Morning Movers 4/7: DISK, LNC, EAT, GGP Higher; CHTT, FARO, ADM, ISRG Lower

April 7, 2009 9:22 AM EDT

Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISK) 39.3% HIGHER; announced that representatives of Image Entertainment and Nyx Acquisitions, Inc., an affiliate of Q-Black, LLC, agreed in principle to a third amendment to the amended merger agreement. Under the latest amendment, Image will receive a $1 million payment into its operating account on April 7, 2009 from Nyx. The $1 million payment will not form part of the merger consideration, and will be immediately available to Image. Nyx will not receive any capital securities or debt obligation from Image for the $1 million payment. Under the merger agreement as previously amended, Nyx had the right to extend the merger closing date from April 6, 2009 to April 20, 2009 if Nyx deposited an additional $1.5 million into a trust account to secure payment of the business interruption fee on April 6, 2009. Under the terms of the amended merger agreement, Nyx has agreed to acquire 100% of the outstanding common stock of Image Entertainment for $2.75 per share in cash.

Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) 11.6% HIGHER; today announced that it has repaid a $500 million debt maturity and plans to repay $200 million of commercial paper as it matures over the next several weeks. The source of funds for the debt repayment includes a $400 million ordinary cash dividend from The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company and a $300 million dividend from the company's principal reinsurance subsidiary. Click here for the full report.

Chattem, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTT) 9% LOWER; reports Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $1.07, versus the analyst estimate of $1.13. Revenue for the quarter was $116.1 million, versus the consensus of $126.17 million. Sees FY09 non-GAAP EPS of $4.80-$4.90, versus the consensus of $4.60.

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT) 8.9% HIGHER; sees Q3 earnings per diluted share, before special items, of $0.44 to $0.45. EPS on a GAAP basis will be $0.33 to $0.34. The Wall Street consensus is $0.29. Wachovia also upgraded the stock to Outperform.

FARO Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: FARO) 7.9% LOWER; today announced a global reduction in force driven by continued economic weakness. This reduction is in addition to a 7% reduction announced on February 20, 2009. The reduction, effective immediately, impacts approximately 14% of FARO's workforce across all functions. The Company expects to save approximately $7.4 million on an annual basis and will incur a first quarter charge of approximately $0.5 million related to severance costs.

Financial Bear 3x (NYSE: FAZ) 7.3% HIGHER; financials appear to be leading the averages lower this morning, although commodities are also having some trouble ahead of Alcoa's (NYSE: AA) Q1 earnings, which will kick off the season. Around the financial sector: Goldman (NYSE: GS) down 2.3%, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) down 3.2%, Citigroup (NYSE: C) down 3.3%, USBancorp (NYSE: USB) down 4.2%, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) down 3.6% and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) is down 2.6%.

General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) 7.2% HIGHER; despite a Wachovia downgrade, shares are continuing higher following a 35% surge yesterday.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) 6.5% LOWER; Citi downgrades the stock from Hold to Sell. Adds stock to Conviction Sell List. Price target $25. Click here for more color on the downgrade.

Immucor (Nasdaq: BLUD) 5.8% HIGHER; reports Q3 EPS of $0.27, 5 cents better than the analyst estimate of $0.22. Revenue for the quarter was $75.3 million, versus the consensus of $73.23 million. Reaffirm its FY09 outlook: EPS at the upper end or modestly above $0.97-$1.02 and revs of $292-$300 million. The Street is currently expecting FY09 EPS and sales of $0.99 and $297 million, respectively.

Liberty Media Corporation (Nasdaq: LINTA) (Nasdaq: LCAPA) (Nasdaq: LMDIA) 5% HIGHER; today announced several actions at Liberty Capital to reduce risk and strengthen its balance sheet. Click here for the full report.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG) 4.9% LOWER; Leerink Swann downgrades ISRG from Outperform to Market Perform.

China Sky One Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSKI) 4.6% HIGHER; reaffirms its FY08 sales outlook of $88-$90 million, versus the consensus of $88.07 million. Net income for the year is expected to be about $27-$28 million. (only 1 analyst covers the stock)

ANSYS, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSS) 4.5% LOWER; J.P. Morgan downgrades the stock from Overweight to Neutral.

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) 3.4% LOWER; announced today that it plans to offer 8,500,000 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. The Company expects to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1,275,000 shares of common stock to cover overallotments. The Company also announced today that it plans to offer $200 million aggregate principal amount of 6½% Senior Notes due 2016 in an underwritten public offering. Separately, the company affirmed its FY09 FFO guidance of $2.55-$2.65, which compares to the Street estimate of $2.63.

BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) 3.3% LOWER; Goldman Sachs removed BWA from its Conviction Buy List. The firm is maintaining its Buy rating on the stock.

Get This Report Daily Here: http://www.streetinsider.com/entities/StreetInsider.com+Morning+Movers.

Related Categories

Special Reports

Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List
• Goldman Sachs Conviction Sell List
• JPMorgan
• Goldman Sachs
• Citi
• Wachovia
• Banc of America
• Dividend
• StreetInsider.com Morning Movers
• Bankruptcy

Add Your Comment

Name

Subject

Body

Verification can't see the text?
click here to refresh the image.
what's this?