Clinton claims victory in battle with ValueVision

The Clinton Group, the activist investor stumping for change at ValueVision Media, claimed victory of sorts at the company's special shareholder meeting last week. The investor claimed that four of its six director nominees had been elected to the eight-member board before the official results were published.

ValueVision shares responded by rising 7 percent on Wednesday. Feltl and Co. analyst Mark Smith told the Star Tribune on Wednesday, "That tells me that people are assuming that Clinton Group has the votes, and that people like the results."

Analysts respond to MEDTRONIC'S mega merger

Analysts have offered a lot of commentary about the Medtronic and Covidien deal that was announced last Sunday, but nothing speaks louder than an upgraded recommendation.

As of Friday six of the 24 analysts covering Medtronic raised their ratings, including analysts from Barclays, Jeffries, RBC Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, BTIG and William Blair & Co. According to Bloomberg, 18 analysts now have "buy" recommendations and six have "hold" recommendations.

Covidien's shares rose more than 20 percent Monday after the announcement. But because it is the company being acquired, it probably is not surprising to learn that eight analysts subsequently downgraded their Covidien recommendation, believing that the shares are fully valued. Now 14 analysts have "buy" recommendations on Covidien and 12 have "holds." A week earlier, 83 percent of Covidien analysts were recommending a "buy."

Patrick Kennedy