$3.77
3.5%
Deere & Co. stock increased to $110.81. A Lehman Brothers analyst upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “equal weight,” saying the Moline-based maker of farm equipment could see increased demand because of higher prices for agricultural commodities.
$1.75
25.8%
Shares of Fremont General Corp. climbed to $8.53. Mortgage-lending companies rebounded for a second day on a report showing an increase in home-loan refinancing and rising prospects for takeovers.
$2.24
9.2%
Shares of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. jumped to $26.49. The second-largest maker of automobile drive systems was raised to “overweight” from “neutral” by an analyst at JPMorgan.
-$0.91
4.6%
Conseco Inc. stock sank to $18.75. The Carmel, Ind.-based life insurer that emerged from bankruptcy in 2003 said it can’t “provide any commentary on outlook” because of the volatility of long-term-care insurance.
$1.95
16.5%
Shares of Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp. surged to $13.79. The ice cream chain with 514 restaurants said it hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. to help it explore a possible sale of the company.
$2.57
8.2%
Shares of Payless ShoeSource Inc. rose to $34. The shoe retailer said that, excluding some items, it earned 15 cents a share in the fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting 6 cents a share.
