Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Monday's session are Caesars Entertainment Corp.(CZR), Oracle
Corp.(ORCL) and Tesco Corp.(TESO).
Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CZR) on Monday agreed to acquire
affiliate Caesars Acquisition Co. (CACQ) in a stock-for-stock
merger that will better position the $18.4 billion debt load of its
largest unit. The acquisition also will consolidate the parent
company's stake in properties such as Planet Hollywood and Bally's
Las Vegas, online gambling operations and other assets it owns with
Caesars Acquisition.
Tesco Corp. (TESO) gave a disappointing outlook for its current
quarter on Monday, saying the rapid decline in energy prices is
hampering demand for its drilling equipment. Houston-based Tesco,
which develops and commercializes drilling technology, said some of
its customers have asked to defer shipments of drilling equipment
until next year, while others have canceled orders altogether.
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) said Monday that it bought
advertising-analytics company Datalogix Inc. in its latest bid to
beef up its cloud offerings. The move comes days after Oracle
posted quarterly profit and revenue that broke a streak of
three-straight quarters in which the company's results fell shy of
analysts' expectations. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The largest manager of U.S. prescription-drug benefits, Express
Scripts Holding Co. (ESRX), announced Monday that it will make an
AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) hepatitis C treatment the exclusive option for
patients with the most common form of hepatitis C. The move will
help the drug maker take market share from Gilead Sciences Inc.
(GILD), which makes the blockbuster Sovaldi, but is likely to be
controversial for limiting doctors' and patients' treatment
choices.
Stocks to Watch from Barron's:
CVS Health (CVS) stock has gotten a dose of valuation Viagra.
Back around Valentine's Day, shares traded at $70, or 15.4 times
projected earnings for the following four quarters. Shares were
recently selling for $95 and change, up more than 35%. CVS's
combination of a vast drugstore chain, top prescription-benefits
manager, and growing base of walk-in clinics gives it powerful
exposure to both rising insurance coverage under Obamacare and the
"retailization" of health care, in which drop-in clinics are
increasingly used for mundane matters, thus holding down expenses.
That makes the company much more than a retailer, as evidenced by
recent results. Shares could post low-double-digit returns in the
next few years.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
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