Shares of Ashland Inc.(NYSE: ASH) jumped about 7.60% by midday trade after JANA Partners said late last evening that it has acquired 7.4% stake in the Company. Covington, KY based Ashland is a specialty chemical company, which provides products, services and solutions to wide ranging industries.
Shares of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) gained about 5.60% by midday trade after the drugstore chain on Thursday reported first full-year profit in last six years thanks to spate of generic drugs offerings which helped bolstering margin even as prescription filled at its pharmacy showed strong growth.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 2, the drugstore chain reported net income of $123.1 million or 13 cents a share compared to a loss of $161.3 million or 18 cents a share, in the same quarter of last fiscal. The recently concluded quarter included a credit of $175.4 million. Analysts’ consensus forecast was for earnings of loss of 2 cents a share.
For the current fiscal, Rite Aid expects earnings to come in the range of 4 cents a share to 20 cents a share on sales of $24.9 billion to $25.3 billion. Analysts’ consensus forecast was for earnings of 4 cents a share on sales of $25.17 billion, according to a data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Shares of Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) climbed about 6.50% by midday trade after analysts at Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the stock to “buy” rating from “hold” rating on Friday. The firm has price target of $17.00 a share. The upgrade comes just after several other equity research firms boosted their rating on the stock. On March 21, analysts at SunTrust boosted the price target on the stock to $18 from $14 and have a “buy” rating. On March 8, analysts at Topeka Capital Markets maintained “hold” rating on the stock and raised their price target on the stock to $13 from $11.
Shares of Infosys Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: INFY) were hammered. The Bangalore, India-based software company reported March quarter results on Friday which showed revenue falling short of Street’s estimates. For the recently concluded quarter, the Company reported revenue of $1.94 billion while analysts’ estimate was $1.99 billion.
Revenue during the quarter edged up 1.4% from the previous quarter and climbed 9.4% from the same quarter of last fiscal. Earnings per American Depository Share stood at 78 cents a share compared to Street’s estimate of 74 cents a share. Although earnings were better-than-expected, sequential quarterly growth was only 2.6% while on year-on-year basis earnings declined 3.7%. The Company also handed disappointing revenue guidance for the current quarter. Infosys is expecting revenue growth of 6% to 10%, which translates to $1.87 billion to $1.94 billion. Analysts were expecting it at $1.99 billion.
Shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.(NASDAQ:SBGI) rallied about 13% by midday trade after the television station operator announced on Thursday that it would acquire Fisher Communications Inc (NASDAQ: FSCI) in deal estimated at $373 million, a move which would allow Sinclair to gain traction in the Western United States.
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