Champs & Chumps ..........Stock Market Winners & Losers

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Stock Market Champs..........11-02-06

Microvision Inc. (MVIS)
Last Trade:2.86
Trade Time:11:07AM ET
Change:Up 0.76 (36.19%)


Microvision (Nasdaq:MVIS), the global leader in light scanning technologies for display and imaging products, announced today that it has entered into a joint development agreement with a major Asian consumer electronics manufacturer. The agreement focuses on development of high-volume design for manufacturing of Microvisions proprietary Integrated Photonics Module (IPM), a tiny display engine suitable for a variety of display applications, including ultra-miniature laser projectors for mobile phones.

Under the agreement, the parties will cooperate to optimize Microvisions IPM designs for high-volume manufacturing and may engage in marketing and product development discussions with prospective OEM customers. For confidentiality reasons, the name of the Asian manufacturer and other terms of the agreement were withheld. Potential applications for the IPM platform include ultra-miniature laser projectors for embedded or accessory solutions for mobile phones, personal media players, laptops and DVD players. Additional applications include lightweight color eyewear and heads-up displays for automobiles and airplanes. Target customers are major consumer electronics OEMs and large tier 1 automotive integrators.

This agreement marks an important milestone on our roadmap to the commercialization of high-volume products based on the companys new proprietary IPM architecture, said Alexander Tokman, President and CEO of Microvision. We are extremely pleased to be working closely with one of the worlds leading developers and manufacturers of consumer electronics and commercial equipment and a company with a truly global reach. To execute on our plan to bring the IPM to market with the right performance, quality and cost in products such as an embedded or accessory ultra-miniature laser projector (PicoP) and automotive heads-up display, it is critically important for us to align ourselves with one or more proven, strategic manufacturing partners.

We anticipate that our efforts with this world-leading consumer electronics partner will accelerate our time-to-market, and provide the potential for establishing the global capacity we require to serve large commercial markets with our IPM platform technology.

Clark Inc. (CLK)
Last Trade:16.57
Trade Time:10:58AM ET
Change:Up 4.07 (32.56%)
Dutch-based insurance giant Aegon has agreed to buy U.S.-based executive benefits company Clark Inc. for $16.55 a share, or about $293 million in cash, the companies said on Wednesday.

The Aegon offer is a premium of about 32.4 percent over the $12.50 closing price of Clark shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

"We believe this transaction will provide excellent value for our shareholders and significant benefits and opportunities for our associates, partners and clients," said W. Tom Wamberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Clark.

The agreement allows Clark to consider any third-party acquisition proposals and involves an unspecified termination fee if Clark accepts a superior proposal. The transaction with Aegon is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.

Aegon is Clark's largest shareholder with a 13 percent stake.

Upon completion of the deal, Aegon will own the corporate solutions practice of Clark Consulting, along with Clark Securities Inc.

Plexus Corp. (PLXS)

Last Trade:25.72
Trade Time:11:07AM ET
Change:Up 3.96 (18.20%)
The company said for the first quarter, it expects earnings of 31 cents to 35 cents a share, before restructuring costs, on revenue of $385 million to $395 million. The earnings estimate includes about 3 cents a share for share-based compensation. --According to Reuters Estimates, analysts expect the company to earn 42 cents a share, excluding exceptional items, on revenue of $406.6 million, for the first quarter.

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