Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Tuesday's session are BGC Partners Inc. (BGCP), Obagi Medical
Products Inc. (OMPI) and Humana Inc. (HUM).
NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) agreed to acquire the eSpeed
platform from BGC in a cash-and-stock deal worth as much as $1.23
billion as the exchange company seeks an entry into the electronic
fixed-income business. BGC's market capitalization before the close
was around $683 million. BGC shares rose 47% to $5.69 in premarket
trading.
Merz Pharma Group has offered to buy specialty pharmaceutical
company Obagi Medical Products for about $385 million, looking to
top a $345 million bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International
Inc. (VRX, VRX.T) a few weeks ago. Merz is offering $22 a share in
cash for Obagi, above Valeant's offer price of $19.75. Obagi shares
jumped 16% premarket to $22.80, as investors may be expecting a
bidding war to ensue.
Health insurers stand to get significantly more money for
running Medicare Advantage plans next year than they expected,
according to new government rates announced late Monday. The good
news sent shares of Medicare-focused Humana up 9.3% to $81.97
premarket. Fellow insurers UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and Aetna
Inc. (AET) climbed 3.8% and 3.1%, respectively, premarket.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) from neutral
to sell, saying in a note to clients that earnings per-share
expectations could face downward revisions in coming quarters and
that any recovery in earnings power for the technology company will
be muted through fiscal year 2014. The investment bank also said
that "current restructuring actions will be largely countered by
incremental weakness in PCs, enterprise hardware, services and
printing in fiscal year 2013." Shares fell 4.1% to $22.36
premarket.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn disclosed a 9.27% passive stake
in Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) in a Securities and Exchange
Commission filing. The speech-software company's shares rose 8% to
$21.80 premarket.
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and AT&T Inc. (T) have been
working on putting together a breakup bid for U.K.-based mobile
operator Vodafone Group PLC (VOD, VOD.LN), according to the
Financial Times' Alphaville column which cited usually reliable
people. According to the story, should the bid happen, it would be
pitched at around a 40% premium to Vodafone's current price. A
Vodafone spokesman declined to comment on the report and Verizon
and AT&T couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Vodafone
American depositary shares rose 4.8% to $29.70 premarket.
Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NAT) has commenced an offering of
$87 million of its shares as the tanker company looks to raise
funds for acquisitions and for general corporate purposes. The
company has a market capitalization of $633 million, according to
FactSet Research. Shares were off 12% at $9.65 premarket.
Watchlist
American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC) raised its revenue forecast
for the fiscal fourth quarter, citing foreseeable growth in its
wind and grid units, as well as customer interest in its high
temperature superconductor products.
Chip maker Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) has named Bryan
Ingram, most recently the general manager of the company's wireless
semiconductor division, as its new chief operating officer.
CBOE Holdings Inc.'s (CBOE) average daily trading volume of
options at its namesake exchange decreased 13% in March from a year
earlier, while its market share also declined.
Dominion Resources Inc. (D) has agreed to pay a $3.4 million
penalty and will spend about $9.8 million on pollution-reducing
projects to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations, the
Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
said.
Fluor Corp. (FLR) said it has agreed to pay $1.1 million to
settle a lawsuit alleging that the engineering and construction
company misused federal funds for lobbying.
Immunomedics Inc. (IMMU) expects to receive a total payment of
$16.7 million after reaching a settlement with its former broker,
resolving allegations the drug company had brought to the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority related its investments.
Investors Real Estate Trust (IRET) is offering 8 million shares
of beneficial interest and said proceeds will ultimately be used
for general business purposes, which may include acquiring or
developing land and real-estate properties and reducing its debt.
The real estate investment trust had 94.6 million shares
outstanding as of Feb. 22.
Shoe Carnival Inc.'s (SCVL) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings
slipped 2% as the footwear retailer reported higher input costs and
general expenses that offset improved sales. The company also
offered first-quarter guidance below analyst expectations, citing a
slow start to its spring selling season.
Synnex Corp. (SNX) appointed FedEx Corp. (FDX) veteran Marshall
W. Witt the information-technology distributor's chief financial
officer, effective next week.
Tibco Software Inc. (TIBX) said its Chief Financial Officer
Sydney Carey will leave the provider of data-integration software
to join a private, venture-backed technology company.
Teen-oriented retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) unveiled in
a filing that comparable retail segment net sales in the fiscal
first-quarter thus far are high single-digit positive.
Fitch Ratings upgraded US Airways Group Inc.'s (LCC)
speculative-grade ratings by two notches to reflect continued
improvement of the carrier's credit profile on a standalone basis,
excluding potential benefits from its pending merger with American
Airlines parent AMR Corp. (AAMRQ).
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com
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