Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) announced positive study data for its growth hormone treatment. Shares are up almost 7% at $1.26 on over 75,000 shares in the pre-market.
Affymax, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is down huge after reporting that its anemia drug met primary endpoints. Shares closed at $23.01, but the stock is down almost 65% at $8.07 on over 1.7 million shares.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is rallying with stocks and with China after the Yuan de-pegging news from the weekend. Shares are up 3.3% at $76.59 on about 150,000 shares.
BP plc (NYSE: BP) is down 3.6% at $30.62 on heavy ADR volume. The oil giant has said that the costs of cleaning up the oil spill already reached $2 billion. Weekend reports put the company at raising up to $50 billion through debt and via asset sales. The worst case scenario now have the leak being up to 100,000 barrels a day this could be even more than 100,000.
EF Johnson Technologies Inc. (EFJI) said it has agreed to a new price of about $40.2 million in its buyout by Francisco Partners, a 43% hike from their previously agreed deal.
EF Johnson said it will now be bought for $1.50 a share, a 46% premium to Friday's close of $1.03. Amendments to the deal also increased termination fees and allowable transaction expenses.
No reason for the boost was given in a statement announcing the move, and spokesmen for the company's were not immediately available for comment.
The maker of portable radios and other communications gear for the military and public-safety workers first announced the deal last month as it swung to the black for the first quarter on strong sales growth. It had seen sales trend downward in recent years and suffered liquidity concerns in recent months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) logged its second 2% weekly gain in a row last week, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) closed four consecutive sessions above its 200-day moving average. It would seem that the bulls are back in control, and that Wall Street has left the lows of its recent bull market correction in the rear-view mirror. What's more, with news out of China driving U.S. stock futures sharply higher in pre-market trading, it looks like traders have received a much needed spark to extend the recent run higher. Specifically, futures on the DJIA and the SPX are trading roughly 114 points and 16.75 points above fair value, respectively. Finally, as Todd Salamone noted in this week's
Monday Morning Outlook, sentiment on the "customer-only, equity option buyers on the International Securities Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange is at a pessimistic extreme for 2010." Historically, our data has shown that "the market is more apt to surge higher when a pessimistic extreme is identified," according to Todd.
In merger and acquisition news, Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (RAH) said it is buying American Italian Pasta Co. (AIPC) for $53 per share in cash, making the deal worth approximately $1.2 billion. AIPC closed at $41.73 per share on Friday. Ralcorp Holdings Inc. also agreed to buy two private food firms, North American Baking Ltd. and J.T. Bakeries Inc.
Finally, Luby's Inc. (LUB) rallied sharply late on Friday, after the company announced that it was buying bankrupt Fuddruckers for $61 million in cash. Luby's said it will receive "substantially all of the assets of Fuddruckers, Inc., Magic Brands, LLC and certain of their affiliates."
American Italian Pasta Co. (NASDAQ: AIPC) is soaring on active trading of more than 2 million shares after Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (
NYSE
: RAH) agreed to buy the company out for $1.2 billion. Shares are up 26% at $52.62, well above the $44.00 high of the last 52-weeks.
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BP (NYSE: BP): An internal BP document released by US Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey over the weekend estimated the rate of oil spill at 100,000 barrels per day versus the government estimate of 60,000 barrels. Meanwhile, BP on Monday said it has so far spent two billion dollars on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP shares slumped more than 3% in pre-market trading.
Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH): Ralcorp Holdings on Monday agreed to acquire American Italian Pasta Co. (NASDAQ: AIPC) for $1.2 billion in cash. The deal that values American Italian Pasta at $53 a share represents a 27% premium to Friday's closing price of $41.73. Ralcorp said Friday that it expects third-quarter earnings of $1 a share. Analysts currently expect earnings of $1.29 a share. Shares of Ralcorp Holdings fell more than 2% in Monday's pre-market trading.
NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG): The company said Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement with US Solar, an affiliate of Arclight Capital Partners LLC, to acquire a portfolio of solar development projects on nine sites in California and Arizona.
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