Dec 11 (Reuters) – Some U.S. stocks on the move on Tuesday:
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** TECH SHARES, OPTIMISM ON ‘CLIFF’ PROPEL WALL ST HIGHER
Technology shares led a 1 percent rise in major stock
indexes on Tuesday, pushing the S&P; 500 to its best levels since
mid-October and erasing all of the post-election selloff. The
Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.96 percent. The
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 1.03 percent. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.49 percent.
** APPLE INC ; $546.15, up 3.09 pct (1232 ET)
Apple shares recovered after a week of decline. The iPhone
maker’s stock had fallen about 9 percent last week.
** SALESFORCE.COM INC, $164.61, up 3.9 pct (1218 ET)
Brokerage Susquehanna Financial Group raised its price
target on the business software provider’s stock citing the
company’s stable growth in the face of lower IT spending by
customers.
Cloud computing continued to be top priority and
software-as-a-service, which enables companies to cut costs,
were the reason for Salesforce.com’s stability, analyst Derrick
Wood said in a note to clients.
** TRIPADVISOR INC, $41.34, up 8.36 pct (1232 ET)
** EXPEDIA INC, $59.03, up 2.29 pct (1232 ET)
** ORBITZ WORLDWIDE INC, $2.39, up 3.02 pct (1232
ET)
Billionaire John Malone’s Liberty took control of travel
information site TripAdvisor after it bought about 5 million
shares in the company from media veteran Barry Diller.
Shares of peers Expedia and Orbitz Worldwide were also up in
morning trade.
** CELGENE CORP, $82.29 up 2.22 percent (1234 ET)
At a conference, the company presented data from a
late-stage study on its experimental cancer treatment,
bolstering the drug’s prospects and sending the drugmaker’s
shares up to their life-high.
In November, Celgene revealed top-line data from the study
that showed that its drug pomalidomide significantly improved
survival in patients with multiple myeloma who had failed other
therapies.
The drug works in patients who have failed to respond to
Celgene’s top selling cancer treatment Revlimid. Revlimid
brought in sales of $970 million for the company in latest
quarter.
** CLEARWIRE CORP, $2.75, up 14.17 pct (1231 ET)
Clearwire shares rose on Tuesday after a CNBC report that
its biggest shareholder, Sprint Nextel, was in active
talks to buy the rest of the company.
Citing unnamed people close to the situation, CNBC said
Sprint was in active discussions to buy 49 percent of Clearwire
and that a deal may be announced before year’s
end.
** STILLWATER MINING CO, $12.24, up 6.71 pct (1226
ET)
The platinum and palladium producer said it will join the
S&P; SmallCap 600 index effective Dec. 13, replacing JDA
Software Group Inc, a maker of supply-chain management
software.
** DELTA AIR LINES INC, $10.73, up 6 pct (1215 ET)
** UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS INC, $21.73, up 4 pct
(1216 ET)
Delta Air Lines is buying Singapore Airlines’ 49
percent stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360 million and
has agreed to a transatlantic joint venture with the British
carrier, expanding its access to London’s capacity-constrained
Heathrow airport.
News of the deal also sent up shares of United Continental
on expectations that a consolidation could lead to more rational
pricing, Wolfe Trahan & Co analyst Hunter Keay said.
** MICHAEL KORS HOLDINGS LTD, $51.43, up 3 pct
(1103 ET)
Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of the fashion company with a
“buy” rating, saying it expects Michael Kors to sustain strong
sales over the next four years as it captures a larger share of
the North American handbag and accessories market, and expands
into other categories like jewelry, shoes and apparel.
** TUMI HOLDINGS INC, $21.95, up 4.87 pct (1128 ET)
Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the luxury baggage and
travel goods maker’s stock with a “buy” rating, saying the
company’s store upgradation in North America is a game changer
that is sure to pull in more buyers and will help maintain sales
growth in the 20 to 25 percent range per year.
** GAP INC, $32.05, up 3.72 pct (1130 ET)
Goldman Sachs resumed coverage on the clothing retailer’s
stock with a “buy” rating, saying lower cotton prices will
reduce production costs.
** J.C. PENNEY CO, $19.58, up 6 pct (1122 ET)
Oppenheimer & Co maintained its “outperform” rating on the
apparel retailer saying the company is taking a more nimble
approach to promotions after sales declines, which will
successfully drive better traffic while maintaining the
integrity of new brands in JCP stores, Bloomberg said. (http://r.reuters.com/kyz54t)
** MAGELLAN HEALTH SERVICES INC, $49.18, down 7.16
pct (1113 ET)
The company, which specializes in managed mental health and
substance abuse services, forecast full year 2013 profit that
was well below analyst estimates. Magellan also named Barry
Smith as its new Chief Executive Officer.
** TNS INC, $20.81, up 42.92 pct (1215 ET)
The data communications company agreed to be bought by an
investor group led by Siris Capital Group in a deal valued at
about $862 million.
** HANWHA SOLARONE CO LTD, $0.90, down 6.83 pct
(1203 ET)
China-based Hanwha SolarOne’s quarterly loss nearly doubled
and the solar products maker cut its forecast for full-year
panel shipment, hurt by import duties in the United States and a
relentless slump in prices.
** SOMAXON PHARMACEUTICALS INC, $2.46, up 67.89 pct
(1044 ET)
Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc said it will buy
Somaxon for about $25 million in Pernix’s stock to gain control
over Somaxon’s insomnia drug, Silenor.
** HERTZ GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC, $15.76, down 2.77 pct
(1105 ET)
The car rental company said late on Monday that investment
funds associated with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, the Carlyle
Group and BofA Merrill Lynch were selling 50 million of its
shares.
Hertz had about 421 million shares outstanding as of Nov. 1.
** BG MEDICINE INC, $2.90, up 118.05 pct (1102 ET)
The company said it received European approval for marketing
its diagnostic blood test, CardioSCORE, in Europe and plans to
launch the test in the first half of 2013.
** SUNCOKE ENERGY INC, $14.71, down 7.4 pct (1044
ET)
The metallurgical coke maker said it expects its core
earnings for 2013 to be between $205 million and $230 million,
down by about $40 million to $50 million from 2012 due to lower
sale prices in its coal mining segment. Weak global demand for
steel has sent prices of key ingredient metallurgical coal down
sharply.
** HCA HOLDINGS INC, $32.78, down 23.19 pct (1100
ET)
The company on Monday said it plans to offer about 32
million shares for sale in an underwritten secondary offering.
** GENWORTH FINANCIAL INC, $6.90, up 2.7 pct (1045
ET)
Genworth Financial Inc GNW.N named Thomas McInerney chief
executive as the insurer looks to move past the billions of
dollars in losses from its mortgage insurance
business.
** AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC, $34.68, up 4
pct
The insurer said the U.S. Treasury will sell its last
remaining stake in the company, giving a total profit of $22.7
billion to taxpayers on the bailout.
** LIVEPERSON INC, $12.85, up 4.6 pct (1046 ET)
The chat software provider said its board approved a share
repurchase program of up to $20 million. LivePerson said the
program is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2014.
** HEALTHWAYS INC, $10.19, down 5.69 percent (1214
ET)
Shrinking margins could make it difficult for the health
services provider to meet consensus earnings expectations for
2014, Citi analyst James Naklicki wrote in a note.
The analyst cited contract losses and increased investment
spend ahead of the healthcare reform, for his expectations. He
started coverage of Healthways stock with a $9 price target and
a “sell” recommendation.
** WEBMD HEALTH CORP, $15.29, up 10.39 pct (1213
ET)
The health information website said it will cut around 250
jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, to reduce costs.
** SPX CORP, $62.96, down 7.86 pct (1212 ET)
** GARDNER DENVER INC, $69.75, up 2.3 pct (1212 ET)
SPX Corp is in exclusive talks to buy rival Gardner Denver
Inc and hopes to finalize a deal by the end of the year, four
people familiar with the matter said, in a merger that could
create an industrial machinery conglomerate with a market value
over $7 billion.
** DOLLAR GENERAL CORP, $ 44.16, down 5.18 pct (1210
ET)
The discount chain on Tuesday said it remained cautious
about the rest of the year despite an encouraging start to the
holiday season, as heightened competition in pricing and
advertising could hurt sales and margins.
** MORGAN STANLEY, $17.57, up 3.29 pct (1211 ET)
The bank might seek approval from the Federal Reserve to
repurchase shares for the first time in four years, the Wall
Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the firm’s
thinking.
** INTEL CORP, $20.57, up 2.44 pct (1211 ET)
The world’s largest chipmaker presented new manufacturing
technology that it said keeps it on track to launch a new
generation of chips for smartphones and tablets as it rushes to
catch up with Qualcomm and other rivals in the
fast-growing mobile market.
(Compiled by Garima Goel in Bangalore)
