Analyst action: Clarcor, CVS, SunTrust

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on November 20, 2009 at 10:42 am

BB&T analyst Kevin Maczka on Thursday raised his rating on shares of Clarcor (Ticker: CLC) from ‘hold’ to ‘buy.’ His target price for the Franklin-based filtration and packaging company is $40, 27 percent above its Wednesday close.

Two stocks with a local presence have also received votes of confidence. At Credit Suisse, Craig Siegenthaler has lifted his target for SunTrust (Ticker: STI) to $23 from $21, while UBS analyst Neil Currie has started covering CVS Caremark (Ticker: CVS) with a ‘buy’ rating and a $34 target.

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Tags: analyst actions, banking, BB&T Capital Markets, Clarcor Inc., Craig Seigenthaler, Credit Suisse Group, CVS Caremark Corp., Kevin Maczka, manufacturing, Neil Currie, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management, retail, stock valuation, SunTrust Banks Inc., UBS Securities  

Grab some milk, see your doc

By Erin Lawley Posted on November 18, 2009 at 7:42 am

Growth in the retail health clinic market slowed in 2008 and dipped to a negative 5 percent in the first five months of 2009, according to a new report by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.
Locally based company The Little Clinic, which operates clinics in Kroger grocery stores, now has 9 percent market share and 103 clinics, according to the report — making it the third-largest industry player behind mammoths MinuteClinic (owned by CVS) and Take Care (owned by Walgreen’s).

Despite the current setback, Deloitte expects the once-booming industry will experience a second wave of growth between 2010 and 2014.

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Tags: CVS Caremark Corp., Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, grocery stores, Minute Clinic LLC, pharmacies, retail health care, The Little Clinic, Walgreen Co.  

Getting paid, H1N1 style

By Erin Lawley Posted on November 4, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Emdeon’s eRx Network will now help retail pharmacies get reimbursed for administering the H1N1 vaccine through electronic pharmacy claims to health insurers.

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Tags: Emdeon Inc., H1N1, health insurance, pharmacies, retail pharmacies, revenue cycle management, the flu  

Dispensary of Hope adds New York site

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on September 4, 2009 at 6:57 am

The Dispensary of Hope, a six-year-old distributor of excess drugs backed by Saint Thomas Health Ventures, has opened its 36th site in Binghamton, N.Y.

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Tags: Dispensary of Hope, New York, nonprofit management, pharmaceuticals, pharmacies, Saint Thomas Health Ventures Inc.  

Fresenius launches retail pharmacy

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on May 5, 2009 at 2:21 pm

The company that bought Renal Care Group in 2006 has set up a 12,000-square-foot pharmacy for its dialysis patients around the country.

“We’re thrilled that Fresenius Medical Care Rx can help improve patient quality of care by making pharmacy services easy and focused on the specific needs of patients and their physicians,” said Patrick Guiney, senior vice president, Fresenius Medical Care Rx. “People living with kidney disease often have several doctors and take multiple medications. Our service can give patients the confidence that all of their pharmacy needs are met through one source, from prescription fulfillment and refills, with attention to possible drug interactions and coordination with physicians.”

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Tags: call center management, dialysis providers, Fresenius Medical Care North America, pharmacies  

Costs cut CVS Caremark earnings

By Walker Duncan Posted on at 11:03 am

Integration costs and other factors caused CVS Caremark Corp.’s first quarter earnings to fall slightly compared to last year.

The company’s earnings dipped to $743.5 million, down from $748.5 million in ‘08. Net Revenue, on the other hand, increased to $23.4 billion, up from $21.3 billion last year.

Earnings release available here.

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Tags: CVS Caremark Corp., earnings reports, pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management  

A free clinic on every corner

By Kleinheider Posted on April 2, 2009 at 8:56 am

WKRN reports on Walgreens’ latest pitch to create a bit of warmth towards their brand:

Drugstore operator Walgreens will offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year.

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Tags: pharmacies, the uninsured, unemployment, Walgreen Co.