Category: Stock Market News

Diamond Resorts International Inc. said on Wednesday it’s agreed to be acquired by asset management firm Apollo Global Management. Apollo will pay $30.25 per share of Diamond Resorts in a deal valued at about $2.2 billion, according to a news release. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier the two were nearing a deal. The per-share bid represents a 26% premium over the closing price of Diamond Resorts’ stock on Tuesday and a 58% premium over its closing price Feb. 24, just before the resort management company announced it would explore strategic alternatives. The transaction is expected to close in the next few months. Shares of Diamond Resorts were up more than 23% in premarket trade Wednesday.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said Wednesday that it is adding chorizo to menus in Columbus, Oh., one restaurant in Denver, the restaurant in Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., Manhattan locations in New York City, and restaurants in both Sacramento and San Diego, Calif. The chorizo is made using a recipe developed by Chipotle chefs containing pork, white-meat chicken and a blend of spices. Chorizo will be available in burritos, tacos, burrito bowls and salads. Chipotle shares are up 0.3% in premarket trading, but down 34.7% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 is down 1.1% for the last year.

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday that it is offering a 30-day free trial of ShippingPass, its service that provides unlimited two-day shipping. The service is normally $49 per year. Customers who are already members will receive an additional month for free. ShippingPass was launched in May. Wal-Mart shares are down 0.2% in premarket trading, but up 16.7% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 0.4% for the year to date.

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Shares of Diamond Resorts International Inc. ran up 18% in premarket trade Wednesday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Apollo Global Management was nearing a deal to buy the resort management company. The WSJ report, citing people familiar with the matter, said terms of the deal could not be learned, but said Diamond Resorts could fetch a price in the neighborhood of $2 billion, which would be about 25% above the current market valuation. The company had announced in February that it had formed a committee to explore strategic alternatives. The stock had declined 5.6% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had slipped 0.4%.

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General Mills Inc. shares rose 0.8% in Wednesday premarket trading after the company announced a dividend increase and beat earnings expectations. The food company said it had fourth-quarter income of $379.6 million, or 62 cents per share, up from $186.8 million, or 30 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 66 cents per share, beating the 60 cents per share FactSet consensus. Revenue for the quarter totaled $3.93 billion, down from $4.30 billion last year, but above the $3.86 billion FactSet consensus. General Mills declared a quarterly dividend of 48 cents per share, a 4% increase from the previous quarterly rate of 46 cents per share, payable Aug. 1, 2016 to shareholders of record July 11, 2016. General Mills expects fiscal 2017 organic net sales ranging from flat to down 2% compared with 2016. The company estimates between 1% and 2% headwind to fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS from currency exchange rates, but that doesn’t take fluctuations to the British Pound into account. General Mills shares are up 17.3% for the past year, while the S&P 500 is down 1.1% for the same period.

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Monsanto Co. reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that declined to $717 million, or $1.63 a share, from $1.14 billion, or $2.39 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as one-time restructuring expenses, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.17, below the FactSet consensus of $2.40. Revenue fell to $4.19 billion from $4.58 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $4.50 billion, with corn seed and traits revenue of $1.59 billion missing expectations of $1.66 billion, and agricultural productivity revenue of $982 million missing expectations of $1.12 billion. For fiscal 2016, the agriculture company said it expects adjusted EPS at the “low end” of the previously-provided guidance range of $4.40 to $5.10; the FactSet consensus is $4.64. Monsanto is currently entertaining a buyout bid from German rival Bayer AG . The stock, which fell 1.1% in premarket trade, has gained 2.6% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.4%.

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Tesaro Inc.’s stock rocketed 84% in active premarket trade Wednesday, after the biopharmaceutical company said Phase 3 trials of its treatment for ovarian cancer achieved its primary endpoints. That puts the stock, which went public on June 28, 2012, on track to open above the previous intraday record of $66.95 reached on July 20, 2015. Volume of about 300,000 shares as of 7:45 a.m. ET was already more than half the full-day average. The company plans to submit a new drug application and a marketing authorization application for the drug candidate in the fourth quarter of 2016. The stock had tumbled 29% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF shed 26% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.4%.

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Southwestern Energy Co.’s stock slumped 4.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the energy company said it was selling 75 million new shares of its common stock to the public. The company plans to use the proceeds to pay down its debt. The company granted the underwriters of the offering, led by Credit Suisse Securities, options to buy up to an additional 11.25 million shares. With 392.7 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet, the offering would increase the shares outstanding by 19%. The stock had rocketed 95% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had slipped 0.4%.

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Shares of Shire PLC surged 3.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the drug maker said a trial of its treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) met its primary efficacy and safety endpoints. The secondary endpoint of improvement in global functioning was also met. The company said it plans to use these study results as part of a resubmission for Food and Drug Administration approval in the second half of 2017. The stock has tumbled 17% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has declined 3.2% and the S&P 500 has eased 0.4%.

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Shares of Autoliv Inc. tumbled 6% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the auto components maker said it was cooperating with Toyota Motor Corp. in the voluntary recall of about 1.4 million Toyota Prius and Lexus CT200h vehicles because of faulty side curtain airbags. The company said there have been seven incidents involving the Prius in which a side curtain airbag partially inflated without a deployment signal. There have no reported injuries, as in each case, the cars were parked and unoccupied. Autoliv said it expects the cost of the recall to be at the lower end of a range of $10 million to $40 million. The company said the analysis of the root cause of the problem is ongoing. The stock had dropped 12% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.4%.

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