Top 10 News Items 2/14-2/18: NYSE Euronext/Deutsche Boerse Announces Definitive Agreement, Sanofi, Genzyme Finally Approve Deal, Stocks Continue Higher, Up 28% Since Sept.
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Below is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. The NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and Deutsche Boerse confirmed this week that the company's have agreed t oa business combination. According to the terms of the deal, each NYSE Euronext share will be converted into 0.4700 of a share of the new holding company. The agreement has caused public concerns as the former Deutsche Boerse shareholders will own 60% of the combined group and the former NYSE Euronext shareholders would own 40%. A name for the combined company has not yet been decided, but this is also drawing public scrutiny.
2. Following months of talks, Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) and Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced a deal this week. Sanofi will buy Genzyme for $74.00 per share in cash, or approximately $20.1 billion, plus one Contingent Value Right. The Contingent Value Right entitling the holder to receive additional cash payments if specified milestones related to Lemtrada™ are achieved over time or a milestone related to production volumes in 2011 for Cerezyme® and Fabrazyme® is achieved. The CVR will be publicly traded.
3. Stocks moved higher once again this week, continuing a trend since the beginning of September which was only briefly broken in November. Over this span the S&P 500 is up a whopping 28%. Notably, the Nasdaq pushed to highs not seen since late 2007. What recession? The Dow closed this week just under the 12,400 mark, the Nasdaq closed at 2,833 and the S&P 500 is around 1,343.
4. Border's (NYSE: BGP) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday, after the No. 2 U.S. bookstore chain failed to make up for depressed book sales with management changes, job cuts and debt restructuring.
5. M&A activity continued this week with deals coming from Hughes (Nasdaq: HUGH) and Emergency Medical Services (NYSE: EMS). EMS was taken under by PE firm Clayton Dubilier for $3.2 billion while EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) bought Hughes for $60.70/share.
6. Earnings from the latest season are still making their way through: Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), Deere (NYSE: DE), NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA), Smucker (NYSE: SJM), CBS (NYSE: CBS), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) and Sirius (Nasdaq: SIRI).
7. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares sold-off on Thursday and Friday following rumors late Wednesday that Steve Jobs was spotted coming out of a cancer treatment center in a very disturbing state. Pictures from the National Enquirer were released, however, the reports could not be confirmed. Shares of Apple closed this week's session at $350.56.
8. After cutting Q3 guidance on Monday after the market closed, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) shares rose during the rest of the week. The company said it sees Q3 EPS negatively impacted by 25c due to loss of sales and increased expenses resulting from sever winter storms and higher-than-expected fuel prices. Earnings are now expected to come in around 70-90c per share, down from prior guidance of 95c-$1.15.
9. 13F's for the last quarter of 2010 hit this week. Check out highlights from: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, David Einhorn's Greenlight, David Tepper's Appaloosa, Ackman's Pershing Square and John Paulson's Paulson & Co..
10. Shares of Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) surged a jaw-dropping 45.5% on Thursday following strong Q4 results and a solid forecast. The company reported Q4 EPS of $0.64, $0.09 better than the analyst estimate of $0.55. Revenue for the quarter came in at $356.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $318.91 million. Sees FY2011 EPS of $3.50-$3.85, versus the consensus of $2.77.
1. The NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and Deutsche Boerse confirmed this week that the company's have agreed t oa business combination. According to the terms of the deal, each NYSE Euronext share will be converted into 0.4700 of a share of the new holding company. The agreement has caused public concerns as the former Deutsche Boerse shareholders will own 60% of the combined group and the former NYSE Euronext shareholders would own 40%. A name for the combined company has not yet been decided, but this is also drawing public scrutiny.
2. Following months of talks, Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) and Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) announced a deal this week. Sanofi will buy Genzyme for $74.00 per share in cash, or approximately $20.1 billion, plus one Contingent Value Right. The Contingent Value Right entitling the holder to receive additional cash payments if specified milestones related to Lemtrada™ are achieved over time or a milestone related to production volumes in 2011 for Cerezyme® and Fabrazyme® is achieved. The CVR will be publicly traded.
3. Stocks moved higher once again this week, continuing a trend since the beginning of September which was only briefly broken in November. Over this span the S&P 500 is up a whopping 28%. Notably, the Nasdaq pushed to highs not seen since late 2007. What recession? The Dow closed this week just under the 12,400 mark, the Nasdaq closed at 2,833 and the S&P 500 is around 1,343.
4. Border's (NYSE: BGP) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday, after the No. 2 U.S. bookstore chain failed to make up for depressed book sales with management changes, job cuts and debt restructuring.
5. M&A activity continued this week with deals coming from Hughes (Nasdaq: HUGH) and Emergency Medical Services (NYSE: EMS). EMS was taken under by PE firm Clayton Dubilier for $3.2 billion while EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) bought Hughes for $60.70/share.
6. Earnings from the latest season are still making their way through: Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), Deere (NYSE: DE), NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA), Smucker (NYSE: SJM), CBS (NYSE: CBS), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) and Sirius (Nasdaq: SIRI).
7. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares sold-off on Thursday and Friday following rumors late Wednesday that Steve Jobs was spotted coming out of a cancer treatment center in a very disturbing state. Pictures from the National Enquirer were released, however, the reports could not be confirmed. Shares of Apple closed this week's session at $350.56.
8. After cutting Q3 guidance on Monday after the market closed, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) shares rose during the rest of the week. The company said it sees Q3 EPS negatively impacted by 25c due to loss of sales and increased expenses resulting from sever winter storms and higher-than-expected fuel prices. Earnings are now expected to come in around 70-90c per share, down from prior guidance of 95c-$1.15.
9. 13F's for the last quarter of 2010 hit this week. Check out highlights from: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, David Einhorn's Greenlight, David Tepper's Appaloosa, Ackman's Pershing Square and John Paulson's Paulson & Co..
10. Shares of Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) surged a jaw-dropping 45.5% on Thursday following strong Q4 results and a solid forecast. The company reported Q4 EPS of $0.64, $0.09 better than the analyst estimate of $0.55. Revenue for the quarter came in at $356.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $318.91 million. Sees FY2011 EPS of $3.50-$3.85, versus the consensus of $2.77.
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