Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: STV +16.2% (ticking higher), ANF +15.9% (also upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney), FRAN +13%, ANGO +5.7%, INFY +3.3%, HIIQ +3.3% ( announces preliminary record 2013 premium equivalents driven by strong Q4 sales), GPS +2.2%, AEHR +2.2% (also announces new customer order of more than $1 mln for multiple ABTS Burn-in and Test Systems from a European semiconductor manufacturer), HELE +1.9% (light volume), ZLC +0.6%, (light volume), .
M&A news: SWS +15.5% (Hilltop proposes to acquire SWS Group for $7.00 Per Share in 50% cash and 50% Hilltop common stock ), OMC +2% (Publicis Groupe And Omnicom confirmed yesterday Received Unconditional Clearance From The European Commission), ORAN +1.9% (AT&T and Deutsche Telekom may bid for ORAN; AT&T may offer EUR $15/share, according to reports ).
Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: GOLD +2%, RIO +1.9%, ABX +1.2%, AUY +1%, SLV +0.8%, GDX +0.6%, GLD +0.4%, .
Select oil/gas related names showing strength: STO +2.4% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan), RDS.A +1.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Exane BNP Paribas ), TOT +0.7%.
Other news: ICPT +28.7% (following after hours NASH and FLINT conference call; was up more than 200 points yesterday; target raised to $872 from $81 at BofA/Merrill), CNAT +14.8% (continued strength), BLDP +14.4% (announces sales agreement with M-Field For Clean Baseload Power Systems), KIN +12.2% (The Baupost Group (Seth Klarman) discloses 17.93% passive stake in 13G filing), IMMU +12% (announces initiation of Phase III clinical trial of Clivatuzumab Tetraxetan in patients with pancreatic cancer), PLUG +11.4% (continued momentum), RIGL +11.1% (earns milestone payment of $5.75 mln from AstraZeneca (AZN) for the continued development of R256 in asthma ), STEM +9.7% (Expands Phase I/II Spinal Cord Injury Trial to North America), GALT +9.7% (has sold 2.39 mln shares of common stock since October 28 at an avg price of $9.99, raising $23.9 mln in net proceeds- Announces Update on Financing Activities and Cash of $32.3 Million), SNTA +9.6% (announces initiation of three multicenter, randomized Phase II/III trials of Ganetespib in acute myeloid leukemia and high risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome), DCTH +9.4% (still checking), IMUC +8.8% (issues shareholder letter providing update on ICT-107 program in newly diagnosed glioblastoma), APO +8.1% (ticking higher, Apollo Global Management Closes Apollo Investment Fund VIII), GALE +7.4% (continued strength), JKS +4.5% (announces agreement to take over assets of Zhejiang Topoint), NBIX +3.1% (announces 12-Week safety results from initial Phase IIB study of VMAT2 Inhibitor NBI-98854; Shows "excellent safety profile"), SQNM +2.3% (announces second national coverage agreement for prenatal diagnostic testing services; downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray), MNKD +1% (announces tentative date of FDA advisory committee review of AFREZZA ), YHOO +0.7% (has acquired Aviate for $80 mln, according to reports ), NFLX +0.6% (Netflix app will stream 4K to new TV's right away, according to reports), FB +0.5% (plans to shutdown controversial ad feature this Spring, according to reports; target raised to $65 at Stifel).
Analyst comments: IRWD +4.8% (ticking higher, upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital), OREX +2.1% (initiated with a Buy at WallachBeth), BBRY +1.6% (upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital ), MSFT +1.3% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays), CNW +0.5% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo), M +0.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman)