Alkermes reversed its position from last month and said it will see a profit in fiscal 2009 after receiving a payment from Eli Lilly & Co. Eli Lilly will pay the company $25.5 million, the remainder from its development partnership on AIR inhaled insulin. An additional $15.5 million had been paid during the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter. Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly ended that program in February, citing expectations for a tough regulatory process and a weak market if approved. Pfizer Inc. made the only inhaled insulin to reach the market, but discontinued the product last year because of lagging sales. Cambridge, Mass.-based Alkermes now expects profit between 11 cents and 16 cents per share on revenue between $200 million and $225 million, up from prior guidance for a loss of 11 cents to 16 cents per share on revenue between $175 million and $200 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect, on average, a loss of 10 cents per share on revenue of $194.9 million. In May, Alkermes had forecast a fiscal 2009 loss, as it cut 150 jobs and closed a manufacturing plant in Chelsea, Mass. in the wake of the AIR inhaled insulin decision. But, the company remains partners with Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Exenatide LAR, a longer-lasting version of the diabetes drug Byetta. Neponse Equity Research analyst Noelle Tune, for Soleil Securities Group Inc., reaffirmed a "Buy" rating with a $17 price target on the stock, and said the company is likely to dodge full-year losses going forward. "Of note, while additional minor payments from Eli Lilly may trickle in over the coming months, we expect this $25.5 million payment, along with ALKS receiving (patent) rights to the Chelsea facility, to close the chapter on AIR Insulin," Tune said, in a note to investors. Alkermes has also expanded its stock buyback program by $40 million to $215 million. Meanwhile, Cowen and Co. analyst Ian Sanderson reaffirmed a "Neutral" rating on the stock, citing the competitive risks for the company's two most anticipated programs; Exenatide LAR and Risperdal Consta, a long-acting form of the schizophrenia drug made by Johnson & Johnson. That partnership is Alkermes' most lucrative. "Longer-term, Alkermes shares do have attractive upside potential, but appreciation will require that Byetta (Exenatide) LAR royalties more than compensate for the expected erosion of the Risperdal Consta royalty stream," he said in a note to investors. Alkermes is also developing Vivitrol as an alcohol dependence treatment.

HCC Insurance Holdings Inc.'s board approved the repurchase of up to $100 million worth of its common shares, the Houston-based company said recently. HCC said its current share price presents a "compelling opportunity to invest" in its own stock. The stock trades for 4x cash flow.

Stewart Enterprises Inc. said recently its board of directors approved a $25 million increase to the funeral company's stock buyback program. The program is now up to $75 million, under which $29.1 million is still available. Stewart has already bought back about 6.3 million shares at an average price of $7.32 apiece. The company has about 92.8 million common shares outstanding.

Software developer Wind River Systems Inc. recently said its board approved a $50 million expansion of its share repurchase program. The addition brings the total repurchase amount to $100 million since the program began in April. The company said it has bought 4.2 million shares, or $35 million worth of the initial $50 million repurchase. Wind River said since the beginning of its fiscal year 2009, which began Feb. 1, it has purchased 10.9 million shares at a cost of $85 million.

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said recently its board authorized a share repurchase of as much as $75 million. Repurchases, which may be made in the open market or handled privately, will not begin until after July 6 and will continue for an estimated 18 months, subject to market conditions. "Our $244 million organic growth program provides additional capacity to address growing demand for aerospace and high strength plate products and will leverage new efficiencies in several of our value streams," Chief Executive Jack A. Hockema. The stock trades for 6x cash flow.

Actel recently announced the approval by its Board of Directors of authority to repurchase up to 1,000,000 more shares of Common Stock under the Company's stock repurchase program. This action will permit the Company to continue repurchasing shares of its Common Stock from time to time as market and business conditions warrant. Including the 1,000,000 shares most recently authorized, the Company has remaining authority to repurchase 1,688,442 shares under the program.

The Hartford, Conn.-based insurance and investment company entered into an accelerated stock repurchase program with Credit Suisse to repurchase $500 million in common stock. On top of that, the company authorized a new $1 billion buyback plan. The new buyback will add on to the company’s existing $2 billion buyback plan, which has $121 million remaining available for repurchase. "The stock repurchase and hybrid offering further enhance the company's capital structure," said Liz Zlatkus, The Hartford's CFO. "The timing was right for these actions. Replacing a portion of our equity capital with hybrid securities presented a compelling opportunity at this juncture." On April 28th, the seventh-largest insurer posted dismal first quarter earnings with profit dropping 83%. Net income in the first quarter was $145 million, or 46 cents a share, compared to $876 million, or $2.71 a share in the same period last year. The company now expects to earn $9.20 to $9.50 a share this year, down from the forecast of $9.80 to $10.20 in January. "The Hartford performed well in what proved to be a volatile economic climate this quarter," said Ramani Ayer, Hartford's Chairman and CEO. "Our capital strength gives us the ability to invest in operations and navigate the market cycles. The Hartford is focused on positioning the company for long-term growth," added Ayer. Hartford stock has sunk 17% year to date, and since the 52-week high of $102.87 in June 2007, share s have fallen 30%. Analyst John Hall from Wachovia commented, “In our opinion, Hartford's current valuation appropriately reflects the company's strong balance sheet and long-term growth opportunities. We rate the company's shares Market Perform.”

The Englewood, Colorado-based company announced a new $1 billion dollar buyback plan. The money transfer company also raised its long-term EPS growth objective to 15% to 18%, up from 12% to 14%, and maintained its long-term revenue growth target in the range of 10% to 12%. In addition, Western Union said 2008 profit will be at the high end of its forecasted range of $1.25 a share to $1.29 a share and revenue growth will be at the upper end of its 9% to 11% projection. Shares surged 10.1% on the news, reaching an all time high. "Our decision to raise the long-term EPS objective comes from our confidence that we are successfully executing on Western Union's strategy that positions us extremely well in the huge and growing global money transfer marketplace," said CEO Christina Gold. On April 22nd the company posted solid first quarter results with net income jumping 7% to $207 million, or 27 cents a share from $193.2 million, or 25 cents a share in the same period last year. They credited the results to their strong international consumer-to-consumer business. Revenue increased 12% to $1.3 billion, which included $33 million from currency translation of the euro. We like to see that analyst Wayne Johnson from Raymond James upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform, noting the company’s long-term business prospects in the U.S. and internationally. Johnson commented, "We are convinced Western Union is focused on improving operational efficiency and has stabilized unfavorable U.S.-to-Mexico transaction volume trends.” He believes the company will make a minimum of $1 billion in free cash flow this year and has a $28.50 price target on the stock.