Following U.S. Stocks were among the “Top Losers” during Friday’s trade: Sunshine Heart Inc (NASDAQ:SSH, Checkpoint Systems, Inc (NYSE:CKP), MaxPoint Interactive Inc (NYSE:MXPT), Ceres Inc (NASDAQ:CERE)
Their insights are depicted underneath:
Sunshine Heart Inc (NASDAQ:SSH)’s shares dwindled -24.67 %, and closed at $4.03.
According to GLOBE NEWSWIRE, Sunshine Heart Inc. (SSH), declared an update on COUNTER HF(TM), the Corporation’s U.S. pivotal study which is a prospective, randomized, multi-center, controlled study evaluating the safety and efficacy of the C-Pulse system for the treatment of NYHA Class III and ambulatory Class IV heart failure.
The Corporation continues to experience raised interest from the medical and patient community regarding participation in the COUNTER HF study. In fact, over the past twelve months, the number of patients considering enrollment in this study has dramatically raised from 7 in Q1 2014 to approaching 100 for the first quarter in 2015.
While Sunshine Heart is happy with the study’s progress in terms of the recent enrollment pace and site interest, it will be taking a temporary pause from enrollment. This is in accordance with the study protocol where in the event more than three of the first twenty subjects pass away for any reason, counting non-device related deaths, the Corporation will work with the FDA to talk about a plan to resume enrollment. To date, of the four stated patient deaths, two have been adjudicated by an independent Clinical Events Committee (CEC) as being non-device related. The Corporation has received study documentation from the sites that stated the most recent two deaths that these were also non-device related. Patients already in the trial will continue follow-up according to the protocol.
The FDA has responded to Sunshine Heart’s notification and has advised the Corporation to file an IDE supplement that discusses the reasons for the temporary study suspension and a plan for study resumption. A supplement carries up to a 30-day review period by the FDA and the Corporation anticipates to submit the document by March 16, 2015.
Sunshine Heart will host its 2014 Q4 results conference call on March 17, 2015 following the submission of the COUNTER HF supplement document to the FDA. At this time, the Corporation’s administration team and Dr. Bill Abraham, one of the Study’s Principal Investigators, will be accessible to address questions as part of the standard quarterly conference call format.
Sunshine Heart, Inc., an early-stage medical device corporation, focuses on developing, manufacturing, and commercializing its C-Pulse Heart Assist System (the C-Pulse System) for treatment of Class III and ambulatory Class IV heart failure.
Checkpoint Systems, Inc (NYSE:CKP) declined -15.34%, and closed at $11.37, hitting new 52-week low of $11.03.
According to Business Wire, Checkpoint Systems Inc. (CKP), stated financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 28, 2014.
Fourth Quarter GAAP Results:
Net proceeds from ongoing operations in the fourth quarter of 2014 reduced 5.8%, to $183.1 million from $194.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Foreign currency translation effects resulted in $7.4 million or 3.8% of the decrease in net proceeds. During the quarter, gross profit margins were 43.3% contrast with 38.8% in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses in the fourth quarter of 2014 raised $1.7 million, or 3.1%, to $56.4 million from $54.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Operating revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014 was $12.8 million, $7.3 million, or 132.1%, higher than $5.5 million in the same period last year.
Net revenue from ongoing operations in the fourth quarter of 2014 was $0.12 per diluted share, as compared to a loss of $0.12 per diluted share in the same period last year.
Checkpoint Systems is a global leader in merchandise availability solutions for the retail industry, encompassing loss prevention and merchandise visibility. Checkpoint provides end-to-end solutions enabling retailers to achieve accurate real-time inventory, accelerate the replenishment cycle, prevent out-of-stocks and reduce theft, thus improving merchandise availability and the shopper’s experience.
MaxPoint Interactive Inc (NYSE:MXPT) dipped -15.13%, and closed at $9.76, hitting new 52-week high and low of $9.76 and $11.24 respectively.
According to Business Wire, MaxPoint Interactive, Inc. (MXPT) a leading provider of business intelligence and marketing automation software service that enables national brands to drive local, in-store sales, declared the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,500,000 shares of its ordinary stock at a price to the public of $11.50 per share, before underwriting discounts. The shares are predictable to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 6, 2015, under the symbol “MXPT”. In addition, the underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 975,000 shares of MaxPoint’s ordinary stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. The offering is predictable to close on March 11, 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.
Goldman, Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Pacific Crest Securities LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Needham & Corporation, LLC and William Blair & Corporation, L.L.C. are acting as co-managers.
MaxPoint provides a leading business intelligence and digital marketing solution that enables national brands to drive local, in-store sales. The corporation’s proprietary Digital Zip® technology and the MaxPoint Intelligence Platform predict the most likely local buyers of a specific product at a particular retail location and then execute cross-channel digital marketing campaigns to reach these buyers.
Ceres Inc (NASDAQ:CERE) dropped -12.97%, and closed at $0.396.
According to PRNewswire, formerly on February 26, Ceres, Inc. (CERE), declared that it has achieved Gold Partner status in Oracle Partner Network. In attaining Gold Level membership, Ceres has been recognized by Oracle for its commitment to establish Oracle-related knowledge in delivering Ceres’ Persephone genome visualization software and for uniquely addressing the challenges of joint customers.
Originally developed for in-house use by Ceres, the Persephone application allows researchers to rapidly zoom in and out of massive amounts of genetic data, from a chromosome level to a single building block of DNA. On top of this data, users can layer and cross reference related information in much the same way geographic mapping services allow users to add weather information or business locations to a geographic map.
While speed is taken for granted across most software markets, the genetics market has struggled with massive datasets generated by DNA sequencing and genetic testing. To assist solve the speed problem, and expand the way researchers can explore and mine genetic data, Persephone software engineers have developed a number of innovative data storage and compression methods that can enable rapid visualization of large amounts of genomics data by experts and non-experts alike.
Tim Swaller, Ceres Vice President of Genomics, said that becoming a Gold Level member of Oracle Partner Network enables the corporation to leverage its knowledge in genomics alongside the performance and reliability of the Oracle platform, which handles large datasets through efficient memory administration and a solid software architecture.
Ceres presently offers Persephone as a custom installation in addition to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model that is intended to provide individual researchers with a tool to visualize and compare genetic information stored in public databases. Persephone can be used with a number of life science technology platforms that utilize genetic and genomic data.
Oracle noted that as a Gold Level partner Ceres receives the benefit of being able to start developing specializations that will allow Ceres to grow its business, raise its expertise, reach higher levels of customer retention, and create differentiation in the marketplace.
Ceres, Inc. is an agricultural biotechnology corporation that develops and markets seeds to produce crops for bioenergy and other markets that utilize plant biomass. The corporation combines advanced plant breeding and biotechnology to develop hybrids that can address the limitations of first-generation bioenergy feedstocks.
