Category: Stock Market News

Parexel International Corp. announced Tuesday an agreement to be acquired by private-equity firm Pamplona Capital Management in a deal valued at $5.0 billion. Under terms of the deal, Pamplona said it will pay $88.10 in cash for each of the biopharmaceutical company’s shares outstanding, a 5.0% premium to Monday’s closing price of $83.92, but 27.9% above “unaffected” May 5 closing price of $68.86, which was just before reports of a potential buyout. The deal is expected to close early in the fourth quarter. Parexel’s stock was up 8.1% in premarket trade prior to a trading halt. It has soared 35% over the past three months to close Monday at a record high, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.6%.

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Shares of Lennar Corp. were indicated up nearly 4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the home builder reported fiscal second-quarter results that were well above expectations. Net profit for the quarter to May 31 came to $213.6 million, or 91 cents a share, from $218.5 million, or 95 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 79 cents. Revenue rose to $3.26 billion from $2.75 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $2.81 billion, as all revenue segments, such as home and land sales, financial, Rialto and multifamily all beat analyst projections. Deliveries rose 15% to 7,710 homes, beating the FactSet consensus of 7,025 homes, while new orders of 8,898 homes exceeded expectations of 8,739. The value of new orders jumped 17% to $3.4 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.3 billion. Lennar’s stock has soared 23% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF has climbed 15% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.6%.

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Tesla [s:TSLA] was found not at fault in the May 2016 fatal crash in which former Navy SEAL Joshua Brown collided with a truck while driving the Model S in autopilot mode, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which issued a 538-page report on Monday. The cause of the crash hasn’t been determined. The luxury electric-car maker has advised drivers to “maintain control and responsibility” for their vehicles even when the autopilot feature is enabled. The NTSB report found that Brown had kept his hands off the wheel “for the vast majority of the trip,” despite repeated automated warnings in the vehicle to maintain control. Tesla remains in a heated race for advancing driver-less car technology. A Morgan Stanley note last week said the company must prepare for serious competition and capital investment in the space, including from Apple . TSLA shares are up about 2.6% at $379.30 in Tuesday’s premarket trading. The stock closed down 0.4% Monday.

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European stocks rose Tuesday, carried higher by advances among tech and consumer-related shares. The Stoxx Europe 600 picked up 0.3% to 393.02, after finishing the previous session at its highest since June 5. Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.4% at 12,934.08 and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4% to 5,331.52, after French President Emmanuel Macron’s party won a parliamentary majority in the weekend’s elections. But the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down less than 1 point at 7,423.54, with Barclays PLC down 0.4% after the bank and four former executives were charged with fraud in the U.K. over fundraising in Qatar . Lighting manufacturer Osram Licht AG climbed 4%, topping the Stoxx 600, while serviced-offices provider IWG fell to the bottom of the index by losing 6.3%.

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Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Tuesday that he was worried memories might be fading about the pivotal role that housing played in the financial crisis. “House prices are now high and rising in several countries, perhaps as a result of extended period of low interest rates,” Fischer said in a speech to a DNB-Riksbank conference in Amsterdam, Fischer noted that U.S. government’s role in housing is increasing with Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac and the Federal House Administration “now the dominant providers of mortgage financing.” The Fed’s #2 said “there is more to be done” to strengthen the resilience of the housing finance systems. Just taking the possibility of severe stress seriously would help, he said. And government support for housing should always be made explicit, he added.

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Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Monday said the Fed could be done raising interest rates this year. In a speech to economists at New York University, Evans said he supports the current policy of “very gradual” interest-rate hikes and a slow reduction of the balance sheet. Whether that means “two, versus three, versus four” rate hikes this year is trivial, Evans said. The central bank has already raised rates twice this year. In his speech, Evans said it was more important that financial markets realize that inflation can exceed the Fed’s 2% target from time-to-time. “We have to assure the public that we recognize the new low-inflation environment and that we are not overly conservative central bankers who see our [2%] inflation target as a ceiling,” he said.

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Democrats will slow the U.S. Senate due to the secrecy of the Republicans’ work on a new health-care bill, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday. The New York Democrat said Democrats will begin objecting to all unanimous-consent requests, other than honorary resolutions. Senate Republicans have not held committee hearings on their version of the House-passed American Health Care Act and may vote on the legislation as early as next week.

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Autodesk Inc. said late Monday its board of directors has named Andrew Anagnost the software company’s chief executive officer, effectively immediately. He will also join Autodesk’s board of directors, the company said in a statement. Anagnost previously served as interim co-chief executive officer and chief marketing officer. In the same statement, Autodesk announced that interim co-CEO Amar Hanspal has decided to leave the company. Shares of Autodesk were flat in late trading and ended the regular session up 1.2%.

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Clovis Oncology Inc. said on Monday it plans to launch a $250 million stock offering. The announcement follows a 46.5% surge in Clovis Oncology shares after the company released positive late-stage trial results for cancer drug Rubraca. The stock offering proceeds will be used for various general purposes, including sales and marketing for Rubraca. Clovis Oncology itself will be offering all shares of the common stock. Company shares have surged 23.2% over the last three months, compared with a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Apple Inc.’s stock bounced sharply off a two-month low Monday, surging 2.9% in afternoon trade to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average gainers. The $4.14 price gain was adding about 28 points to the Dow’s price, which was up 132 points at a record high. The stock had closed Friday at $142.27, the lowest level since April 21, after tumbling 8.4% over the previous seven sessions amid a broad selloff in the technology sector. On Monday, Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt said the firm’s consumer electronics strength index for May showed that demand for the Apple Watch had strengthened last month to a 78 reading from 72 in April, consistent with double-digit percentage growth. Separately, Susquehanna’s Christopher Rolland said his research suggests the new iPhone 8 expected to be released in the fall will have a glass front and back with a stainless steel ring, increased water proofing and will include include laser auto-focus. The new iPads are expected to get wireless charging. Apple’s stock has run up 26.4% year to date, while the Nasdaq 100 has rallied 18.6% and the Dow has gained 8.9%.

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