Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Wednesday's session are Saks Inc. (SKS), Zale Corp. (ZLC) and
Multiband Corp. (MBND).
Luxury retailer Saks has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to
explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale,
according to a story in the New York Post, which cited sources and
people briefed on the situation. A Saks spokeswoman told Dow Jones
the company doesn't comment on rumors or speculation. Shares rose
19% to $16.20 premarket.
Zale named former Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG, SIG.LN) Chief
Executive Terry Burman as its chairman, while the jewelry retailer
also swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit despite a slight drop
in revenue. Analysts had recently forecast a per-share loss. Shares
rose 26% to $6.80 premarket.
Multiband has agreed to be acquired by Goodman Networks Inc. for
roughly $71 million, following a review of its options. Privately
held Goodman Networks will pay $3.25 for each Multiband share, a
26% premium over the company's Tuesday closing price. It will also
redeem all of Multiband's outstanding preferred stock and repay the
company's outstanding bank indebtedness. The companies said the
deal is worth $116 million including debt and the redemption of
preferred stock. Multiband shares rose 24% to $3.21 premarket.
Dycom Industries Inc.'s (DY) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell
25% as the telecommunications contractor logged lower gains in
asset sales from the year earlier and as margins narrowed. However,
shares rose 17%, to $23.89 premarket, as the company gave
current-quarter guidance that easily topped consensus
estimates.
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) on Tuesday launched a dividend and promised
to raise payouts to shareholders through stock buybacks, calming
investors as a weak information-technology market threatens its
earnings. The data-storage company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings
slipped 3.8% as weaker product sales and higher operating costs hit
its bottom line, though core earnings improved. Shares were up 6%
to $38.82 premarket.
Amag Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMAG) said that its distributor has
recalled a batch of ferumoxytol, its treatment for iron deficiency,
after a death was reported in Switzerland. Shares slid 6.3% to
$23.50 in premarket trade.
CVR Partners Inc. (UAN) said Coffeyville Resources LLC, a
subsidiary of CVR Energy Inc. (CVI), will sell 12 million units
representing limited partner interests. The fertilizer company had
73.1 million units outstanding as of April 30. Units slipped 5.9%
to $24.80 premarket.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (ONCY) said it met its primary endpoint
for the first stage of a Phase 2 clinical trial for its metastatic
melanoma treatment. Shares rose 10% to $3.00 premarket.
Watchlist:
Analog Devices Inc.'s (ADI) fiscal second-quarter earnings rose
1% as the chipmaker benefited from significantly lower tax costs,
which helped mask weaker revenue in nearly all its main
segments.
Avid Technology Inc. (AVID) said it will restate financial
results dating back to 2009, as it continues to review its
accounting of certain software updates.
Baltic Trading Ltd. (BALT) has commenced a common stock offering
but didn't disclose how many shares it is offering. The drybulk
company plans to use proceeds for future vessel acquisitions as
well as for working capital and general corporate purposes. It had
17.3 million shares of common stock outstanding as of May 9.
Moody's Investors Service placed Carnival Corp.'s (CCL) credit
rating under review for a possible downgrade after the cruise-line
operator disclosed that revenue yields are declining.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lifted HollyFrontier
Corp. (HFC) out of junk bond territory, noting its profit history
and conservative debt leverage.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) said the marketing authorization
application for its new hepatitis C drug has been validated by the
European Medicines Agency and granted accelerated assessment.
Intuit Inc.'s (INTU) fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 12% as
the company attracted more online customers for its small-business
services.
Lorillard Inc. (LO) has authorized an additional $500 million in
share repurchases under the tobacco maker's buyback program, a move
that doubles the amount of stock the company can buy.
Merck (MRK) said it has entered into an accelerated share
repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to
repurchase $5 billion of the drug manufacturer's common stock, as
the company looks to increase shareholder value.
Sensata Technologies Holding NV (ST) said its principal
shareholder, Sensata Investment Company SCA, is selling 12.5
million shares. Sensata Technologies had about 175 million shares
outstanding as of April 18.
SolarWinds Inc. (SWI) has agreed to buy N-able Technologies for
$120 million in cash to expand its offerings into cloud-based
information technology services for managed service providers.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its outlook on
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) to positive from stable, citing the
supermarket chain's strong sales and profit growth.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com
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