Flamel Technologies (NDAQ:FLML) shares have more than halved since the beginning of the year but OSS Capital believes there is still hope. The activist hedge fund raised its stake in the company by 1 percent today, jumping the share price more than 6 percent as investors banked on a bottom.

The pharmaceutical company dropped substantially earlier this year after a study showed that its proprietary dosing of Coreg CR is no more effective than the original dosing. Given that this is the only drug that the company receives royalties from, it comes as no surprise that the stock was significantly damaged. However, one failure doesn't necessarily spell doom.

Flamel is obviously struggling with operating margins being new pharmaceutical company; however, it does have strong price to sales and price to book ratios. If the company could overcome this one roadblock and sign one or more deals in the near term, there is potential for the stock to return to its prior levels almost 300 percent above its current trading price. This makes FLML a stock worth watching!

Related Companies
Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN)
SkyePharma Inc. (SKYEY)

Banks like Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM) are reportedly offering financing packages for private equity firms and hedge funds in order to purchase debt held by the banks themselves. The hope is that this will help generate some activity in what has become a relatively illiquid credit market.

Many investment banks have reportedly offered up to 4:1 leverage for private equity firms to purchase discounted debt issues. Others have thrown around rates of LIBOR + 60 and LIBER + 85 basis points. These types of leverage could boost returns to the double digits for hedge funds and private equity interested in entering the market.

More than $250 billion in bank debt is due this year alone and many are expecting the majority of it to be sold at a discount to third parties. Ideally, this will help boost the liquidity in the market and restore access to capital that has kept the M&A industry so active the last year.

Related Companies
Legg Mason (LM)
UBS AG (UBS)
Bank of Montreal (BMO)

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) shares moved down over ten percent today after the company lowered its FY2007 guidance amid increasing grain prices. Further declines were curbed after the largest food producer in the world announced that it would outline a turnaround plan later this year. Shareholders are hoping that this plan will help unlock value and keep the company on track.

So, what improvements might this plan contain? Well, Tyson Foods has shown moderate top and bottom line growth but trades at a hefty premium to other companies in its sector. The company is now trading at 37x earnings when it should be trading at around 13x based on its historical 5 percent growth rate.

Tyson Foods has also failed to meet analyst expectations, surprising to the downside more than 30 percent on average. The problem seems to lie in the company's poor operating margins and operating efficiencies. Analysts and shareholders are hoping that management can work to improve these margins in order to weather the rising cost of grain and other goods.

Unfortunately, the company already has a leveraged balance sheet so any recapitalizations to fund a turnaround are out of the question. In fact, the company already has nearly 40 percent of its total capital tied up in long-term debt, which could spell trouble if its equity continues to tumble. Analysts and shareholders are hoping that these questions will be answered in the company's turnaround plan.

Related Companies
Sara Lee Corp. (SLE)
Rica Foods Inc. (RCFO)
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT)