UBS Cuts Price Target on CenturyLink (CTL) Following 3Q and Announced Acquisition

CenturyLink (CTL): Merger Is Not Transformative, Keeping Sell Like Rating - Jefferies

November 1, 2016 7:10 AM EDT

Jefferies analyst, Mike McCormack, reiterated his Underperform rating on shares of CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) and cut his price target to $20 from $24.

Despite the announced merger with LVLT, the analyst remains cautious on shares of CTL. The deal can prove to be... More

S&P Affirms Ratings on CenturyLink (CTL) Amid Level 3 Deal; Outlook Remains Stable

October 31, 2016 3:18 PM EDT

S&P Global Ratings today said it affirmed its 'BB' long-term corporate credit rating and 'B' short-term corporate credit rating on CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL). The outlook is stable.

CenturyLink plans to finance the $24 billion purchase price with 60% equity and 40% cash and new debt. We expect the company will issue about $7 billion of new secured debt at the parent company and will use proceeds from the sale of its data center business to fund the cash portion. It will also issue another $1.2 billion of secured debt to refinance upcoming maturities and will put... More

Unusual 11 Mid-Day Movers 10/31: (INTX) (BRCD) (TMH) Higher; (MEMP) (OPXA) (EVEP) Lower

October 31, 2016 12:54 PM EDT

Memorial Production Partners LP (Nasdaq: MEMP) 49.7% LOWER; announced that the board of directors of its general partner has elected to suspend MEMPs quarterly cash distributions to unitholders, effective immediately. The board believes the suspension is in the best interest of the Partnership. The Partnership also announced a reduction of its borrowing base under MEMPs credit facility from $925 million to $740 million, effective October 28, 2016, which will be further reduced to $720 million, effective December 1, 2016.

Opexa Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OPXA) 28.6% LOWER;... More

CenturyLink (CTL) implied volatility and share price decreases after announcing merger with Level 3 (LVLT)

October 31, 2016 12:00 PM EDT

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) November call option implied volatility is at 32, December is at 31; compared to its 52-week range of 21 to 59 after announcing a merger with Level 3 (LVLT).

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Notable Mergers and Acquisitions 10/31: (CTL)/(LVLT) (GE)/(BHI) (HFC)/(SU) (STZ)

October 31, 2016 9:59 AM EDT

*** CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) and Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which CenturyLink will acquire Level 3 in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $34 billion, including the assumption of debt. Under terms of the agreement, Level 3 shareholders will receive $26.50 per share in cash and a fixed exchange ratio of 1.4286 shares of CenturyLink stock for each Level 3 share they own, which implies a purchase price of $66.50 per Level 3 share (based on a CenturyLink $28.00 per... More

Pre-Open Stock Movers 10/31: (TMH) (BHI) (LVLT) Higher; (PSG) (MEMP) (ZBH) Lower (more...)

October 31, 2016 9:20 AM EDT

Today's Pre-Open Stock Movers

Performance Sports Group Ltd. (NYSE: PSG) 50% LOWER; announced that, in order to facilitate a financial and corporate restructuring through a going-concern sale of substantially all of the Company's assets, it has filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the District of Delaware and commenced proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (the "CCAA") in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Memorial Production Partners LP (Nasdaq: MEMP) 28.3% LOWER;... More

CenturyLink to buy Level 3 Communications for about $24 billion

October 31, 2016 6:52 AM EDT

By Malathi Nayak and Narottam Medhora

(Reuters) - CenturyLink Inc (NYSE: CTL) said it would buy Level 3 Communications Inc (NYSE: LVLT) in a deal valued at about $24 billion to expand its reach in the crowded market that provides communications services to businesses and compete with rivals like AT&T and Verizon.

CenturyLink shares slumped 12.5 percent to $26.60 in afternoon trading on Monday, while shares of Level 3 surged 4.5 percent to $56.46.

Both Level 3 and CenturyLink reported lackluster third-quarter results on Monday, BTIG analyst Walt Piecyk said.

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CenturyLink (CTL) Tops Q3 EPS by 1c

October 31, 2016 6:34 AM EDT

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) reported Q3 EPS of $0.56, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.55. Revenue for the quarter came in at $4.38 billion versus the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion.

GUIDANCE:

CenturyLink sees Q4 2016 EPS of $0.53-$0.59, versus the consensus of $0.64. CenturyLink sees Q4... More

CenturyLink (CTL) to Acquire Level 3 Communications (LVLT) for $34B

October 31, 2016 6:30 AM EDT

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) and Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) today announced that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which CenturyLink will acquire Level 3 in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $34 billion, including the assumption of debt. Under terms of the agreement, Level 3 shareholders will receive $26.50 per share in cash and a fixed exchange ratio of 1.4286 shares of CenturyLink stock for each Level 3 share they own, which implies a purchase price of $66.50 per Level 3 share (based on a CenturyLink $28.00 per share... More

Raymond James Downgrades CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL) to Market Perform

October 28, 2016 7:58 AM EDT

Raymond James downgraded CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) from Outperform to Market Perform and removed its price target (prior $32.00).

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on CenturyLink, Inc. click here. For more ratings news on CenturyLink, Inc. click here.

Shares of CenturyLink, Inc. closed at $31.00 yesterday.

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UPDATE: Oppenheimer Upgrades Level 3 Communications (LVLT) to Outperform

October 28, 2016 7:20 AM EDT

(Updated - October 28, 2016 9:40 AM EDT)

Oppenheimer upgraded Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) from Perform to Outperform with a price target of $60. Analyst Timothy Horan thinks a deal with CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) would be attractive.

"LVLT... More