Hot Stocks: Cheniere Energy, Hologic, Exelon, General Motors and Hartford Financial Services
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (AMEX:LNG) shares slumped
6.61% to US$16.25 on over 7.03 million shares, compared to its average volume
of 5.87 million shares. The Obama administration is not opposed to exporting
liquefied natural gas but will depend on an official analysis to guide its
decision on whether to allow more gas export projects to proceed, a White House
official said on Monday. The Energy Department, which must approve gas exports
to all but about a dozen countries, has said it will hold off on allowing any
more exports until a study it commissioned on the economic impact of sending
gas abroad is completed later this summer. "We want analysis to drive the
decisions," Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to
the President for energy and climate change, said at an event on shale gas
energy sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute.
Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) rose 0.92% to US$17.60
on over 9.62 million shares, compared to its average volume of 4.13 million
shares. Hologic was upgraded by equities researchers
at JPMorgan Chase from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report
issued on Monday. The firm currently has a US$20.00 target price on the stock,
down from their previous target price of US$22.00. Recently, the company agreed to buy a diagnostic test firm Gen-Probe Inc
(GPRO.O) for US$3.75 billion cash, gaining access to molecular diagnostics products
used to screen for blood diseases and test transplant compatibility. Under the
deal, Hologic will pay US$82.75 for each Gen-Probe
share, a 20% premium to the stock's closing price on Friday. Hologic Chief Executive Rob Cascella
said in an interview that he has been talking with his counterpart at
Gen-Probe, Carl Hull, in recent months about a potential acquisition. The deal
comes nearly a year after Gen-Probe put itself up for sale and Novartis AG,
which already had a partnership with the company, pulled out of the bidding
process. The Federal Trade Commission earlier blocked Cytyc,
now a part of Hologic, from acquiring Digene, now a part of Qiagen, due
to competitive concerns about the HPV business. Hologic
said the transaction will add about 20 cents per share to its earnings in the
first fiscal year after the deal closes, which is expected in the second half
of the year. The company expects annual cost savings of about US$75 million
within three years of the closing, and about US$40 million in the first year. Hologic, which has more than 500 employees in China focused
on diagnostics, said it plans to market Gen-Probe's products, including blood
tests and sexually transmitted disease tests, in both developed and emerging
markets.
Exelon
Corporation (NYSE:EXC) fell 0.21% to US$38.82 on
over 6.77 million shares, compared to its average volume of 6.62million shares.
Last week, the company reported that its first-quarter profit dropped in the
face of unfavorable market factors and mild weather. The Chicago-based power
generation company's earnings fell to US$200 million,
or 28 cents a share, from US$668 million, or US$1.01 a share, in the year-ago
period. Adjusted profit fell to 85 cents a share from US$1.17 a share.
Operating revenue fell to US$4.69 billion from US$4.96 billion. Wall Street
analysts expected Exelon to earn 80 cents a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research. On March 12, Exelon closed its purchase
of Constellation Energy. Exelon Corporation (Exelon) is a utility services
holding company engaged, through its principal subsidiaries, Exelon Generation
Company, LLC (Generation), in the energy generation business, and Commonwealth
Edison Company (ComEd) and PECO Energy Company
(PECO), in the energy delivery businesses.
General
Motors Company (NYSE:GM) was down 1.68% to US$21.63.The
company said it will consider a bid for Ally's foreign operations. GM CEO Dan Akerson told Bloomberg News on Monday that the Detroit
automaker may buy if the price is right. "We're interested in it, but
we're not going to bleed to buy it," Akerson
said. "We're the natural buyer." Ally's troubled mortgage unit
Residential Capital LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy early Monday, as the
Detroit-based Ally said it may sell its international businesses.
The
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:HIG)
lost 3.24% to US$19.09 on over 7.53 million shares, compared to its average
volume of 5.79 million shares. First-quarter net income dropped to US$96 million, or 18 cents a share, from US$501 million, or 99
cents a share, according to a statement yesterday from Hartford, which is based
in the Connecticut city of the same name. Operating earnings, which exclude
some investment results, were US$1.25 per share, beating by 34 cents the
average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The net realized loss
of runoff operations, which include the Japanese annuity market where Hartford
no longer sells new policies, widened to US$587 million from US$170 million.
Policy sales climbed 3% in the commercial property- casualty coverage business
to US$1.69 billion, while they declined 3% to US$861 million in the consumer
markets segment, which provides auto and homeowners coverage to individuals.
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