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BIOGEN IDEC      SYMBOL:  BIIB

Biogen Idec reported solid first-quarter earnings results as the Company continues to grow its industry leading position in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.  Net income rose 3 percent to more than $300 million, and revenues grew by 7 percent to $1.29 billion.  Management also reiterated its earnings-per- share guidance for the remainder of this year, and believes they will earn at least $6.15 per share.

 The Company sells two drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis: Tysabri and Avonex.  Even though sales of Avonex were somewhat disappointing during the quarter, the strength of Tysabri led to further market share gains for the Company.  The disappointment in Avonex was attributed to a one-time event in January that was caused by a shift in pharmacy benefit managers to some 5 million US government workers.  Global sales of Tysabri were up 14 percent during the quarter, and the long-standing fears about the drug seem to be put to rest.

 The success of these two drugs has placed Biogen as a leader in the pharmaceutical sector, and we feel the future will be better for shareholders.  Management continues to highlight the successes of its BG-12 drug, which is an oral MS drug.  More positive findings were released last week, and the Company filed for FDA approval in February.

Biogen has been one of the best performing stocks in the S&P over the past two years and we expect the outperformance to continue.  The stock is not sensitive to global economic growth, and the shares will climb higher as they continue to build their multiple sclerosis franchise.  We expect the positive news flow from the Company to continue, which should push the share price up to $160.

PIONEER DRILLING:   SYMBOL:  PDC

Pioneer Drilling reported its best quarterly earnings report in more than a year, but due to the market malaise investors didn’t take notice.  Earnings and revenues both came in much better than expected, and the conference call was more positive than we have listened to in quite some time.  The management team raised its guidance for the rest of the year, and we are more positive on the shares than we have been recently.

 Both the drilling and production services divisions experienced strong margin growth during the quarter.  The Company’s utilization rates remained at 87 percent, but margins expanded by 11 percent as pricing pressures eased.  Well servicing utilization rose by six percentage points to 92 percent, and hourly rates were also higher.  March was the best month in the Company’s history, as the Company recorded its highest revenues and most rig hours booked.

 Shares of Pioneer barely moved due to this report, which was surprising.  The markets traded very poorly last week, and investors didn’t take notice of these strong results.  We expect the shares will play catch up when the market conditions improve overall.  We believe the risk/reward relationship is excellent for shareholders of Pioneer and expect the shares will reach $15 within the next 12 months.

AKAMAI     SYMBOL:  AKAM

This earnings season Akamai reported first-quarter earnings results that were better than Wall Street’s consensus estimates, although the Company warned that earnings for the rest of the year wouldn’t meet estimates.  This was quite a surprise to investors, and the stock gave up all of the gains it had for 2012.  The Company has also started a search for a new CEO as founder Paul Sagan plans to leave the Company within the next 18 months.

 The recent run-up in Akamai’s share price was fueled by the two acquisitions of Blaze and Cotendo, which were supposed to raise margins and help the Company’s competitive position.   Due to the acquisition costs, these deals will actually lower margins for this year, but should help the Company going forward.  This is disappointing, but Akamai needed these companies in order to grow its industry leading position, and we believe shareholders will eventually be rewarded.

Shares of Akamai sold off sharply on this report, and general market conditions didn’t help.  We are maintaining our position in Akamai, and believe margins will improve in the second half of the year.  An acquisition of Akamai is still very possible, as a larger technology company would love to be in this space.  As the news improves at Akamai, we believe the shares could still reach $40 within the next 12 months.