Shares of Cell Therapeutics Inc. (CTIC) surged 16% in Monday premarket trading after the company said it signed a licensing and co-development agreement with Novartis AG (NVS) for lung-cancer drug Xyotax.
Under the deal, Cell Therapeutics could receive up to $270 million depending on sales milestones. Novartis also has agreed to make a $15 million equity investment in Cell Therapeutics.
Shares of Cell Therapeutics recently changed hands at $1.95, up 32 cents from Friday's close of $2.27.
Symbol Technologies Inc. (SBL) was up 6.5% at $13.54 on rumors the $3.2 billion wireless-equipment company is winding up an auction to sell itself.
People familiar with the matter said the transaction could happen in a matter of days, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Motorola Inc. (MOT) is in the best position to win the company, though other bidders could also circle as the situation comes to a head, these people said.
One person said the deal could come in at a per-share price of roughly $15, representing a premium of around 20% to Symbol's Friday trading price.
Specialty retailer Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. (CHIC) was up 2% at $26.50 after the company priced 5 million shares at $26.25 a share Friday.
Shares of automaker General Motors Corp. (GM) were up 0.13% at $31.66 in early trading, while Ford Motor Co. (F) rose 0.2% to $8.04.
Crain's Automotive News reported on its Web site Monday morning that the two companies in July discussed a merger or alliance. The report cited sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, one source says that there is a small chance that the talks will lead to anything. Automotive News said the two sides aren't currently holding talks.
Also, Ford recently announced that for the first time since 1982, it will stop paying a dividend on its common and Class B stock.
Class A shares of Freescale Semiconductor (FSLB) jumped 6.7% to $37.16 in premarket trading after the company agreed to sell itself to a private-equity group led by Blackstone Group for $17.6 billion, or $40 a share.
The purchase price represents a 36% premium over Freescale's average share price in the 30 trading days before Sept. 8. The board can still solicit other offers for the next 50 days.
The deal is said to be the largest-ever leveraged buyout in the technology sector.
UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy early Monday based on valuation.
In other news, Sharper Image Corp. (SHRP) shares have yet to trade before the bell. Monday, the specialty retailer announced it will be delaying its second-quarter 10-Q report due to a previously disclosed review of stock option practices.
Also, the company will restate its three fiscal years ended Jan. 31, and the fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2006 and 2005 to reflect a pretax noncash compensation charge associated with the issuance of options.
Shares of Sharper Image closed Friday at $9.69, up 5 cents, or 0.5%.
Shares of Premium Standard Farms Inc. (PORK) jumped 15% to $20.32 after the No. 1 U.S. hog producer, Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD), said it will acquire smaller rival in a cash and stock deal.
Shares of Smithfield were down 0.21% at $29.18.
The deal, valued at about $810 million, including the assumption of about $117 million in debt, comes at a time when the pork industry is attempting to recover from an oversupply of meat in the marketplace that has hurt margins and eroded earnings. Both Smithfield, of Smithfield, Va., and Premium Standard, of Kansas City, said last month that their most recent quarterly earnings fell by 50%.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley (MS) plans to beef up its operations in Australia, which now accounts for about a third of Asia's mergers-and-acquisitions business.
Shares of Morgan Stanley were yet to trade from their Friday closing price of $70.95.
Semiconductor-equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) was up 2.3% at $17.59 after the company bought 145 million shares as part of an accelerated stock-repurchase plan.
The Santa Clara, Calif., company said the buyback, combined with the repurchase of another 9 million shares in the current quarter, has reduced its shares outstanding by about 10% since the end of the third quarter.
Also, Applied Materials said its board approved an additional authorization to buy back up to $5 billion worth of stock over the next three years.
Meanwhile, PepsiAmericas Inc. (PAS) on Monday cut its profit forecast for the year, citing lower-than-expected net pricing due to mix and higher cost of goods sold in its U.S. business.
Shares of the Minneapolis-based manufacturer, seller and distributor of PepsiCo beverages were down 6.5% at $21.10.
In other news, Intel Corp. (INTC) was down 0.31% at $19.45. Researchers at Intel and the University of California at Santa Barbara are claiming a breakthrough in creating lasers on computer chips, a development that could lead to sharp reductions in the cost of ultrafast data communications.
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