Tag - Alli

Allion Healthcare (Nasdaq:ALLI), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on HIV/AIDS therapies, is ably performing in an attractive market segment. Expected to nearly double earnings this year, Allion is taking care of others and is feeling pretty good itself.

The company offers reimbursement expertise, arrangement of medication delivery and patient consulting services. It operated 11 specialty pharmacies under the MOMS Pharmacy brand in four states and had 15,610 patients at the end of 2007. Allion’s distribution centers are near metropolitan areas in New York, California, Florida, New Jersey and Washington, where the majority of patients live.

And there is a stream of them: in the United States, the World Health Organization says as many as 2 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the United States at the end of 2005; other data show between 400,000 and 500,000 were taking medicine. There are at least 40,000 — probably many more — new cases of HIV infection each year. The market is estimated at $25 billion for anti-retrovirals and ancillary HIV drugs.

Allion has expanded both internally and through acquisitions, the most recent of which was a purchase in April of Biomed America, a provider of infusion medications for patients with immune deficiencies and other chronic illnesses. And in May, Allion opened a pharmacy in partnership with Lifelong AIDS Alliance of Seattle, which serves more than 3,000 people.

The company intends to continue expansion by raising revenue from its current product base, increasing the number of diseases served and offering more services. It’s open to acquisitions and wants more partnerships.

Strong second-quarter results included the Biomed acquisition and AIDS partnership. Sales in the quarter through June were up 39% from the previous year, . . .

Small-cap stocks edged lower in morning trading, pulled down by a soft tone in the U.S. dollar and by renewed jitters in the financial arena following yet another bank failure over the weekend. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 8.03, or 1.09%, at 729.58.

The existing home sales report came in with mixed signals; the headline figure was plus 3.1%, which beat the forecast for a more tame rise of 0.9%. However, the inventory of homes was at a record high and prices are still down steeply from last year.

Regulators closed Columbian Bank and Trust Company, which marked the ninth bank failure this year as financial institutions struggle with debt write-downs and bad loans emanating from the housing meltdown.

Also on the financial front, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) was down 8.6% shortly after the opening as questions surrounding a potential purchase of the firm by the state-run Korea Development Bank have emerged. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund was off almost 2% in early trading.

Crude oil prices climbed back above $115 dollars a barrel overnight, but sliced away much of the overnight rise ahead of the U.S. stock market opening. After the largest one-day decline Friday in nearly four years, traders will keep a close eye on crude prices to see if they experience a snap back move higher this week. The dollar was down against the yen, but basically flat versus the euro; a stronger tone in the greenback has been an important ingredient in the recent pullback in energy and other commodity markets, allowing investors to shrug off recent awful inflation data as out of touch with the sudden summer swoon in energy markets. However, if crude starts to recover back above $120 to $125 a barrel, then it could usher in a dark cloud on the price pressure issue.

Even though crude oil prices pulled back from the overnight highs, consumer and airline stocks were still on the defensive this morning, perhaps leery that energy . . .

Air filters and piping systems maker MFRI, Inc. (Nasdaq: MFRI) said strong sales prompted its first-quarter profit to multiply six times over the year-ago period. The Niles, Ill.-based company reported income for the first quarter ended April 30 was $1 million, or $0.15 per share, up from $151,000, or $0.03 per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted earnings of $0.10 per share.

NeurogesX Inc. (Nasdaq: NGSX) announced it has completed enrollment for the third trial phase of its postherpetic neuralgia treatment NGX-4010.

Boosted by increased pricing and operational improvements, Exide Technologies’ (Nasdaq: XIDE) fourth quarter loss narrowed from the year-ago period. The battery maker reported a quarterly loss of $21.6 million, or $0.35 per share, compared with a loss of $76.3 million, or $2.98 per share, a year earlier.

Cano Petroleum, Inc. (AMEX: CFW) said it sold its Rich Valley, Okl. property to a private company for $7.0 million.

Solar energy equipment maker Amtech Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASYS) announced $4.1 million in new orders from Asia. The Tempe, Ariz.-based company said it expects to deliver the orders in six months.

Rock Hill, S.C.-based 3D Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: TDSC) announced its Tangible Express technology will be featured in the July issue of “Plastics Technology” magazine.