NovaStar (NYSE:NFI) announced that it hired Deutsche Bank to help it explore strategic alternatives including a possible sale or other "change of control transaction". The move will make it the latest subprime mortgage specialist to propose relinquishing its independence.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NDAQ:RIMM) said that its fiscal fourth quarter profits surged tenfold from a year ago, when it had a large legal expense, as sales rose 66% on higher demand for the company's BlackBerry wireless devices.
Google Inc. (NDAQ:GOOG) plans to join the battle to deploy voice-based search technology according to a media report on Wednesday. Google released a free experimental service last week called Google Voice Local Search, which allowed users to dial a number and search for businesses in specific cities via voice recognition.
Advanced Magnetics Inc. (NDAQ:AMAG) said its Phase III studies on ferumoxytol, an intravenous iron replacement, met their primary and secondary endpoints. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said the two studies demonstrate a significant improvement in hemoglobin levels for non-dialysis dependent patients using the drug, compared with oral iron supplements.
CheckFree Corp. (NDAQ:CKFR) confirmed that it has had discussions with an unnamed "large customer" over the possibility of the customer "pursuing an in-house approach" for some of Checkfree's services. Atlanta-based Checkfree added that "there have been no changes to any material customer contracts." Earlier Wednesday, JMP Securities analyst David Scharf said he was fairly certain that Bank of America is planning to transition the payment warehouse portion of its online bill-pay processing to an in-house solution. Scharf said he believed BofA's business accounted for $170 million, or 20% of CheckFree's fiscal 2006 revenue, with bill-pay services accounting for $150 million.
Christopher & Banks Corp.'s (NYSE:CBK) fiscal fourth-quarter net income plunged to $1.93 million, or 5 cents a share, from $6.68 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. The Minneapolis-based women's retailer said net sales for the 14-week quarter ended March 3 increased 5.8% to $134 million, compared with $126.6 million in the 13-week period a year ago. Christopher & Banks expects a first-quarter net income range of 30 cents to 31 cents a share.
Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NDAQ:HILL) said it now expects a first-quarter loss of 13 cents to 15 cents a share on revenue of $53 million to $54 million. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based provider of storage systems previously forecast a per-share loss of 20 cents to 23 cents a share on revenue of $46 million to $49 million. Dot Hill said the increased forecast is largely due to higher-than-expected revenue and margin contribution from its largest OEM customer.