News about <![CDATA[Benzinga]]> News about en-us <![CDATA[Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday May 23, 2013]]> The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday May 23, 2013:

rue21 to be Acquired by Apax Partners for $42.00/Share in Cash

The Deal:rue21 (NASDAQ: RUE) and Apax Partners, announced Thursday, a definitive agreement under which funds advised by Apax Partners will acquire

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<![CDATA[Merck Issues Update on Phase III Trial for Preladenant]]> Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today provided an update on the clinical program for preladenant, Merck's investigational adenosine A2[A ]receptor antagonist for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). An initial review of data from three separate Phase III trials did not provide evidence of efficacy

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<![CDATA[Sabra Health Issues Update on Capital Markets Strategy, Says FY13 Adj. FFO Will Be Cut by $0.01/Share]]> Certain subsidiaries of Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. ("Sabra," the "Company" or "we") (Nasdaq: SBRA) completed the issuance of $200 million aggregate principal amount of 5.375% senior notes due 2023 (the "2023 Notes"). Sabra expects to use a portion of the net proceeds of the offering to redeem $113.8 million of

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<![CDATA[Analyzing the Flash Crash in Utilities This Morning]]> Early in the session Thursday, American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) lost more than 50% of their value in one second today, and then rebounded entirely.

The event was caused, not by company news, but by market structural issues. The new

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<![CDATA[Wireless Ronin Common Stock to Move to OTCQB; NASDAQ Delisting Based on Insufficient Shareholders' Equity]]> Wireless Ronin Technologies (NASDAQ: RNIN), a leading marketing technologies provider, announced today that it has been notified by the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ) that trading in the Company's securities will be suspended on NASDAQ effective with the open of trading on May 31, 2013. On that same date,

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<![CDATA[Market Wrap for Thursday, May 23: Wall Street Shrugs Off Global Slump]]> Thursday's trading session may have been the most glaring example of just how powerful the bull market in U.S. stocks is right now. Even though all of the major averages closed slightly lower on the day, the U.S. market was able to shrug off a global rout in stock prices

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<![CDATA[Nigeria ETF Gets Good News on Glum Day For Global Markets]]> On Thursday, China sneezed, Japan caught the cold, and ETFs tracking a plethora of global markets closed lower.

Predictably, emerging markets sagged with the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE: VWO) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (NYSE: EEM) closing down. Developed markets offered

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<![CDATA[Prime Acquisition Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Staff Determination Letter]]> Prime Acquisition (NASDAQ: PACQ), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that, on May 17, 2013, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) stating that Nasdaq's staff (the “Staff”) had determined not to grant the Company's request

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<![CDATA[Cadence Completes Acquisition of Cosmic Circuits]]> Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ: CDNS), a leader in global electronic design innovation, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cosmic Circuits Private Limited, a leading provider of analog and mixed signal intellectual property (IP) cores. Cosmic Circuits offers silicon-proven IP solutions in connectivity and advanced mixed-signal

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<![CDATA[Medifast Announces Appointment of New Independent Director]]> Medifast (NYSE: MED), a leading United States manufacturer and provider of clinically proven portion-controlled weight-loss products and programs, announced today the appointment of Kevin G. Byrnes to its Board of Directors and the Company's Audit Committee, effective immediately.

Mr. Byrnes has more than 40 years of financial experience working

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<![CDATA[Gladstone Commercial Corporation Announces Property Acquisition in Blaine, MN]]> Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ: GOOD) (the "Company") reported today that it purchased a 92,275 square foot building in Blaine, Minnesota for $14.45 million from CSM Corporation. The property is a single story office building leased to PTC Inc., a Needham, MA based company that develops software solutions and

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<![CDATA[Homeowners Choice Changes Name to HCI Group]]> Homeowners Choice, Inc. (NYSE: HCI), a Florida-based holding company, has changed its name to "HCI Group, Inc." as approved by shareholders at its annual shareholders' meeting held yesterday.

According to the company the name change is expected to provide several benefits, including:

Improved representation of the company's diversified business activities,

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<![CDATA[Housing Market Recovering, New Home Sales Up 2.3 Percent in April]]> The U.S housing market continues to swing towards a recovery as positive data on new home sales were released earlier today. According to Reuters, the sale of new single family homes rose 2.3 percent in April.

The Commerce Department noted in the article that sales have increased to a seasonally

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<![CDATA[Small Cap Alert: Pacific Sunwear Has More Than Doubled in 2013]]> Shares of Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) were trading up around 13 percent late on Thursday after the company released its fiscal first-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The small-cap company was devastated in the wake of the financial crisis and the stock has never recovered.

In

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<![CDATA[Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Turn Upwards, Ply Gem Rises]]> Toward the end of trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 0.13 percent to 15,327.52, while the NASDAQ fell 0.12 percent to 3,459.98. The S&P was also down, declining 0.24 percent to 1,651.88.

Top HeadlineDollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported a 15 percent rise in its fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted

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<![CDATA[Summary of Important Points from HP's Q2 Conference Call]]> Below are some highlights from HP's (NYSE: HPQ) Q2 conference call on Wednesday afternoon:

results in the quarter were driven by better than expected performance in Enterprise Services and Printing We've significantly improved the pricing processes, decreasing the turnaround time for quotes by more than 50% in Europe. In the

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: DA Davidson Raises PT on Hormel Foods Following Consistent Growth]]> In a report published on Thursday, DA Davidson raised its Price Target on Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) from $38 to $42.DA Davidson also maintained its neutral rating on the company.

In the report, analysts from DA Davidson commented that "HRL remains at a premium valuation, trading above even its

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<![CDATA[NOAA: 2013 Hurricane Season to be 'Extremely Active']]> Much of the east coast was hoping to hear that the 2013 hurricane season would be tame but according to a report released by Colorado State University and sponsored by the National Hurricane Center, that isn’t likely to be the case.

The report calls for an “extremely active” season with

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Downgrades Signet Group to Hold on Bleak Earnings Growth]]> In a report published on Thursday, Deutsche Bank analyst Warwick Okines downgraded the jewelry company Signet Group (NYSE: SIG) to Hold with a price target of $73.

In the report, Okines mentioned, "Signet continues to have excellent momentum in the US, as demonstrated by Same Store Sales growth of

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<![CDATA[Analyst Suggests Caution on Popular Japan ETF]]> Following Thursday's savage plunge that saw Japanese stocks notch their worst one-day performance in more than two years, it is no surprise that ETFs focused on the world's third-largest economy are tumbling today.

That group includes the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSE: DXJ), an ETF that has gained

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<![CDATA[Tesla Becomes Only American Auto Company to Fully Repay the Government]]> If you happen to be at a party with Elon Musk, first, congratulations on whatever made you your first couple of million, and second, you might want to steer clear because these days, the guy has to have an ego that would fill the room.

And let’s be honest. If any

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<![CDATA[MacBook Air Sellout Hints at Imminent Refresh]]> Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is rumored to announce the next MacBook Air refresh -- and possibly the next MacBook Pro refresh -- next month during the World Wide Developers Conference.

Scheduled to take place from June 10 through June 14 in San Francisco, the World Wide Developers Conference is

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<![CDATA[UDPATE: Piper Jaffray Upgrades Rating on Thomson Reuters as Industry Environment Improves]]> In a report published on Thursday, Piper Jaffray upgraded their rating on Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) from Underweight to Neutral and changed its PT on the company from $27 to $34.

In the report, analysts from Piper Jaffray commented that, "Domestic equity markets have been robust over the past

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades rue21 on Announced Take-Out]]> In a report published on Thursday, Piper Jaffray analyst Stephanie S. Wissink Downgraded rue21 (NASDAQ: RUE) from Overweight to Neutral and raised the price target on the company from $36 to $42.

In the report, Piper Jaffray noted, "We are moving to a customary Neutral rating on RUE shares

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<![CDATA[Mid-Day Market Update: Stocks Pare Losses, Hewlett-Packard Surges On Upbeat Earnings]]> Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.04 percent to 15,301.07, while the NASDAQ fell 0.15 percent to 3,457.98. The S&P was also down, declining 0.33 percent to 1,649.94.

Top HeadlineDollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported a 15 percent rise in its fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Dowgrades rue21, Inc. On Announced Take-Out]]> In a report published on Thursday, Piper Jaffray downgraded its rating on rue21 (NASDAQ: RUE) from Overweight to Neutral and raised its PT on the company from $36 to $42.

In the report, analysts from Piper Jaffray commented that, "We are moving to a customary Neutral rating on RUE

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<![CDATA[These ETFs Could Surge if MSCI Obliges]]> On June 11, index provider MSCI (NYSE: MSCI) will announce its annual market reclassification review. Results of that review will be significant for investors in scores of emerging and frontier markets equities and ETFs.

South Korea and Taiwan are still under consideration for a promotion to developed market

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Wedbush Upgrades Rating on Pacific Sunwear On Improving Fundamentals]]> In a report published on Thursday, Wedbush upgraded its rating on Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) from Underperform to Neutral. Wedbush also changed its price target on the company from $2.00 to $3.75.

In the report Wedbush stated that, "We are upgrading shares of PSUN to NEUTRAL on

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<![CDATA[Ford and Fellow U.S. Automakers Winning Market Share Battle]]> Demand for cars and trucks is up. U.S. automakers have noticed and are responding. Bloomberg noted Wednesday that number two U.S. automaker, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), will add the capacity to build 200,000 more vehicles a year in North America. All this based on increased demand

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: DA Davidson Upgrades Boise Cascade Company on Weaker Commodities]]> In a report published on Thursday, DA Davidson upgraded its rating on Boise Cascade Company (NYSE: BCC) from Underperform to Neutral. Analysts believe that weaker commodities have lead the stock below its target.

In the report, analysts at DA Davidson stated that, "With Boise Cascade shares down 16% from

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<![CDATA[Can Discovery Networks Produce an Online, Netflix-Sized Hit?]]> Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) has formally launched TestTube.com, a new online video hub designed to reach consumers that aren't tuning into Discovery's primary pay-TV channels.

According to The Wall Street Journal, TestTube was created after the Discovery Channel lost six percent of its viewers that fall within

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Dover Corp. to Buy, Raises PT Following Knowles Corporation Spin-Off Announcement]]> In a report published Thursday, Bank of America analyst Andrew Obin upgraded the rating on Dover Corp. (NYSE: DOV) from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $76.00 to $90.00.

In the report, Bank of America noted, “We are upgrading DOV to a Buy with a $90

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<![CDATA[GameStop Wins on First-Quarter Results, Loses on Guidance]]> GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) reported its first-quarter results Thursday, beating both EPS and revenue estimates.

The Grapevine, Texas-based firm's EPS declined nearly 15 percent to $0.46, but comfortably topped the Wall Street consensus of $0.40.

Revenue declined 6.5 percent year-over-year to $1.87 billion, but edged expectations of $1.84 billion.

Hard Times

New

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on InvenSense with Buy Rating, $16 PT on Pure-Play Investment Opportunity]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on InvenSense (NYSE: INVN) with a Buy rating and $16.00 price target.

In the report, Topeka Capital noted, “We are initiating coverage of Invensense Inc. with a Buy rating and a $16.00 price target. We

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<![CDATA[NYSE Revieiwing Trades in AEP and NEE Between 9:30-9:31AM EDT]]> (c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Spansion with Buy Rating, $15 PT on Good Market Position]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on Spansion (NYSE: CODE) with a Buy rating and $15.00 price target.

In the report, Topeka Capital noted, “We are initiating coverage of Spansion with a Buy rating and a $15.00 price target. We believe

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Diodes with Buy Rating, $28 PT on Multiple Positive Factors]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on Diodes (NASDAQ: DIOD) with a Buy rating and $28.00 price target.

In the report, Topeka Capital noted, “We are initiating coverage of Diodes Inc. with a Buy rating and a $28.00 price target. We

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on CEVA with Buy Rating, $18 PT on Multiple Positive Factors]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on CEVA (NASDAQ: CEVA) with a Buy rating and $18.00 price target.

In the report, Topeka Capital noted, “We are initiating coverage of CEVA Inc. with a Buy rating and an $18.00 price target. We

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<![CDATA[New Home Sales Increase Amid Tight Inventories]]> Sales of new single-family homes in April 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, according to estimates released jointly Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 2.3 percent above the revised March rate of 444,000 and is 29

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Cavium with Hold Rating, $35 PT on Embedded Further Growth Expectations]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on Cavium (NASDAQ: CAVM) with a Hold rating and $35.00 price target.

In the report, Topeka Capital noted, “We are initiating coverage of Cavium with a Hold rating and a $35.00 price target. We believe

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on RDA Microelectronics with Buy Rating, $14 PT Following Steady Diversification]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on RDA Microelectronics (NASDAQ: RDA) with a Buy rating and $14.00 price target.

In the report, Suji De Silva noted, “We are initiating coverage of RDA Microelectronics with a Buy rating and a $14.00 price

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<![CDATA[Hovnanian Enterprises: Small Cap Analysis]]> Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) builds single dwelling homes, townhomes, condominiums, and retirement homes. Prices for single dwellings range from $68,652 to $1,067,000 with an average price of $301,000. Hovnanian also has a financial arm that is responsible for mortgage loans and title services for its customers.

When first looking

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<![CDATA[Stocks Hitting 52-Week Lows]]> Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) shares reached a new 52-week low of $36.71. Rackspace Hosting shares have dropped 26.32% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 25.51% in the same period.

Newcastle Investment (NYSE: NCT) shares touched a new 52-week low of $5.24.

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Highway Holdings Wins Multi-Year OEM Order for Vaccum Cleaner]]> Highway Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: HIHO) today announced it received a multi-year order for vacuum cleaner components valued at approximately $400,000 per year from a leading international appliance manufacturer.

Production has already commenced, and an initial order of approximately three million components has been delivered to the customer for vacuum cleaner kits that require nine

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<![CDATA[Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs]]> Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) shares created a new 52-week high of $24.17 after the company reported upbeat FQ2 earnings.

Lender Processing Services (NYSE: LPS) shares touched a new 52-week high of $33.01. The Wall Street Journal reported that Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) and Thomas

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Initiates NVIDIA Corporation at Hold]]> In a report published on Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Suji De Silva initiated coverage on global technology company, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a Hold and a price target of $15.

In the report, De Silva stated, "We believe that NVDA has laid the groundwork for multiple strong growth opportunities

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Peyton Green Downgrades Bank of the Ozarks to Neutral on Current Valuation]]> In a report published Thursday, Sterne Agee analyst Peyton Green downgraded the rating on Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) from Buy to Neutral.

In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “We are lowering our rating to Neutral from Buy as the current valuation of ~16x our 2014E EPS exceeds

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: Topeka Capital Markets Upgrades Pacific Sunwear of California to Buy, Raises PT on Expected Good Road Ahead]]> In a report published Thursday, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Dorothy S. Lakner upgraded the rating on Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) from Hold to Buy, and raised the price target from $2.50 to $4.50.

In the report, Topeka Capital noted, “We are raising our rating on PSUN from

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<![CDATA[Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Go Red, Dollar Tree Posts Upbeat Profit]]> Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.72 percent to 15,196.52, while the NASDAQ fell 0.99 percent to 3,428.98. The S&P was also down, declining 1.06 percent to 1,637.88.

Top HeadlineDollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported a 15% rise in its fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year

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<![CDATA[UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Reiterates Neutral Rating, Raises PT on Hewlett-Packard Company on Expected Upward Trends]]> In a report published Thursday, J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz reiterated a Neutral rating on Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), and raised the price target from $22.00 to $24.50.

In the report, J.P. Morgan noted, “We expect shares of Neutral-rated HP to be upward trending in the near term. Despite

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