>>> US Gapping down:

Gapping down:

Earnings related: BCRX -16.2%, SSTK -11.4%, JKS -2.2%

General news:

  • NVFY -9.7% (pulling back following recent gains)
  • DRYS -8.5% (still checking)
  • SPKE -7.0% (pulling back following Friday's spike on M&A chatter)
  • VIAV -2.8% (commences $400 mln private offering of its Senior Convertible Notes due 2024; intends to use up to $75 mln of the proceeds from the offering to repurchase common stock to its existing program)

Analyst actions:

  • SUI -5.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup)
  • URBN -3.3% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at MKM Partners)
  • TSLA -2.7% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman; tgt lowered to $185 from $190)
  • NVMI -2.7% (downgraded to Hold at Stifel; tgt $18)

>>> US Gapping up:

Gapping up:

Earnings: GOGO +5.3%, LUK +3.0%.

General news:

  • LJPC +40.2% (announces positive top-line results from athos-3 phase 3 study of LJPC-501; 'primary efficacy endpoint analysis highly statistically significant'),
  • PIRS +17.2% (granted ASKA Pharma an exclusive option to license development and commercial rights to Pieris' anemia drug, PRS-080, in Japan and certain other Asian markets following completion of a multi-dose Phase 2a study; co will receive an immediate option payment of $2.75 mln from ASKA),
  • ATRS +12.0% (announces that the New Drug Application for QuickShot Testosterone has been accepted for standard review by the FDA),
  • ACRX +8.3% (New Drug Application for DSUVIA accepted for filing; PDUFA date is October 12, 2017),
  • FEYE +2.3% (still checking)

Analyst actions:

  • PTEN +3.4% (added to US 1 List at BofA/Merrill),

>>> Early Pre-Market Gappers

Early Pre-Market Gappers:
Gapping up:LJPC +51.1%, GOGO +5.3%, PTEN +3.4%, FIT +2.6%, LPX +2.5%, TEO +2.4%, MU +2.0%, VSTO +2.0%.
Gapping down:NVFY -11.5%, DRYS -10.3%, KEM -9.1%, SPKE -7.0%,PERI -5.2%, JKS -3.8%, URBN -3.3%, TSLA -2.1%, SNN -1.7%, SNCR -1.6%.

FT :Berkshire Hathaway more than doubles stake in Apple to $18bn

Berkshire Hathaway more than doubles stake in Apple to $18bn

Berkshire Hathaway more than doubled its stake in Apple after the end of 2016 to more than $18bn, chief executive Warren Buffett said on Monday.

The so-called Oracle of Omaha said on CNBC television that Berkshire holds about 133m Apple shares. That represents a sharp increase from the 61.2m that the investment group, which has holdings stretching from Wells Fargo to Coca-Cola, reported as of December 31 2016.

Mr Buffett said that Berkshire had stopped buying Apple shares after the technology group reported its quarterly earnings at the end of January given the increase in the company’s stock price. Apple shares have climbed 12.6 per cent since then and are up by 41.3 per cent over the past 12 months.

The 86-year old investor released his eagerly-awaited annual letter over the weekend, in which he suggested Berkshire may begin to more actively trade its large public equities portfolio.

>>> Pfeiffer Vacuum boards advise shareholders to not accept Busch offer

Pfeiffer Vacuum boards advise shareholders to not accept Busch offer
27 FEB 2017
Pursuant to § 27 of the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (WpÜG), the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG ("Pfeiffer Vacuum") today issued its reasoned statement on the offer submitted February 13, 2017, by Pangea GmbH, a company wholly owned by Busch SE ("Busch Group").
The Management Board and the Supervisory Board are of the opinion that the Busch Group's offer is not in the interest of Pfeiffer Vacuum and its shareholders. Both bodies therefore advise the shareholders of Pfeiffer Vacuum to not accept the Busch Group's offer.
Manfred Bender, CEO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG, says: "The Busch Group is aiming to gain active control of Pfeiffer Vacuum without paying a customary and appropriate takeover premium. A coherent strategic concept for potential collaboration has not yet been presented by Busch. In the best interest of Pfeiffer Vacuum and its shareholders, we must therefore reject this inadequate offer and advise our shareholders to not accept it."
Having carefully reviewed the offer and the consideration to be given in return, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board deem the latter, especially, to be inadequate. This position is supported by the customary assessments of UBS Europe SE and equinet Bank AG. The so-called inadequacy opinions examine the offer's adequacy from a financial viewpoint. Both banks concluded independently that the price of EUR 96.20 per Pfeiffer Vacuum share offered by the Busch Group is inadequate from a financial perspective.
The Busch Group stated in the offer document that it considers to put a profit transfer or domination agreement between the Busch Group and Pfeiffer Vacuum in place as soon as the offer has been successfully concluded. The Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Pfeiffer Vacuum take a critical view of this plan because the aim is to take de facto control over Pfeiffer Vacuum without paying shareholders a customary premium for acquiring such a controlling interest.
The premium on the share price offered in consideration is well below the premiums paid in comparable transactions, and constitutes a 7.46 percent discount on the Pfeiffer Vacuum share price as at February 10, 2017, the last trading day before the Busch Group published the offer document. The Pfeiffer Vacuum shares’ closing price on that day was EUR 103.95.
The Management and Supervisory Board believe that the Busch Group may actively interfere with Pfeiffer Vacuum's strategic setup, as the Busch Group has made several attempts to influence decisions within the remit of Pfeiffer Vacuum's Management Board or Supervisory Board in the past. Adding to this concern is the fact that the Busch Group has been changing its stated intentions with regard to its stake in Pfeiffer Vacuum within a short period of time.
Beyond that, it is the Management Board’s and the Supervisory Board's opinion that the offered consideration in no way reflects the vacuum industry's growth potential, as specified by the Busch Group itself, nor the resulting medium-term value upside of Pfeiffer Vacuum.

Manfred Bender, CEO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG, says: "Pfeiffer Vacuum is strategically, technologically and financially in a very good position to realize the growth potential on its own and in the interest of the company and its shareholders. We will continue to pursue our successful strategy of combining organic growth in markets such as Asia and the USA with strategic acquisitions, thereby offering our shareholders attractive long-term prospects. We are also reviewing further options to ensure our shareholders participate adequately in the value creation at Pfeiffer Vacuum."
The full reasoned statement of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Pfeiffer Vacuum can be viewed on the company website via the following link.