Stocks on the Move: Citi, Exxon, Visa, XTO
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) — Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading today. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and prices are as of 8:50 a.m. in New York.
The following companies will join the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index after the close of trading on Dec. 18:
– Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF), North America’s largest iron-ore producer, rose 1.6 percent to $43.80.
– Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (MJN), maker of Enfamil baby formula, added 2 percent to $43.30.
– Ross Stores Inc. (ROST), owner of the Ross Dress for Less discount chain, increased 2.3 percent to $44.54.
– SAIC Inc. (SAI), a defense contractor specializing in computer services, advanced 3.2 percent to $18.99.
– Visa Inc. (V), the world’s biggest electronic payments network, rose 4.19 percent to $84.75. The shares were raised to “outperform” from “neutral” at Robert W. Baird & Co.
The following stocks will be dropped from the S&P 500:
– Ciena Corp. (CIEN), a maker of networking gear, lost 2.3 percent to $11.24.
– Convergys Corp. (CVG), an operator of customer- service call centers.
– Dynegy Inc. (DYN), a power producer.
– KB Home (KBH), a homebuilder.
– MBIA Inc. (MBI), the largest bond insurer, fell 4.1 percent to $3.52.
The following companies will join the Nasdaq-100 Index, which provides the basis for the PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) exchange-traded fund, after the close of trading on Dec. 18:
– BMC Software Inc. (BMC), a maker of programs that manage mainframes and computer networks.
– Mattel Inc. (MAT), the world’s biggest toymaker.
– Mylan Inc. (MYL), a generic drugmaker.
– Qiagen NV (QGEN), a Dutch biotechnology company.
– SanDisk Corp. (SNDK), the biggest maker of flash- memory cards used in digital cameras.
– Virgin Media Inc. (VMED), the U.K.’s second-largest pay-television company.
– Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), the world’s largest mobile- phone company.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) fell 0.9 percent to $132.97. The largest Internet retailer may slide if the company is unable to sustain the sales and earnings forecasts reflected in its shares, Barron’s reported, without citing anyone.
Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD) surged 15 percent to $19.89. The operator of assisted living homes for seniors was added to Goldman Sachs’ “conviction buy-list” with a target price of $22.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP) jumped 6.3 percent to $88.18. The company known as Sinopec rose on speculation that it may buy oil and gas assets from its state- run parent.
Citigroup Inc. (C) fell 3.3 percent to $3.82. The recipient of the biggest U.S. bank bailout struck a deal with regulators to repay $20 billion to taxpayers.
GTx Inc. (GTXI): The developer of a drug to prevent broken bones in prostate-cancer patients said it will cut 28 percent of its staff after the drug was delayed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Hansen Medical Inc. (HNSN) jumped 16 percent to $3.10. The maker of medical robotics settled litigation against Luna Innovations Inc. (LUNA) under an agreement that will give Hansen Medical a 9.9 percent stake in Luna and rights to certain Luna technology.
ImmunoGen Inc. (IMGN) rose 2.1 percent to $8.95. The maker of anticancer drugs said that a “guided missile” combination drug called T-DM1 developed with Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) shrank the tumors of one-third of the critically ill, advanced breast cancer patients in a study.
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) increased 6.2 percent to $22.79. The manager of the Aim and PowerShares funds might rise about 45 percent in the next year as the investment firm introduces more products and boosts profit, Barron’s reported, citing analysts.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) added 2.1 percent to $49.48. The largest U.S. tobacco company was added to Goldman Sachs’ “conviction buy-list” with a 12-month price target of $62. Goldman said investors are underestimating the growth prospects of the tobacco company.
Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA) jumped 9.7 percent to $9.17. Oracle Corp. (ORCL) pledged to continue investing in Sun’s competing database software after its planned $7.4 billion purchase of the computer maker was threatened by European Union antitrust regulators. Oracle rose 0.4 percent to $22.87.
Terra Industries Inc. (TRA) tumbled 19 percent to $34.87. The nitrogen-fertilizer producer rejected rival fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc.’s $3.85 billion takeover offer, saying the latest proposal “substantially undervalues” the company.
Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN): The Colorado-based ski resort operator expects more people at its resorts this ski season, Chief Executive Officer Robert Katz said in an interview on CNBC. Lift-ticket sales are up 10 percent, he said.
XTO Energy Inc. (XTO) surged 19 percent to $49.25. Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) agreed to buy XTO Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at $31 billion. Exxon agreed to issue 0.7098 common shares for each common share of XTO, or about $51.69 a share. Exxon fell 1.9 percent to $71.46.
Among rival energy companies, Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) gained 4.5 percent to $66.75 and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) increased 3.9 percent to $60.25.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft in New York at ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net
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