NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Shares of American Precision Industries soared after it accepted a buyout. CheckFree Holdings skyrocketed on a deal between First Data and Microsoft. Abercrombie & Fitch shares were pummeled after analyst downgrade. Lending Tree IPO inched upward. Superconductor technologies received an order that nearly doubled the share price.
Today's Winners
American Precision (APR: Research, Estimates), up 7-3/8 to 18-13/16. The manufacturer of diversified electronics and heat transfer equipment agreed to be bought by Danaher Corp. for $250 million, or $19.25 per share.
Enzo Biochem Inc. (ENZ: Research, Estimates), up 17-1/4 to 77-1/2. Analysts say shares of this stock have been driven up purely based on momentum and the strength of the biotechnology market.
CheckFree Holdings Corp. (CKFR: Research, Estimates), up 36-3/4 to 105. Credit Suisse First Boston reiterated its buy rating on shares of this online billing services provider, to a $110 target price. Tuesday, CheckFree signed a deal to buy Transpoint, an electronic billing and payment joint venture between First Data Corp. and Microsoft Corp., for stock worth about $1.16 billion.
Hadco Corp. (HDC: Research, Estimates), up 7-1/2 to 50-1/8. The company reported fiscal first-quarter results, including a 251 percent increase in net over the year-ago period and recent surges in order rates in both the printed circuit and value-added segments of its business. Hadco ended its fiscal first quarter with record backlog of $164.3 million and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.09.
Creative BioMolecules Inc. (CBMI: Research, Estimates), up 2-11/16 to 11-13/16. Late Tuesday afternoon the biotech firm announced plans to merge with two other biotechnology companies, Ontogeny Inc. and Reprogenesis Inc., to form a new entity to be called Curis Inc., expected to be a new leader in the field of regenerative medicine.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI: Research, Estimates), up 43-5/16 to 198-1/16. Shares soared after the company said it received a U.S. patent on a human gene that produces what is believed to be the critical entry point for the AIDS virus.
Targeted Genetics Corp. (TGEN: Research, Estimates), up 7-7/16 to 20. Targeted Genetics Corporation, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and the Children's Research Institute, announced that they will collaborate to develop a vaccine to prevent AIDS. The vaccine will utilize Targeted Genetics' Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAV) to deliver HIV genes as a novel form of genetic immunization.
Lending Tree Inc. (TREE: Research, Estimates) up 6 to 18. Shares of this personal loan marketplace, debuted the stock market today, following the company's $43.8 million initial public offering.
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (SCON: Research, Estimates) up 14-7/8 to 28. This leading developer and manufacturer of superconducting products announced that it has received a purchase order for 27 SuperFilter® Systems from a cellular service provider increasing the backlog to 56 systems.
Today's Losers
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF: Research, Estimates) down 4-5/16 to 15-3/16. Shares fell almost today after the youth-oriented clothing retailer reported a 27 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings, in line with analysts' estimates. Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded the company from "strong buy" to "buy," and lowered its 12-month target price to $30 from $42.
Teleglobe Inc. (TGO: Research, Estimates) down 4-1/16 to 28-11/16. Canadian broadband-services company BCE has offered to buy Teleglobe Inc. for $9.65 billion in BCE shares, which would give the Montreal telecom holding firm access to an international transmission network. BCE already owns 23 per cent of Teleglobe.
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL: Research, Estimates) down 6-1/16 to 25-7/8. Shares of the specialty chemical company said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit was essentially flat, shy of Wall Street forecasts, despite higher sales. The company earned $39.0 million, or 39 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $39.7 million, or 39 cents, in the year-ago quarter. ![Back to top](/images/bug.gif)
-- compiled by Staff Writer Lucy Banduci, Reuters, and CNNfn's markets unit
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