For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 13, 2012 – Zacks.com announces the list of
stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity
Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting
stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the
blog include Starbucks Corporation (SBUX),
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR),
Illumina (ILMN), Roche (RHHBY)
and Life Technologies (LIFE).
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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst
Blog:
Brewing Starbucks at Home
Coffee giant Starbucks Corporation (SBUX)
recently announced plans to launch the Verismo system, a premium
machine which will allow customers to prepare Starbucks-quality
espresso and coffee drinks at home, a cup at a time.
The Verismo single cup coffee machine will be available by fall
2012 and is a major step by the company to take a share of the
premium single-cup segment, which is the fastest growing market in
the coffee industry. The premium single cup segment grew more than
135% over last year in the US and is expected to become an $8
billion market globally. The machine will allow customers to brew
espresso based beverages and milk-based beverages on their own, at
their workplace or at home.
The Verismo system will be sold online, at some Starbuck retail
stores and also in some specialty stores in US, Canada and in other
unspecified international markets. Starbucks will market and sell
the Verismo machine and arabica coffee and milk pods through a
strategic partnership with privately-held, Germany-based Krueger
GmbH & Company.
Starbucks already has a presence in the premium single serve
market with its Starbucks VIA Ready Brew instant coffee (launched
in 2009) and Starbucks K-Cup packs (launched in fall of 2011).
Starbucks sells the K-Cup packs to Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters (GMCR) to be used on the latter’s Keurig
single-cup machines. Management believes the Verismo system is
complementary to the above products and Starbucks can now offer a
comprehensive portfolio of premium single cup alternatives.
Starbucks ruled out any competition between its high pressure
Verismo machine and Green Mountain’s low pressure Keurig machine.
Starbucks believes its high pressure machine will be competitive
with Nestlé’s Nespresso machine. Shares of Green Mountain, however,
witnessed a sharp decline after the announcement of the news.
Starbucks will continue to supply K-Cup packs to Green
Mountain.
We expect Starbucks to go off to a strong launch with the
Verismo System. However, we cannot rule out the fact that at-home,
single-cup machines like Verismo can cannibalize sales of other
Strabucks products.
Our recommendation
We currently have a Neutral recommendation on Starbucks. The
stock looks more appealing near term with a Zacks #2 Rank (a
short-term Buy rating).
Illumina Unveils TruSeq Amplicon
Illumina (ILMN) unveiled TruSeq Amplicon last
week, which is a cancer panel to aid researchers to sequence cancer
loci. This is significant since this makes sequencing possible even
in difficult samples such as formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded
(“FFPE”) tumor samples. The San Diego-based company is taking
orders for the device, shipment of which will begin next month.
Dr. Andrew Fellowes of the Department of Pathology at the Peter
MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia believes that the
TruSeq cancer panel on the MiSeq system will enable them to profile
tumor samples for a wider range of mutations. Moreover, this
technology improves upon both speed and accuracy.
The introduction of TruSeq Amplicon - Cancer Panel is in sync
with Illumina's recently created Translational and Consumer
Genomics ("TCG") business, which is focused on delivering genomic
solutions to CLIA labs. This business is already working to develop
targeted resequencing panels for both MiSeq and HiSeq systems,
building on the current TruSeq Amplicon and TruSeq Enrichment
assays.
The company has been in the news over the recent past as
Roche (RHHBY) commenced a tender offer to purchase
Illumina’s outstanding shares. Earlier, Roche had made several
unsuccessful attempts to strike a deal with Illumina, but the
latter refused to participate in any substantive discussion.
Illumina introduced HiSeq 2500, a new multi-mode next-generation
sequencer earlier this year, which is slated for launch in the
second half of 2012. The DNA sequencing market is getting more
competitive as Life Technologies’ (LIFE) Benchtop
Ion Proton Sequencer is expected to hit the market in mid-2012.
These devices can sequence a human genome in a single day rather
than weeks. In addition, Illumina is also working on developing its
MiSeq platform further.
Illumina has entered into a partnership with Siemens Healthcare
Diagnostics to use the MiSeq platform for Siemens’ molecular HIV
tests. In addition, the company expanded its Genome Network with
the inclusion of British Columbia Cancer Agency to its existing
list.
Presently, Illumina retains a short-term Zacks #2 Rank
(Buy).
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GREEN MTN COFFE (GMCR): Free Stock Analysis Report
ILLUMINA INC (ILMN): Free Stock Analysis Report
LIFE TECHNOLOGS (LIFE): Free Stock Analysis Report
STARBUCKS CORP (SBUX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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