Monday's Winners & Losers: Comscore
Comscore
(SCOR) - Get Report
, which offers data to help digital marketing, was up $2.12, or 10.2%, to $22.99 after an analyst at Jefferies raised his rating on the stock to buy from hold and put a $27 price target on the shares. The recent pullback makes the stock attractive again, said the analyst, even as ComScore is "on track" to deliver strong growth in fiscal 2008 based on new product launches and a growing subscriber base.
Semiconductor equipment maker
KLA-Tencor
(KLAC) - Get Report
was up $2.64, or 6.6%, to $42.81 after an analyst at Citigroup raised the rating on the stock to buy from hold. Near-term business for the company is better than expected, and the depressed stock price offers a good opportunity for investors, said the analyst.
Shares of
Centerplate
(CVP)
, a Spartanburg, S.C.-based provider of food and related services to recreational facilities, added 20% to $4.75. The company entered into an amended agreement with
General Electric Capital
(GER) - Get Report
to adjust its senior leverage ratio, total leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio requirements. The move will allow Centerplate to pay dividends and interest on its subordinated notes and invest in a potential new service contract and expand capital expenditures in 2008.
In other news,
Kinetic Concepts
( KCI) said Monday that it would acquire Branchburg, N.J.-based
LifeCell
( LIFC) for $51 a share, or $1.7 billion in cash. The price is an 18% premium to LifeCell's closing price on April 4. Upon the close of the transaction, LifeCell will operate as a new global biosurgery division within KCI. LifeCell shares shot up about 17% to $50.42, while KCI's added 6.2% to $49.91.
On the losing side, medical device company
ev3
( EVVV) lost 13% to $7.51. The Plymouth, Minn.-based firm forecast first-quarter revenue of $101.3 million, vs. previous guidance of $107 million. The Street is looking for $104.4 million, per Thomson Financial. In addition, ev3 withdrew its first-quarter and full-year guidance previously announced on Jan. 7.
Better luck graced shares of specialty drug developer
Sepracor
( SEPR), which rose 9.5% to $22. AmTech research upgraded the stock to buy from neutral on Monday.
This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.