Stock Price
TSX:MDS
PRICE: $
CHANGE:
VOLUME:353,267
NYSE:MDZ
PRICE: $
CHANGE:
VOLUME:486,615
Investor Information
120.1 million shares outstanding
(Nov 30, 2008)
Market cap of C$ 994.7 million
(Nov 30, 2008)
Investor Links
Frequently Asked Questions
General Investor FAQs
- Where are MDS shares listed?
- Does MDS trade shares or American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange?
- Which indices are MDS shares a part of on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)?
- What types of investors own MDS shares?
- Are there any shareholders who own more than 10% of MDS shares outstanding?
- Do you have a Normal Course Issuer Bid outstanding? How many shares has the Company been active in buying back?
- Do you have any preferred shares, options, or any other vehicle to play?
- Why did MDS discontinue its dividend?
- I own MDS shares and participated in the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP). What happens once the dividend is discontinued?
- How many times has MDS split its stock?
- When is MDS’ year end and quarterly earnings releases?
- Why do you have an October 31 year-end? Would you change your year-end?
- What does it mean when it says your quarterly results are unaudited?
- Who are the investment dealers and their analysts that publish research on MDS?
- Who are MDS’ peers?
- Can the Company be taken over?
- How can I keep up to date on company progress and significant events?
Is your question not covered here? Please email Investor Relations with your question.
General Investor FAQs
1. Where are MDS shares listed?
MDS shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol MDS, and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol MDZ.
2. Does MDS trade shares or American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)?
MDS only trades shares on the NYSE.
3. Which indices are MDS shares a part of on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)?
MDS is a conponent of:
- The S&P/TSX Composite Index and its relevant subindices; S&P/TSX 60 Index, S&P/TSX Equity Index and S&P/TSX Capped Health Care Index. The S&P/TSX Composite Index is the principle broad market measure for Canadian equity markets.
- The NYSE Composite Index and its subindex, NYSE Health Care Index.
The NYSE Composite Index is designed to measure the performance of all common stocks listed on the NYSE, including ADRs, REITs and tracking stocks.
4. What types of investors own MDS shares?
MDS investors include global life sciences investors. As of December 31, 2007 86% of shareholders were institutional holders, (investment companies, pension funds, mutual funds, investment trusts and banks), and 13% are retail holders (individuals investing on their own behalf).
Of total shares held by institutions, approximately 72% are held by shareholders outside of Canada principally in the United States.
5. Are there any shareholders who own more than 10% of MDS shares outstanding?
Based on public filings available as of February 8, 2008, ValueAct Capital Partners L.P. in the US owns over 22.1 million shares or 18.1% of shares outstanding and Harris associates L.P in the US, owns over 14.1 million shares or 11.6% of shares outstanding.
6. Do you have a Normal Course Issuer Bid outstanding? How many shares has the Company been active in buying back?
Yes, we do have a Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) in place. An NCIB is a program wherein we file with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) that we intend to buy back some amount of our own stock, up to a maximum of 5% of our public float of common shares. If we believe our shares have become temporarily undervalued for any reason (market downturns, short term earnings, fluctuations, etc.), and if we believe that it is in our shareholders' best interest to do so, then we can use excess cash to purchase our own stock.
On June 30, 2008, MDS announced that it had filed a Notice of Intention to make a Normal Course Issuer Bid to purchase up to 4,136,766 (5% of the public float of 82,735,313 Common Shares) from time to time during the 12 months commencing July 3, 2008 and ending July 2, 2009, if deemed appropriate by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. This replaced the previous Normal Course Issuer Bid which expired on July 2, 2008 and under which no purchases were made.
7. Do you have any preferred shares, options, or any other vehicle to play?
No.
8. Why did MDS discontinue its dividend?
In its plans to transition to a global life sciences company after the sale of MDS Diagnostics, MDS evaluated the practices of its global life sciences peers with respect to the issue of dividend payments. In keeping with these practices, MDS decided to discontinue its small quarterly dividend payment. The last dividend payment was paid January 8, 2007.
9. I own MDS shares and participated in the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP). What happens once the dividend is discontinued?
The discontinuation of the dividend coincided with the discontinuance of our Dividend Reinvestment and Share Purchase Plan (DRIP). This occured immediately following the payment of the last dividend declared by the MDS Board of Directors. The last dividend payment was paid January 8, 2007. For more information concerning the discontinuation of this plan please contact CIBC Mellon Trust at (416) 813-4600 or toll-free at 1 (800) 387-0825.
10. How many times has MDS split its stock?
MDS has split its stock five times in its history, including the stock dividend issued in 2000.
Stock Split History
| Record Date | Method | Basis |
September 17, 1980 |
Stock Split |
2 for 1 |
July 13, 1983 |
Stock Split |
2 for 1 |
March 10, 1990 |
Stock Split |
2 for 1 |
November 15, 1996 |
Stock Split |
2 for 1 |
September 26, 2000 |
Stock Dividend |
1 for 1* |
* Equivalent to a two-for-one stock split |
||
11. When is MDS’ year-end and quarterly earnings releases?
MDS has a fiscal year calendar from November 1 to October 31 the following year.
For the 2008 fiscal year, we will report quarterly earnings on the following schedule:
- First Quarter Ending January 31, 2008– Earnings Release March 6, 2008
- Second Quarter Ending April 30, 2008– Earnings Release June 5, 2008
- Third Quarter Ending July 31, 2008– Earnings Release September 4, 2008
- Fourth Quarter Ending October 31, 2008– Earnings Release December 17, 2008
12. Why do you have an October 31 year-end? Would you change your year-end?
Our year-end is historical. There is no particular reason to change it to a calendar year-end, and we would only do so if there were a business reason.
13. What does it mean when it says your quarterly results are unaudited?
The Chartered Accountants of Canada (CICA) standards require that year-end results are audited but not quarterly results. For each quarter, therefore, our results are unaudited. This means that although Ernst & Young has reviewed the financial results, a detailed inventory third-party verification has not been conducted. As part of the year-end audit, our results are audited by Ernst & Young, and reported on in our Annual Report.
14. Who are the investment dealers and their analysts that publish research on MDS?
MDS Inc. is followed by the Canadian and US analysts listed below.
| Company | Analyst | Telephone |
CIBC World Markets |
Joe Walewicz |
514.847.6466 |
Desjardins Securities |
Maher Yaghi |
514.281.8664 |
Dundee Securities |
Dave Martin |
416.350.3477 |
Goldman Sachs |
Alex Alvarez |
212.902.2517 |
Jefferies & Company |
David Windley |
615.963.8313 |
Merrill Lynch Canada |
Hari Sambasivam |
416.369.7637 |
Raymond James |
Brian Bapty |
604.659.8238 |
RBC Dominion Securities |
Doug Miehm |
416.842.7823 |
Scotia Capital |
John Maletic |
416.863.7708 |
TD Newcrest |
Lennox Gibbs |
416.308.2213 |
UBS |
Jeff Elliott |
416.814.3705 |
MDS is a global life sciences company. Our global life sciences peers include companies like: Invitrogen as a product and service provider to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and research institutions; Covance, PPD Inc, Quintiles Transnational, and Charles River Labs in the contract research organization markets; Covidien, in the imaging products markets; and, Thermo Scientific and Waters in the analytical instruments markets.
16. Can the Company be taken over?
Any publicly traded
company has the potential of being taken over. The Shareholder Rights Plan, which was approved by
shareholders on March 9, 2006, provides shareholders with some protection in
the event of an unsolicited takeover bid.
17. How can I keep up to date on company progress and significant events?
You can elect any of the following options to receive updates on MDS:
- View News Releases on our website
- Register for automatic email notification of news releases, webcasts, and other events by clicking here
- Request news via fax by calling 1-888-MDS-7222
- Contact our Investor Relations department with your specific questions: Investor Relations