Advancers
Angeion Corp. shares ended Monday with a 12.8% gain after the St. Paul, Minn., medical products provider reported first-quarter earnings of $176,000, or a nickel per share, up from a year-ago loss of $711,000, or 20 cents a share. The latest results include a loss of $4,000 related to discontinued operations. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $6.9 million from $5 million in the same period a year earlier.
Shares of BellSouth Corp. closed higher by 9.7% after the company agreed to be acquired by AT&T Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $67 billion . The merger is likely to renew speculation about other potential acquisitions, though the pickings are slim after a decade of deal-making.
CarrAmerica Realty Corp. stock surged 8.4% after the company agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of The Blackstone Group for roughly $5.6 billion. The deal values CarrAmerica shares at $44.75 each in cash, an 18.4% premium on the stock's close on Feb. 16 just prior to published reports about a potential acquisition, CarrAmerica said. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter.
Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares rallied 32.2% after the company said its Ampakine drug, CX717, said showed positive results for the treatment of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a Phase IIa clinical trial. The Irvine, Calif., company said 49 patients with ADHD completed the randomized, double-blind, two-way crossover study at seven U.S. sites. Overall test scores showed a positive trend in the 800 miligram twice-daily dose group, with a statistically significant effect compared with a placebo. Cortex said no increases in blood pressure or heart rate were observed with CX717.
Education Management Corp. shares closed up 12.6% after the company agreed to be taken private by Providence Equity Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a transaction valued at about $3.4 billion. Terms of the definitive agreement call for the buyers to pay $43 a share in cash for the Pittsburgh-based provider of private post-secondary education services, a premium of about 16.3% over Friday's closing price of $36.98.
Longview Fibre Co. shares jumped 19.6% after private equity firm Obsidian Finance Group and timber investment management company The Campbell Group jointly proposed to buy the forest products company for $26 a share in cash. That represents a 35% premium to Friday's closing price of $19.25. The proposal was hostile, as Obsidian and Campbell said two previous written requests for Longview to discuss their proposal had been rejected.
Shares of Nanophase Technologies Corp. gained 12.5% after the Romeville, Ill., company signed a supply agreement with Roche Diagnostics. The deal calls for Nanophase to supply certain nanoparticles to Roche for a medical diagnostics application through 2014. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Novavax Inc. shares tacked on 6.9% after the company formed an alliance with Bharat Biotech International Ltd. for rapid development of pandemic influenza vaccine for India and other South Asian markets. Novavax, Malvern, Penn., said it will receive unrestricted access to all preclinical and clinical data, and will receive a 'double-digit' royalty on all sales located within Bharat territories. Bharat will fund 100% of preclinical and clinical studies and assist in developing a manufacturing process for the influenza vaccine. Bharat will be responsible for the sale and distribution of the vaccine in India and surrounding countries.
Research in Motion Ltd. shares surged 15.1% after the company agreed to pay NTP Inc. $612.5 million to settle a patent dispute over the widely used BlackBerry wireless-email service.
Shares of Wynn Resorts ltd. shares rallied 12.2% after the company agreed to sell a subconcession to own and operate hotel casino resorts in Macau to Australia's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. for $900 million.
Decliners
Coherent Inc. shares fell 6.9% Monday after the company said it plans to offer $175 million worth of convertible debt to qualified institutional investors. The laser system maker will grant the underwriters of the offering options to buy up to an additional $25 million worth of convertible debt to cover over-allotments. The company will use the proceeds of the offering to fund its purchase of Excel Technology.
Shares of Exide Technologies sank 29.6% after the company lowered its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) outlook for the March quarter due to weak sales of its transportation battery products in North America due to an unusually warm January. The company, which disclosed the forecast in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, also cited a reduction in sales from its Industrial Energy Europe unit following recently implemented price increases. The company now sees EBITDA of between $105 million and $110 million for the quarter. Its prior projection was for EBITDA of at least $123 million. Exide noted an EBITDA performance of less than $123 million would put it in default of its senior credit facility and said it's in talks to obtain an amendment or waiver for the EBITDA covenant of the facility.
Grant Prideco Inc. stock gave back 7.5% after the company was downgraded to neutral at Banc of America Securities.
Hyperion Solutions Corp. shares lost 5.2% after the company was downgraded at J.P. Morgan to neutral from overweight.
Insmed Inc. shares fell 7.6% after the company filed for the sale of up to 20 million shares of its common stock. The deal includes an over-allotment option for the sale of an additional three million common shares.
Shares of Open Solutions Inc. dropped 8.5% after the Glastonbury, Conn., provider of financial data processing software applications forecast pro forma earnings of 5 to 7 cents a share for the first quarter on revenue of between $62 million and $64 million. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for a profit of 21 cents a share in the March period. For the full year, Open Solutions sees pro forma earnings of 88 to 93 cents a share on revenue of between $370 million and $380 million. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of $1.07 a share for fiscal 2006. After Friday's closing bell, the company completed the acquisition of Bisys Group for $470 million in cash.
Palm Inc. shares closed down 6.7% after the company was downgraded at Morgan Keegan to market perform.
Shares of Redback Networks Inc. tumbled 15.4% after the company was downgraded Morgan Joseph to hold.
Sitel Corp. shares lost 6.2% after the company said it's reviewing irregularities at one of its international subsidiaries, including accounting errors and the failure to remit certain municipal taxes. The employees of the subsidiary, which the company did not name, may have engaged in unlawful activity, and Sitel has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission. Based on a preliminary review, the company expects to restate its results for fiscal years 2000 through 2004 and possibly for the first three quarters of fiscal 2005. Sitel estimates the total earnings impact, primarily related to 2000 through 2004, will be $5 million to $7 million. Sitel, an Omaha, Neb.-based provider of outsourced customer support solutions, said it may delay the filing of its 10-K for 2005, but said it expects to report fourth-quarter earnings of 8 cents to 10 cents a share on revenue of $290 million.
Sun Hydraulics Corp. shares plunged 11.3% after the Sarasota, Fla., maker of hydraulic cartridge products forecast earnings of 35 to 37 cents a share for the first quarter on sales of roughly $34 million. The current average estimate of two analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for a profit of 38 cents a share in the March period.
Tripos Inc. stock ended the session lower by 9.4% after the company swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $5.2 million, or 52 cents a share. The company made a profit of $246,000, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Fourth-quarter revenue slipped 19.7% to $13.9 million. The company said the results were hurt by the winding down of a four-year $90 million project with Pfizer, including from an $861,000 write-off of a temporary laboratory. The company said it will also take a charge in the first quarter of 2006 related to a reduction in the work force in January. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.