Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Friday's session are Lorillard Inc. (LO), Wells Fargo & Co.
(WFC) and Rent-A-Center Inc. (RCII).
U.S. tobacco company Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) is in talks to
buy smaller rival Lorillard, both companies confirmed Friday, in a
multibillion-dollar deal that would create a powerful new No. 2 to
industry leader Altria Group Inc. (MO). Reynolds American shares
rose 1.2% to $63.00 premarket, while Lorillard shares climbed 5% to
$66.25.
Wells Fargo posted a 3.8% rise in net income as a continued
slowdown in the bank's lucrative mortgage business was offset by
stronger lending and lower provisions for loans that could sour.
But shares edged down 0.6% to $51.49 premarket as a key measure of
lending profitability declined.
Rent-A-Center warned its results for the second quarter will
fall below expectations, pointing to macroeconomic pressures that
are burdening its financially constrained customers. Shares fell
13% to $25.40 in premarket trading.
MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) and Radian Group Inc. (RDN)
criticized proposed standards for private-mortgage insurers seeking
to do business with Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC),
claiming the level of liquid assets insurers would need to hold is
excessive. MGIC shares slumped 13% to $8.00 premarket, while Radian
shares fell 6.5% to $13.60.
J.P. Morgan initiated coverage of Halozyme Therapeutics Inc.
(HALO) with an overweight rating and a $13 price target, saying in
a note to clients that the company's proprietary pipeline appears
to be garnering increased attention. Halozyme shares climbed 5.2%
to $9.77 premarket.
Kofax Ltd. (KFX, KFX.LN) said its fiscal 2014 earnings will be
below expectations due to the delay in license revenue
transactions. Shares slumped 18% to $6.64 premarket.
Fastenal Co. (FAST) said its second-quarter earnings rose nearly
8% as the company's revenue continued to improve, though margins
weakened slightly. Still, shares fell 2.4% to $47.01 premarket as
revenue came in below analysts' estimates.
Shopping-center owner AmREIT Inc. (AMRE) said it is evaluating a
$433 million unsolicited takeover bid from Regency Centers Corp.
(REG). AmREIT's Class B shares slipped 8.7% to $20.50 premarket
after jumping some 17% in Thursday trading.
Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (ISLE) said it had eliminated several
senior positions in a move expected to save about $2.5 million,
excluding severance payments, according to a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares slipped 8.1% to $9.24
premarket.
Defense and security-products maker Arotech Corp. (ARTX) said it
plans to offer an unspecified amount of its shares in a public
offering. Arotech recently had about 21 million shares outstanding,
according to FactSet. Shares fell 6.9% to $3.50 premarket.
Watchlist:
Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. (AHL) said it expects
second-quarter operating earnings above Wall Street projections,
citing "the continued excellent performance across our
businesses."
Chevron Corp. (CVX) said it expects its second-quarter
production to decline slightly from the year-earlier period as
lower output abroad offsets a modest increase domestically.
Cosi Inc. (COSI) named Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) veteran Scott
Carlock as the chief financial officer of the struggling sandwich
chain.
Cloud-based software provider E2open Inc.'s (EOPN) loss widened
in its fiscal first quarter as operating expenses continued to
rise.
NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL), which bought oil-storage company
TransMontaigne Inc. from Morgan Stanley (MS) last week, said it is
offering to buy the outstanding units of TransMontaigne Partners LP
(TLP) in a one-for-one exchange of common units.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) named company veteran Todd A.
Stevens as the future chief executive of the California oil-and-gas
operations it plans to spin off into a separate, publicly traded
company and William E. Albrecht as executive chairman.
Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (VSH) said that it has reached a
deal to buy Taiwan's Capella Microsystems Inc. for about $205
million, as it looks to broaden its optical sensors business.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com and Maria Armental at
maria.armental@wsj.com
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