Pre-Open Movers: MoneyGram (MGI) Sinks On Investment Losses, Manatron (MANA), Lifecore Biomedical (LCBM) Up on Buyouts

January 15, 2008 9:30 AM EST

StreetInsider.com Pre-Open Movers:

MoneyGram International, Inc. (NYSE: MGI) 53% LOWER; completed the valuation of its investment portfolio as of November 30, 2007, and has experienced additional net unrealized losses of $571 million from September 30, 2007, bringing cumulative net unrealized losses to $860 million. The Company has commenced a process to realign the portfolio away from asset-backed securities and into highly liquid assets. In January, 2008, the Company sold $1.3 billion of securities, resulting in a realized loss of approximately $200 million, which was an incremental loss of approximately $100 million from the unrealized losses reflected as of November 30 as to these securities. In Exclusive Discussions with Thomas H. Lee Partners for $800 Million Equity Investment. The securities that would be acquired by the Investors in the transaction under discussion would currently be expected to give the Investors an initial equity interest in the Company ranging from 60 to 65%

Ocwen Financial Corp. (NYSE: OCN) 50% HIGHER; announced that its Board of Directors has received a proposal from a group of investors led by William C. Erbey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P. to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company for $7.00 per share in cash.

Manatron, Inc. (Nasdaq: MANA) 32% HIGHER; entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Thoma Cressey Bravo in a transaction valued at approximately $66 million. Under the terms of the agreement, the shareholders of Manatron, Inc. will receive $12.00 in cash in exchange for each share of stock.

Lifecore Biomedical (Nasdaq: LCBM) 30% HIGHER; entered into a definitive agreement with affiliates of Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm, to be acquired through a tender offer, followed by a merger, for a price of $17.00 per share in cash.

Lenox Group Inc. (NYSE: LNX) 30% HIGHER; announced that its Board of Directors has adopted a 'Stockholder Rights Plan', in order to explore strategic alternatives in an attempt to enhance shareholder value. Under the terms of the Rights Plan, Lenox will try to reduce the likelihood that a potential acquirer would gain control of Lenox by open market accumulation or other coercive takeover tactics without paying a premium for the Company’s shares.

Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) 19% LOWER; revised outlook for its fiscal Q4: EPS are expected to be in the range of $0.20 to $0.26, down from previous guidance in the range of $0.36 to $0.44, versus the consensus of $0.40.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) 14% LOWER; said comparable store sales for the 9-week holiday period ended December 30, 2007 decreased 0.4%. Net revenues rose 4.4% to $1.021 billion. Williams-Sonoma said fourth quarter net revenue is now expected to be in the range of $1.363 billion to $1.385 billion versus previous guidance of $1.387 billion to $1.417 billion and diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $1.11 to $1.14 versus previous guidance of $1.19 to $1.25.

Coldwater Creek (Nasdaq: CWTR) 11.8% LOWER; expects a Q4 loss per share in the range of ($0.16) to ($0.20), compared to the company's prior guidance of break-even for the fourth quarter. The Wall Street consensus is $0.00. Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of 2007 are expected to reflect a decrease of mid- to high-teens versus the prior year level.

Vignette Corporation (NASDAQ: VIGN) 10% HIGHER; said Q4 revenues will exceed the high end of guidance and be in the range of $52 to $54 million. Vignette said net income and earnings per share are also expected to exceed the high end of guidance on both a GAAP and Non GAAP basis.

Converted Organics (NASDAQ: COIN) 10% LOWER; Profit-taking after yesterday's 41% run-up

Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FIC) 9.8% LOWER; expects to report Q1 revenues in the range of $198 to $200 million. This is lower than the first quarter revenue guidance of $205 million provided by the company last quarter. Q1 EPS is expected to be $0.37 to $0.39 per diluted share. This is lower than the guidance of $0.45 provided last quarter.

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX) 9% LOWER; Gary Lyons will step down as President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurocrine and will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) 7% HIGHER; Deutsche Bank upgrades Tenet Healthcare from Hold to Buy and introduces a new $6 price target.

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) 6% LOWER; Lower guidance from Hibbett Sports

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) 5% LOWER; Goldman Sachs downgrades to Sell

Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE: RT) 4.5% HIGHER; A number of insider purchases at Ruby Tuesday were disclosed after the close.

MFA Mortgage Investments, Inc. (NYSE: MFA) 4% LOWER; plans to make a public offering of 20,000,000 shares of its common stock.

NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) 4% LOWER; Deutsche Bank downgrades NVIDIA to Hold with a $30 price target.

Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX) 3.7% HIGHER; reports Q3 EPS of $0.96, above the consensus of $0.75. Revenues came in at $998.2 million, versus the consensus of $946.6 million. Forest Laboratories sees 2008 EPS of $3.35-$3.45, ex-charge, versus the consensus of $3.06.

Bidz.com (NASDAQ: BIDZ) 3% HIGHER; expects both fourth quarter and 2007 revenue and pre-tax income guidance to exceed its current guidance range. For Q4 2007, the Company now expects to exceed revenues of $56-$58 million, and pre-tax income of $5.6-$6.0 million. For 2007, the Company expects to exceed its revenue guidance range of $180-$182 million and pre-tax income of $18.0-$18.5 million.

Citi (NYSE: C) 2.3% LOWER; reports a Q4 loss of $1.99 per share, including $18.1 billion in pre-tax write-downs and credit costs on sub-prime related direct exposures in fixed income markets, and a $4.1 billion increase in credit costs in U.S. consumer primarily related to higher current and estimated losses on consumer loans. Citi announces it is lowering their quarterly dividend from $0.54 to $0.32 per share. Citi also said it is raising a total of $12.5 billion of capital through the sale of convertible preferred securities in a private offering

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) 2% LOWER; has enhanced its capital position by reaching agreements to issue $6.6 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock in private placements to long-term investors, primarily from Korean Investment Corporation, Kuwait Investment Authority, and Mizuho Corporate Bank.

Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) 1% HIGHER; JPMorgan adds to Focus List.

Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) 1% LOWER; reported Q4 EPS of $0.69, 2 cents better than the analyst estimate of $0.67. Revenues for the quarter were $2.97 billion, versus the consensus of $2.97 billion. Sees FY08 EPS of $3.30-$3.45, versus the consensus of $3.37.

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• Deutsche Bank
• JPMorgan
• Goldman Sachs
• Citi
• Merrill Lynch
• Warburg Pincus
• Thoma Cressey Bravo

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