Stocks on the move Thursday

Bayer, Continental, Cadbury Schweppes among the day's most actively traded shares.


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The following shares were among the most actively traded Thursday:

Bayer AG (up $1.17 to $58.34, Charts) posted a 12.5 percent rise in fourth-quarter operating profit on Thursday, driven by a robust health care unit and the acquisition of rival Schering.

Bear Stearns (up $3.46 to $148.75, Charts) said on Thursday quarterly earnings rose 8 percent, but problems in the risky subprime loan sector hurt mortgage-related revenue.

Continental Airlines (up $0.95 to $37.57, Charts) was upgraded to "neutral" from "underweight" by analysts at J.P. Morgan.

Chiquita (up $0.34 to $13.09, Charts) agreed to pay $25 million late Wednesday after it pleaded guilty to federal charges that it engaged in transactions with a terrorist organization, in this case a right-wing paramilitary group in two areas of Colombia where it grows bananas.

Cadbury Schweppes (up $1.75 to $48.73, Charts) announced plans Thursday to split its candy and American soft drink business into two separate companies, a move that could bring bids from rivals or private equity groups.

Scolr Pharma (down $1.53 to $1.77, Charts) said Wyeth Consumer Healthcare will terminate its license to use Scolr's technology in products containing the painkiller ibuprofen.

Hanson (up $1.78 to $77.58, Charts) benefited from consensus among traders that its stock was hit too hard Wednesday on concerns about the U.S. housing market, according to Reuters.

Hot Topic (down $0.54 to $10.35, Charts) posted a 16 percent decline in fourth quarter net income, as tepid sales and a charge related to the closure of underperforming stores hurt results.

Imperial Tobacco (up $5.97 to $85.67, Charts) made a $15 billion bid for Franco-Spanish rival Altadis.

Assurances from Lehman Brothers (up $1.61 to $73.33, Charts) about its own subprime problems when it reported results Wednesday helped to lift markets that have become focused on rising defaults and delinquencies in those loans.

Unilever (up $1.17 to $27.67, Charts) was upgraded to "neutral" from "underperform" by analysts at Credit Suisse.

-- from staff and wire reports


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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.