Takeover Rumors Boost Rio Tinto
Editor's Note: In this feature from Stockpickr, we highlight lists of stocks that have been upgraded by analysts, are experiencing activist situations or some other market moving events.
: Shares of
Rio Tinto
( RTP) rose in overseas trading on rumors mining rivals
BHP Billiton
(BHP) - Get Report
and
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
(RIO) - Get Report
could make a joint bid for the company, according to
Dow Jones Newswires
, citing market rumors. BHP Billiton gained $3 to $65.79, while Rio Tinto is up $12.10 to $297.91.
: RBC Centura Banks, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Royal Bank of Canada
(RY) - Get Report
, will acquire Birmingham-based
Alabama National Bancorporation
(ALAB)
, parent of 11 subsidiary banks and other affiliated businesses in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Under the agreement, shareholders of Alabama National will receive $80 per share payable in cash, RBC shares or a combination of each, valuing the deal at approximately $1.6 billion.
The total transaction consideration will consist of one half cash and one half RBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 46 cents to $51.02 as Alabama National rocketed $23.92, or 45%, to $77.04.
Teen retailer
Pacific Sunwear of California
(PSUN)
said same-store sales increased 9.6% in August, vs. the consensus estimate of a 1.8% gain. The company reported $181.6 million in total sales for the four weeks of fiscal August ended Sept. 1, an increase of 13.6%.
Pacific Sunwear believes that its August sales performance is attributable in part to the later start of back to school in Florida and Texas that occurred in fiscal August this year, vs. fiscal July last year. The stock increased $1.01 to $15.26.
: JPMorgan upgraded
Cognos
( COGN) to overweight from neutral. Underlying demand for the company's software and services is strong, the firm said. Margins should also benefit from the
Applix
(APLX)
acquisition. Cognos shares were better by 10 cents to $41.30.
: In an amended regulatory filing on
Flamel Technologies
(FLML)
, OSS Capital Management disclosed it had raised its stake in the drug delivery device maker to 26.5%. In an August active regulatory filing, the firm disclosed a 25.6% stake in the company. Dan Loeb's Third Point has a 9.2% passive stake in Flamel and the company is already under activist pressure from Redwood Asset Management, which is calling for a sale. Shares gained 8 cents to $9.70.
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