Friday's Winners and Losers: Broadcom
Among individual stocks,
E*Trade
(ETFC) - Get E*TRADE Financial Corporation Report
continued recuperating after
CNBC
reported that the online broker appears to be
in takeout talks with rivals
TD Ameritrade
(AMTD) - Get AMTD IDEA Group American Depositary Shares each representing one Class A Report
and
Charles Schwab
(SCHW) - Get Charles Schwab Corporation (The) Report
.
Analysts have been
speculating about this possibility since last week when news of
further writedowns and an
TheStreet Recommends
analyst downgrade sent E*Trade shares into a free fall. Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia furthermore told
CNBC
last Friday that his company was interested in snapping up E*Trade's brokerage unit. Today's report cited that deal as a possibility, though it may also involve major Ameritrade shareholder
Toronto-Dominion Bank
(AMTD) - Get AMTD IDEA Group American Depositary Shares each representing one Class A Report
taking the helm at the troubled banking unit responsible for the stock's recent downward spiral.
Word of merger talks between E*Trade and Ameritrade
emerged as early as August, after even earlier
pressure for such a combination by big Ameritrade holders Jana Partners and SAC Capital.
E*Trade shares were flying 25.1% higher at $5.33 in heavy action. Ameritrade rose 4.5% to $18.90, Schwab added 3.3%, and TD Bank tacked on 1.3%.
Freddie Mac
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spent most of its time in negative territory following Tuesday's news of a
huge third-quarter loss, though shares ended 1.8% higher at $26.47. A Lehman Brothers analyst today reiterated his equal weight rating on the mortgage investor, according to the
Associated Press
, describing the company's 2008-2009 loss projections as manageable.
Research In Motion
(RIMM)
was up $2.83, or 2.5%, to $113.85 at the close of trading on Friday. The company announced Friday it has amended its insider trading policy so that its directors, officers and employees can adopt automatic securities trading plans.
Company executives who opted to be part of the plan include Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive officer; Mike Lazaridis, president and co-chief CEO; Larry Conlee, COO of product development and manufacturing; and Dennis Kavelman, COO of operations.
According to new data published in U.K. medical journal
The Lancet
,
GlaxoSmithKline's
(GSK) - Get GSK plc American Depositary Shares (Each representing two) Report
oral rotavirus vaccine candidate protects against the five most commonly circulating rotavirus types. If approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the vaccine would complete the rotavirus vaccination series by four months of age.
Glaxo's Biologics License Application (BLA) for the candidate rotavirus vaccine is currently under review by the FDA. It is proposed that the vaccine would be given in two oral doses beginning at six weeks of age and completed by 24 weeks of age, with a minimum four-week interval between the doses. If approved, the vaccine could be integrated into the current vaccine schedule at the two- and four-month immunization visits.
Also Friday, the FDA released a safety review of flu products and recommended adding label precautions about neurological problems (including hallucinations and convulsions) observed in children who had taken Glaxo's Relenza and
Roche's
Tamiflu. A panel of pediatric experts will review the safety of flu drugs in children next week.
Glaxo shares closed up $2.92, or 6.1%, to $50.79. The stock is a component of the Amex Pharmaceutical Index, which closed up 9.60 points, or 2.8%, to 344.93.
Broadcom
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rose 2.5% after it said it
will accept the $19.6 million award for patent infringement by
Qualcomm
(QCOM) - Get QUALCOMM Incorporated Report
; Qualcomm was accused of using chip technology under patent by Broadcom.
Originally, Broadcom had been granted $39.2 million, but a federal judge cut it in half and gave Broadcom the option to seek a new trial or accept the award. Broadcom was up 69 cents to $27.83 while Qualcomm was up 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $40.53.
Elsewhere,
Bristol Myers Squibb
(BMY) - Get Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Report
and
Pierre Fabre Medicamente
, a privately owned French company, said Friday they are terminating their license agreement for chemotherapy candidate vinflunine, intended to treat advanced bladder cancer and other tumor types. Bristol-Myers, in a press release, said it would return all rights to Pierre Fabre, based on the review of the clinical development program and its decision not to file a new drug application in the U.S. for bladder cancer.
Pierre Fabre said it plans to file for the registration of the drug in bladder cancer in Europe in the first quarter of 2008 and is considering further development options. Bristol closed up 62 cents, or 2.3%, at $28.08.
