As of October 31, the average day rate on operating rigs for Bronco Drilling (BRNC-$15.17) was $17,341, compared to $17,256 for the third quarter of 2007.
Cathay Bank's holding company, Cathay General Bancorp (CATY-$28.41), introduced a program to buy back up to 1 million additional shares of stock. This is the third one million-share repurchase program authorized by its Board this year. Since the start of the year, Cathay General has bought back 2.5 million of its shares at a cost of $82 million.
Biopharmaceutical company Celgene Corp. (CELG-$64.90) has agreed to acquire Pharmion Corp. (PHRM-$49.28), a maker of blood-cancer treatments, for $72 a share in a cash-and-stock deal worth $2.9 billion, the companies said Sunday.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO-$29.91) has boosted its stock buyback effort by $10 billion, a sign the Internet networking supplier still believes its shares are undervalued.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Chief Executive Fred Goodwin has been informally approached by Citigroup Inc. (C-$34.00) to become its new chief executive, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
During the show's "Lightning Round" segment on Friday, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" show that he disliked Internet venture capital concern CMGI (CMGID-$10.49): “That's a dot-com relic [which recently completed a 1:10 reverse stock split] that keeps trying to come back. It's got a vampire feel to it but I be Van Helsing."
The board of directors of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (CTB-$14.67) approved the repurchase of up to $100 million worth of the tire manufacturer’s stock in the open market. The decision cancels the previous share repurchase program approved by the board in February 2005.
TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s (AMTD-$19.38) chief executive expressed interest in acquiring rival E-Trade Financial Corp.'s (ETFC-$5.44) retail trading operation Friday, but cautioned that such a deal would only happen if it benefits both companies' shareholders.
Internet service provider EarthLink Inc (ELNK-$7.27) is considering strategic alternatives for its municipal wireless operations, as further investments in the business would not help in maximizing shareholder value.
AT&T Inc is trying to put together a bid for EchoStar Communications (DISH-$39.83) before the end of the year, whetted by the satellite operator's recent stock dip, according to Barron's financial newspaper.
FedEx Corporation (FDX-$96.80) lowered its FY 208 (May) share-net guidance to $6.40-$6.70, from $6.70-$7.10, citing an 8% rise in fuel costs since it announced August-quarter results. The shipper also said trends in freight segment remain weak. S&P is cutting FY 2008 and FY 2009 EPS estimates by 35 cents each, to $6.65 and $7.65. Despite these current negative factors, S&P thinks FedEx will start to see some benefits from what is expected to be ongoing global economic gains, and a bit of a downturn in fuel prices. The research firm is keeping its 12-month target price at $140, a little under 20X its calendar 2008 estimate.
Fitch Ratings late Friday downgraded Fulton Financial Corp.'s (FULT-$12.17) long-term issuer default rating to A- from A because of negative trending in asset quality.
Analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners reiterated his "buy" rating on Gamestop Corp (GME-$55.00), raising his target price from $57 to $68 per share. Other analysts believe, too, that GameStop is well positioned to take advantage of what is sure to be a robust holiday season for video games and systems. During the "Favorite Earnings" segment on Friday, former hedge fund manager Jeff Macke told viewers of CNBC’s "Fast Money" show that the video game market was one of the few retail areas where he thought it was okay to be long. “Get long right here, right now,” Macke said. The video game retailer, whose bestsellers include Mass Effect LE and Super Mario Galaxy, has scheduled third quarter earnings report for November 20.
Genentech Inc. (DNA-$74.99) on Sunday revealed encouraging data from a Phase II clinical study of Avastin administered alone or in combination with irinotecan chemotherapy in patients with relapsed glioblastoma multiforme or GBM, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer. The most recent data demonstrated encouraging six-month progression-free survival or PFS and objective response rate in patients with relapsed glioblastoma multiforme.
Jerry York, a former General Motors Corp (GM-$29.27) board member and adviser to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, said on Sunday GM had made substantial progress in its turnaround.
The chief executive of shoe and hat retailer Genesco Inc. (GCO-$39.23) refuted allegations by investment bank UBS AG that the shoe and hat retailer defrauded UBS after agreeing to a takeover.
Google Inc (GOOG-$633.63) is considering bidding alone on coveted airwaves to launch a U.S. wireless network, as a deadline nears to declare bidding plans, sources familiar with the situation said.
Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ-$ 50.75), the world's largest maker of personal computers, should report fourth-quarter earnings of 82 cents a share on Monday, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Natrol, Inc. (NTOL-$2.27), a leading manufacturer and marketer of nationally branded nutritional products, announced today that it has signed a definitive merger agreement under which Plethico Pharmaceuticals Limited of India will acquire all outstanding shares of Natrol’s common stock for approximately $80.8 million, or a cash purchase price of $4.40 per share.
After the close of trading on Friday, Cresendo Partners disclosed in a standard 13D filing (“investment purposes”) that it held an 8.9% stake in Nashville-based restaurant chain O'Charley's, Inc. (CHUX-$15.06), which operates 363 restaurants under three brands: O'Charley's, Ninety Nine Restaurant, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks.
It's important that investors learn from mistakes, and Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" show Friday that he made one on St. Jude Medical (STJ-$38.97). Cramer had called the maker of implantable defibrillators a sell during the show's "Lightning Round" segment on Thursday. "I was dead wrong to say anything but that it is a screaming buy," he said. "I had a misapprehension about this great company."
Shares of solar panel maker Suntech Power Holdings (STP-$69.42) continued to power higher in after-marketing trading Friday as analysts raised their estimates following strong third-quarter earnings.
CEO James Mermis of Superior Offshore International (DEEP-$7.83) stated, "Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Roger Burks and I do not plan to make any additional sales this year and have terminated our 10b5-1 trading plans. We both believe Superior Offshore common stock is undervalued at current levels based on peer trading multiples and our financial guidance for the remainder of 2007 and 2008."
If Cisco Systems wants to make a big splash in the managed security arena, it may need to do some more shopping. Among the possible candidates for future deals, The 451 Group mentions publicly traded Sourcefire (FIRE-$9.10), a leader in network intrusion prevention. According to the enterprise IT analyst company, the purchase of Sourcefire could do several things for Cisco: It would give Cisco better intelligence about what's going on within the network, expertise in the IDS space it doesn't currently possess, an inroad into the open source community (if it doesn't screw it up with its marketing of such a takeover) and even better, a massive challenge to Check Point on the perimeter security and IDS/IPS front.
During the "Lightning Round" segment on Friday, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" show that the shares of global multi-industry company Textron (TXT$64.14) were a buy. “It's a rest-of-worlder,” he said. “It's got great military business. It's firing on all cylinders. ... I wanna buy Textron here."
Homebuilder Tousa Inc. (TOA-$0.14) said late Friday it was informed by NYSE Regulation Inc. that its stock and debt securities would be suspended before market opening on Monday.
Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has offered to renegotiate new terms with United Rentals (URI-$23.37) after abandoning a $4 billion buyout this week, according to regulatory documents. The prior deal valued the largest U.S. construction-equipment rental company at $34.50 a share.
Editor David J. Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any of the stocks mentioned in this column. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.
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