Now vs Then


A Massachusetts jury in May ruled in favor of Altria Group (NYSE: MO) formerly known as Philip Morris, in a case brought against the cigarette maker in 2001. Plaintiffs alleged that Virginia-based Altria’s cigarettes were defective and unreasonably dangerous. Altria’s stock went on a tear in May, hitting a 52-week high of $28.13 on May 31, the third time it had done so in a month. As of late May, the stock had gained 13.5 percent for the year.

Pharmaceutical firm Allergan (NYSE: AGN) is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to approve the company’s LAP-BAND gastric weight loss device for patients as young as 14 years. The California-based company’s first-quarter profits fell 6 percent to $158.3 million due to a one time-cost related to collaboration with MAP Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ: MAPP) on a migraine drug. Allergan’s revenue rose 10 percent to $1.27 billion in the first three months of the year. Analysts forecast the company to book a profit of $0.92 per share and $1.31 billion in revenue in the second quarter.

Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON), the world’s fifth-largest manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging products saw first-quarter sales rise 19 percent to $1.12 billion. The growth in revenue was driven by volume growth and the presence of six additional days in the quarter. The South Carolina-based company expects second-quarter performance to pick up on the back of higher productivity in the tubes and cores/paper segment

OmniVision Technologies (NSDQ: OVTI) said its fourth-quarter net income after paying preferred dividends soared to $34 million from $3.5 million the previous year.  The Calilfornia-based company produces camera sensors used in Apple’s (NSDQ: APPL) iPhone. OmniVision’s flourishing sales reflect strong demand for do-it-all smart phones.


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