Stock Market Wrapup July 23rd
The start of the trading week got under way in the right direction, as the major market indices finished the session higher. The biggest gainer among the averages was the Dow, which rose 92 points. The Nasdaq rose 3 points on the session, while the S&P gained 7.5. Bulls were in the buying mood out of the gate as strong corporate earnings coupled with increased dealmaking led to bargain hunters picking up stocks after Friday's losses. In the energy sector, prices declined across the board, with crude finishing the day lower by -90 cents to close at $74.89 a barrel.
In earnings news, pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK - News) said net income rose to $1.68 billion, or 77 cents a share, compared to $1.5 billion, or 69 cents a share last year. Excluding restructuring charges, EPS would have been 82 cents. Sales rose 8% to $6.11 billion. The company also said it put away an additional $210 million into its reserve to help fight off Vioxx claims. In addition, it raised its full-year EPS guidance for 2007 to $2.80-2.95, or $3.00-3.10 excluding charges. Shares surged 6.9%
Elsewhere, oil services giant Halliburton (NYSE: HAL - News) rose 3.2% on the day after the company reported earnings from continuing operations of $595 million, or 63 cents a share. On a comparable basis, it earned $498 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $3.74 billion from $3.12 billion the same period a year ago. The company said its 19% rise in earnings from continuing operations was fueled by international contracts.
M&A is still alive and well on Wall Street as a plethora of deals were announced. Drilling giant Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News) agreed to buy rival GlobalSantaFe (NYSE: GSF - News) for nearly $18 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Transocean shareholders will receive $33.03 in cash and 0.6996 shares of the combined company. GlobalSantaFe shareholders will receive $22.46 in cash and 0.4757 shares of the new combined company. The cash and stock deal will create a behemoth with a combined $53 billion in enterprise value.
Also in the buyout space, Cerberus agreed to buy United Rentals (NYSE: URI - News) for $34.50 a share. The total deal amount, which includes $2.6 billion worth of debt, is $6.6 billion. In the tech space, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News) agreed to buy software firm Opsware (Nasdaq: OPSW - News) for $14.25 a share, in an all cash tender offer. The deal represents a 38% premium to where the shares closed on Friday.
By the BullMarket.com Staff
In earnings news, pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK - News) said net income rose to $1.68 billion, or 77 cents a share, compared to $1.5 billion, or 69 cents a share last year. Excluding restructuring charges, EPS would have been 82 cents. Sales rose 8% to $6.11 billion. The company also said it put away an additional $210 million into its reserve to help fight off Vioxx claims. In addition, it raised its full-year EPS guidance for 2007 to $2.80-2.95, or $3.00-3.10 excluding charges. Shares surged 6.9%
Elsewhere, oil services giant Halliburton (NYSE: HAL - News) rose 3.2% on the day after the company reported earnings from continuing operations of $595 million, or 63 cents a share. On a comparable basis, it earned $498 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $3.74 billion from $3.12 billion the same period a year ago. The company said its 19% rise in earnings from continuing operations was fueled by international contracts.
M&A is still alive and well on Wall Street as a plethora of deals were announced. Drilling giant Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News) agreed to buy rival GlobalSantaFe (NYSE: GSF - News) for nearly $18 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Transocean shareholders will receive $33.03 in cash and 0.6996 shares of the combined company. GlobalSantaFe shareholders will receive $22.46 in cash and 0.4757 shares of the new combined company. The cash and stock deal will create a behemoth with a combined $53 billion in enterprise value.
Also in the buyout space, Cerberus agreed to buy United Rentals (NYSE: URI - News) for $34.50 a share. The total deal amount, which includes $2.6 billion worth of debt, is $6.6 billion. In the tech space, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News) agreed to buy software firm Opsware (Nasdaq: OPSW - News) for $14.25 a share, in an all cash tender offer. The deal represents a 38% premium to where the shares closed on Friday.
By the BullMarket.com Staff
posted by Stock Administrator @ 7:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home