die beste Vorbeugung sei mehr Bewegung im Alltag. „Meiden Sie Fahrstühle und Rolltreppen oder steigen Sie eine Haltestelle früher aus der U-Bahn aus.“ Während der Mensch von seiner Konstruktion her darauf ausgelegt sei, rund fünf Kilometer täglich zu laufen, bewege sich der Bundesbürger im Durchschnitt gerade mal 400 Meter am Tag zu Fuß.

Experten bemängeln aber nicht nur das individuelle Verhalten. Sie stellen auch große Defizite in Diagnose und Therapie fest. „Diabetes wird zu spät erkannt, und es wird zu lange mit einer ordentlichen Medikation gewartet“, sagt der Bundesvorsitzende des Deutschen Diabetiker Bundes, Volker Krempel. „Wir wollen die Facharztbezeichnung des Diabetologen.“ An diese Spezialisten sollten sich Zuckerkranke gezielt wenden können. Kempel meint auch, dass man nicht nur auf künftige neue Therapieformen hoffen sollte. „Wir haben bereits sehr gute Möglichkeiten.“ Notwendig sei jedoch, die Ernährungserziehung der Kinder zu ändern.

Um dem Diabetes Einhalt zu gebieten, fordern die Experten eine offensivere Aufklärung. In diesem Herbst sei die Schaffung eines nationalen Aktionsforums geplant, sagt Krempel. „Wir müssen weg aus dieser Ecke, wo keiner sich traut zu sagen, ich habe Diabetes.“ Die Aufklärung müsse bereits im Kindergarten und in der Schule beginnen.

Quelle: dpa

[Mannerl]

seit ich mich mit "Deiner" Firma Fresh Del Monte auseinandersetze esse ich wieder viel mehr Obst!
Vor allem Ananas!
hat zwar nichts mit PLMD zu tun, aber ist dafür gesund!

[Mannerl]

PolyMedica Declares Quarterly Dividend


WOBURN, Mass., Oct 18, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- PolyMedica Corporation (NNM:
PLMD) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend
for its fiscal 2005 second quarter of $0.15 per share of PolyMedica common
stock. The dividend is payable on November 15, 2004 to shareholders of record at
the close of business on November 5, 2004.

About PolyMedica (www.polymedica.com)

PolyMedica is a rapidly growing national medical products company. The Company
is best known through its Liberty brand name and innovative direct-to-consumer
television advertising to seniors with diabetes. Building on its
technology-based operating platform and compliance management focus, PolyMedica
continues to expand its product offerings to individuals with chronic diseases.

[betterthantherest]

Das mit den Ermittlungen des DOJ hat sich damit wohl erledigt.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Reaches Tentative Settlement with Department of Justice in Previously Announced Medicare Investigation
Wednesday November 3, 4:49 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) today announced that it has reached a tentative settlement of the previously disclosed Department of Justice investigation into the Company`s Medicare practices, subject to completion of negotiation and approval of a settlement agreement and corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Justice and Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Company admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlement and would make a single payment of $35 million to the U.S. Government. The Company is continuing to negotiate the terms of the settlement and corporate integrity agreements, and believes it will successfully negotiate the documentation required for a $35 million settlement.

Separately, based on discussions with the U.S. Attorney`s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Company anticipates that the U.S. Attorney`s Office will not bring criminal charges against the Company.

Samuel L. Shanaman, PolyMedica`s Chairman, said, "It`s important to note that the agreements are still being negotiated and are subject to final approval by the OIG and DOJ. We accepted this settlement amount in an effort to reach a comprehensive settlement quickly and to avoid any further disruption, delay, uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of protracted litigation of this matter. Over the past three years, the Company has committed itself to cooperating fully and openly with the Government`s investigation. Throughout this period we have worked with the Government to review our programs and policies as they relate to billing and claims documentation. Our goal is always to provide a high quality service to our patients and manage the administrative and billing components of the business appropriately. The Company now has in place a comprehensive compliance program that we believe could serve as a standard for the industry."

Commenting on the tentative settlement, Patrick Ryan, the Company`s recently appointed CEO, said, "We felt it was important to provide our shareholders with a progress update. While the final agreements are still being negotiated, we believe that they will be approved by the OIG and DOJ. It is important for the Company and for our investors to put this matter behind us, so that we can focus all our energies on serving our patients and continuing to grow and develop our business."

After consideration of amounts previously accrued, the Company will record a pre-tax charge of approximately $30 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2004 to fully reserve for the tentative settlement and the remaining settlement-related costs the Company expects to incur. After tax, the charge will amount to approximately $19 million, or about $0.68 per diluted share. The Company had previously established a $5.7 million reserve for estimated overpayments by Medicare.

[betterthantherest]

Das Ergebnis wurde lediglich durch außergewöhnliche Ereignisse belastet. Die Wachstumsgeschichte geht somit weiter.


Press Release Source: PolyMedica Corporation

PolyMedica Announces Results for Fiscal 2005 Second Quarter Ended September 30, 2004
Wednesday November 3, 4:51 pm ET

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2004--PolyMedica Corporation (NNM: PLMD - News) today announced its financial results for the fiscal 2005 second quarter ended September 30, 2004. The Company`s financial results for the September quarter were negatively affected by the $30 million pre-tax charge taken by the Company in connection with the tentative settlement of the Department of Justice investigation (see separate release), as well as by the September hurricanes, which damaged the Company`s Florida-based Liberty facilities and the surrounding community.

Net revenues for the fiscal 2005 second quarter were $111.5 million, a 5.9% increase compared to $105.2 million for the fiscal 2004 second quarter. The net loss for the quarter was $7.1 million, compared to net income of $12.1 million in the fiscal 2004 second quarter. Net loss per share for the fiscal 2005 second quarter was $0.26, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.47 for the fiscal 2004 second quarter. Cash flow from operations was $21.0 million for the fiscal 2005 second quarter, a 50.7% increase over $13.9 million in the fiscal 2004 second quarter.

Commenting on the financial results for the quarter, President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Ryan said, "We lost approximately $3.6 million in revenues at the end of the quarter as a result of the disruption caused by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. In addition, we incurred approximately $1.5 million of expenses to give our employees some financial relief and to provide for the repair of our facilities." Ryan added, "I could not be more proud of the way our managers and employees responded to the considerable professional and personal challenges they faced in the aftermath of the storms. All of our employees have worked hard to restore operations to normal, and to respond to our patients` needs during the recovery process."

Guidance

The Company expects to report net revenues of $113 - $118 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.48 - $0.54 for the fiscal 2005 third quarter ending December 31, 2004. Commenting on the Company`s third quarter guidance, Patrick Ryan said, "Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne cost us much of our growth in the September quarter. However, our operations have been restored to normal, and we are back on track."

[betterthantherest]

Zufall ist das nicht mehr.

1-Dec-04 Price hit new 52-week high ($36.89)
18-Nov-04 Price hit new 52-week low ($33.99)

[betterthantherest]

Deal puts Liberty Medical on track
By Nadia Gergis
staff writer
January 6, 2005

PolyMedica Corp., parent company of Port St. Lucie-based Liberty Medical Supply and Liberty Home Pharmacy, is relieved to be planning to market its medical supplies to managed health-care and disease management organizations.

A recent settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services puts the company back on track, its leader say.

"You can say that it`s been a very eventful year, and we are pleased that the settlement is over with," said Skip Croninger, chief financial officer for the Woburn, Mass.-based medical supplier. "From a marketing perspective, it sets the stage for us to penetrate new markets in addition to our direct to consumer base."

In November 2004, the diabetes-test provider`s parent company agreed to settle a five-year federal investigation of the company`s billing practices with the U.S. Department of Justice. The government had been investigating the company since 1999 on allegations of Medicare fraud. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, Liberty Medical Supply and Liberty Home Pharmacy violated the False Claims Act when the company submitted claims for reimbursement to the Medicare program for various diabetic and nebulizer products. Under the settlement, Liberty agreed to pay $35 million to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and admitted no wrongdoing.

The U.S. Attorney`s Office agreed to bring no criminal charges against the company.

The investigation was prompted by a former employee of Liberty Medical Supply who filed whistle-blower action under the False Claims Act. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a part of any settlement with the government.

Even after the settlement was reached, the New York-based Jefferies Group, a global investment bank and institutional securities firm, still downgraded Polymedica`s stock in December.

"We felt they still had the opportunity to expand," said Arthur Henderson, senior equity research analyst for the Jefferies Group. "It was a huge positive for the company to resolve that issue (the investigation) and we felt very encouraged by that but now it`s more like a `now what` kind of thing."

In August 2001, about 90 federal agents raided the Port St. Lucie offices and homes of two Liberty Medical employees, seizing company documents and computer equipment. In January 2004, W. Keith Trowbridge resigned after five years as president as the company fired 25 employees.

Throughout the investigation and layoffs, Liberty continued to expand its offices and facilities in Port St. Lucie.

"We recently completed our multi-year expansion and spent roughly over $50 million on that, we now have about 300,000-square-foot of space there," Croninger said. "We don`t expect any layoffs and will continue to expand next year."