Unusual 11 Mid-Day Movers 9/3: LNCB, URRE, ABK, SSCC Higher; FRX, REV, SD, JOYG Lower

September 3, 2008 12:07 PM EDT

Lincoln Bancorp (Nasdaq: LNCB) 35.8% HIGHER; today announced that it and First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME) have executed a definitive agreement for First Merchants Corporation to acquire Lincoln Bancorp through a merger of Lincoln into First Merchants. First Merchants and Lincoln will have combined assets of $4.7 billion and create the largest financial holding company based in Central Indiana.

Uranium Resources (Nasdaq: URRE) 23.9% HIGHER; shares are spiking today as takeover rumors are being heard around Wall Street. A Bloomberg article published this morning highlights the companies large proven uranium reserves and sharply declining stock price.

Ambac Financial NYSE: ABK) 22.4% HIGHER; received regulatory approval from the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Wisconsin to capitalize and reactivate Connie Lee Insurance Company, its financial guarantee subsidiary. Connie Lee will conduct business under a new name and will focus on the U.S. municipal and global public purpose financing markets.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (Nasdaq: SSCC) 22% HIGHER; the paper & paper products industry is trading higher today as one of the largest companies, International Paper (NYSE: IP), will increase prices.

PMI Group (NYSE: PMI) 19% HIGHER; Ambac's announcement that it has received regulatory approval for an $850 million capital contribution to reactivate Connie Lee has boosted the majority of the property & casualty insurance group.

Medivation, Inc.(NASDAQ: MDVN) 15.1% HIGHER; Entered into an agreement with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to develop and commercialize Dimebon, Medivation's investigational drug for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Medivation will receive an up-front cash payment of $225 million. The company will receive additional money on certain milestones and will receive royalties.

Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) 15% LOWER; showed results from two global Phase III studies of aclidinium bromide: in both the ACCLAIM/COPD I&II studies, therapy demonstrated a significant difference vs placebo in trough FEV1 at 12 weeks (p-value <0.001) and 28 weeks (p-value <0.001). The effect of aclidinium compared to placebo in trough FEV1 was maintained over one year (p-value <0.001). While the studies did show a significant difference in the primary endpoint, results were not as strong as many analysts had expected.

Revlon, Inc. (NYSE: REV) 11.7% LOWER; announced today that it plans to reduce its debt by $170 million by repaying the $170 million MacAndrews & Forbes Senior Subordinated Term Loan, which matures on August 1, 2009. Revlon will use $63 million of proceeds from the sale of its Bozzano business and launch a $107 million equity offering in order to repay the debt.

SandRidge Energy (NYSE: SD) 11.5% LOWER; with operations mainly in the Gulf of Mexico, shares have recently been falling as Hurricane Gustav ripped through the region. The stock was down about 9% yesterday and continues its decline today. With crude oil down another $2 today, oil and natural gas E&P companies are seeing substantial downside.

Joy Global Inc. (Nasdaq: JOYG) 11.3% LOWER; reports Q3 EPS of $1.03, which may not compare to the analyst estimate of $0.88. Revenues for the quarter were $904 million, versus the consensus of $884.01 million. Raises FY08 EPS guidance from $3.15-$3.30 to $3.37-$3.52, versus the consensus of $3.29. Sales guidance for the year remains at $3.3-$3.4 billion, versus the Street estimate of $3.36 billion.

Micromet (Nasdaq: MITI) 10.6% LOWER; yesterday after announcing the appointment of a new Senior VP and CFO, the stock fell 4% on the news. Today, investors are continuing to sell the stock.

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