Here’s a look at some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be watching for you today. We start with some M&A action.
WebMD Health Group (WBMD) shares soared in early trading. The online health information website is being bought by private equity firm KKR in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion dollars. That translates to about $66.50 a share in cash, which is more than a 20% premium based on WebMD’s closing price on Friday.
Investors are unimpressed with Hasbro’s (HAS) quarterly report card, and the stock fell in early trading. While earnings at the toymaker beat estimates, revenue missed. Demand was strong for Transformers and Nerf toys but weak for Playskool, Super Soaker and Easy Bake Oven products.
Halliburton (HAL) shares were higher after the oilfield service provider reported a big beat on earnings and revenue for last quarter. Revenue soared more than 29% from a year ago driven mainly by continued strength in North America.
Blue Apron (APRN) shares rallied in early trading after a number of Wall Street analysts started coverage of the meal kit company with a strong rating. Several of its underwriters, including Goldman Sachs and Stifel Nicolaus, believe the troubled IPO is a buy, while RBC Capital Markets and Oppenheimer initiated coverage on the stock with an outperform rating.
And across the pond, shares of major German automakers are headed in reverse this morning. Volkswagen (VOW.DE), Daimler (DAI.DE) and BMW (BMW.DE) are all down sharply in Frankfurt trading following news that European antitrust regulators are investigating claims that Germany’s automakers may have been operating a cartel since the 1990s, colluding on everything from vehicle development to diesel emissions systems. BMW denied the allegations, while Volkswagen and Daimler have declined to comment on the claims.
