(NYT) Dealbook: Mylan’s Hostile Bid for Perrigo Has Shortcomings

Dealbook: Mylan’s Hostile Bid for Perrigo Has Shortcomings

(New York Times) -- Mylan’s $28 billion tender offer for its rival Perrigo, which starts next week, isn’t good enough.
The hostile bid by Mylan, a Dutch generic drug firm, for Perrigo, an over-the-counter medicine maker based in Ireland, carries a stingy premium and comes mostly in paper. Perrigo’s owners don’t need to swap stock in a shareholder-unfriendly company with bad governance and financial risk when an auction might generate a better result.
Perrigo’s investors may be tempted to take what they can get. But under scrutiny, the offer looks less compelling, starting with just a 14 percent control premium. Mylan has done a respectable job over the last decade, with 300 percent shareholder returns. Perrigo has risen more than tenfold. Perrigo’s business of making store-brand over-the counter medicines has better prospects than Mylan’s business of making generic pills. Analysts expect it to grow more than twice as fast in coming years.
Since moving its headquarters to the Netherlands, Mylan hasn’t been obviously run for the benefit of shareholders. This summer, Teva wanted to buy the firm for more than $80 a share. Rather than accept this mouthwatering price, the board and an independent company foundation exercised a poison pill that sent its suitor scurrying away. Mylan now trades at about $48. The company’s legal address in the Netherlands also makes it hard to replace directors. Its proxy statements contain a thicket of related-party transactions.
There’s some risk for Perrigo shareholders in voting against the deal. Perrigo shares are trading about 11 percent above where they were before Mylan’s arrival, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has fallen about 8 percent. This premium and perhaps more might disappear if shareholders opt for independence.
Worse, Mylan needs 80 percent of the vote to squeeze out minorities under Irish law. If more than half but less than 80 percent take up the offer, it would leave Mylan engorged with debt, and an awkward listed subsidiary. Mylan has even threatened to delist Perrigo shares if this happens. The risk is that Perrigo’s growth slows and its minority shareholders are ignored.
Perrigo’s board is confident that the record of two companies will persuade investors to dismiss Mylan’s offer. Overconfidence, however, raises the risk that Mylan will succeed, but not achieve 80 percent of the vote. Perrigo could sidestep this risk, and perhaps fetch a better premium, by auctioning itself off.

WSJ : Obscure Hedge Fund Buys Billions of Dollars of U.S. Treasurys

Obscure Hedge Fund Buys Billions of Dollars of U.S. Treasurys

Element Capital has been biggest purchaser in several recent auctions

A little-known New York hedge fund run by a former Yale University math whiz has been buying tens of billions of dollars of U.S. Treasury debt at recent auctions, drawing attention from the Treasury Department and Wall Street.

Element Capital Management LLC, led by trader Jeffrey Talpins, has been the largest purchaser in dozens of government-bond auctions over the past 10 months, people familiar with the matter said. The buying is part of an apparent effort by the fund to use borrowed money to exploit small inefficiencies in the world’s most liquid securities market, a strategy that is delivering sizable profits, said people close to the matter.

Mr. Talpins is an intense and reserved trader formerly at Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. He is known for a tenacious style that can grate on rivals and once tested the patience of former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Element has been the largest bidder in many of the 62 Treasury note and bond auctions between last November and July, these people said. At many recent auctions, some of which involved sales of more than $30 billion of debt, Element purchased about 10% of the issue, these people said. That is an unusually large figure, analysts said.

Element’s activity has raised questions because the cumulative purchases far exceed the hedge fund’s $6 billion in assets under management. Treasury officials, who frequently meet with large auction participants, have asked Element about its activity, said someone close to the matter.

“Their buying is eyebrow-raising,” said a trader who once worked for a firm that deals in government securities and witnessed Element’s bidding. These primary dealers often know the identity of other auction bidders. Element “never shared its strategy, but we often asked,” the trader said.

Treasury likes to know who is buying its bonds and why, partly because it prefers long-term holders such as pension funds, insurance companies and central banks. Treasury officials fear purchases by trading-oriented funds could result in sales that increase market swings and potentially drive up borrowing costs.

“If you’re issuing debt, your preference is those ‘sticky investors,’” said Scott Skyrm, a managing director at Wedbush Securities.

Element is a “macro” fund, or one that wagers on global macroeconomic trends in bond, stock and currency markets. The firm uses a “unique probabilistic approach,” according to a presentation the firm made last year at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Element had been shorting, or betting against, bonds in anticipation of higher interest rates but has been exiting from that wager, according to someone close to the matter. That is one reason the fund has been a big buyer of Treasurys lately.

But people who have worked with the firm or are close to Mr. Talpins said there is another reason: Element is among the last to embrace “bond-auction strategies,” trading maneuvers that have become less popular since the financial crisis.

These trades aim to take advantage of the effects of supply and demand in the $12.8 trillion Treasury market. Demand for these bonds often fluctuates based on factors including investor perceptions of economic growth and market risk, while supply can be affected by regular auctions of different-maturity Treasury securities. A burst of new supply tends to slightly depress prices for short periods, sometimes for less than an hour.

In the past, Wall Street dealers and hedge funds scored profits shorting “when-issued” bonds. These are contracts conferring the right to purchase Treasury securities when they are sold days later at auction. Then, these traders would buy bonds during Treasury auctions at the slightly lower prices and use these newly purchased bonds to close out their short sales.

The difference between the higher price at which they sold the Treasurys and the lower price they paid at auction was their profit.

There are a number of variations to this strategy, traders said. The maneuver involves a bet against bonds, so traders usually purchased hedges such as Treasury futures or interest-rate swaps to protect against rising bond prices while the trade was under way, said Tom di Galoma, head of fixed-income and rates trading at ED&F Man.

After the 2008 financial crisis, bank traders pulled back as regulators discouraged trading risks. Some hedge funds also began shying away from bond-auction strategies. Wall Street banks have significantly cut back their lending to hedge funds.

The pullback by rivals has left Element with a large presence in bond auctions to complement strategies such as in foreign-currency derivatives, people close to the matter said. In 2008, the firm gained 35%, these people say, even as financial markets crumbled. The next year, Element was up 79%. Last year it rose just 2.9%.

But it was up 18.5% through July of this year, an investor said, beating most hedge funds and overall markets. Some recent gains came from bullish wagers on the U.S. dollar, according to the person. The firm’s annualized average return has exceeded 20% since its launch, investors said.

There are dangers with the auction strategy. Once in a while, the prices of bonds being auctioned jump, rather than fall, for reasons such as bad economic news that prompts an investor flight to safety. Hedges sometimes don’t work out. And the strategy relies on inexpensive borrowing because each trade usually yields minimal profits.

In the 1990s, hedge fund Long Term Capital Management used leverage to profit from small discrepancies in the Treasury market before a market reversal swamped the firm. LTCM used much more leverage than Element does.

Mr. Talpins graduated in 1997 from Yale, where he was a research assistant for Robert Shiller, the Yale economist who later won a Nobel prize in economics. In a 1996 letter, Mr. Shiller wrote that in terms of overall performance, he “put Jeffrey first out of the 52 Yale undergraduates” who attended his course Economics 252, Finance, Theory and Application.

“I thought he was particularly bright,” recalls Prof. Shiller.

Founded in 2005 by Mr. Talpins, Element is closed to new investments. When open it has required a $50 million minimum investment, an unusually large sum in an industry where $1 million is more typical. Friends say Mr. Talpins has been spending more time on philanthropy lately. But sometimes he rubs people the wrong way.

A year or so ago, Mr. Talpins was among 20 investors invited by a Wall Street firm to a private meeting with Mr. Bernanke, after his departure from the Fed. Mr. Talpins peppered Mr. Bernanke with about 10 successive questions, according to several people in the room.

Mr. Talpins elicited some detailed answers, such as who is in the room during interest-rate discussions. But he also asked questions that exasperated some investors because they seemed irrelevant. Mr. Bernanke looked increasingly weary under Mr. Talpins’s barrage, one participant said.

“Jeff was persistent and it got a little uncomfortable,” said another participant. “It was like, ‘Dude, let it go.’”

A spokesman for Mr. Bernanke declined to comment. Someone close to Mr. Talpins said he was eager to learn about the Fed’s inner workings because of his focus on interest-rate moves.

Element’s purchases appear compliant with rules that limit one buyer to 35% of debt sold in any auction. The limit most famously came into play in the 1991 Salomon Brothers scandal.

“Consistent with our policy, Treasury does not comment on individual investors in Treasury auctions or conversations with market participants,” a Treasury representative said.

>>> Potash Willing to Go Hostile

https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/258/ressort/companies-markets/article/sources-potash-willing-to-go-hostile


PotashCorp is considering a hostile takeover of German rival K+S, the largest potash producer in Western Europe, which has repeatedly rejected a merger offer from its Canadian rival, Handelsblatt has learned.
PotashCorp in June revealed a planned takeover, at the time worth €7.9 billion, or $8.8 billion. After months of resistance, the Canadian firm, which is led by German chief executive Jochen Tilk, may make a hostile bid if needed, Handelsblatt has learned from financial sources in Montreal, Canada.
Potash management has discussed this possibility with brokers in Canada, the people familiar with the matter told Handelsblatt. A Potash spokesperson also did not rule out the option of a hostile takeover when contacted by Handelsblatt.
Potash’s offer has bid around €41 per K+S share, which has said the bid is too low. K+S shares jumped above €38 in early July, but have fallen back since, trading at €34.27 on Tuesday, 16:32 Central European Time in Frankfurt.
The German state of Hesse, where K+S is based in the city of Kassel, has opposed the takeover due to concerns over job losses.
Managers of Potash and the state of Hesse have met in Hesse’s capital Wiesbaden, a spokesperson of the state’s premier, Volker Bouffier, told Handelsblatt. The spokesman declined to give details.
According to Potash, the Canadian firm discussed guarantees on locations and jobs with the state of Hesse.

Fwd:>>> BioTech : Interesting Article of a Specialist...BlueBird Mentionned and many

BLUE US +7%

From: LAURENT CHEKROUN (MAKOR SECURITIES LO) At: Sep 8 2015 08:23:14
Subject: Fwd:>>> BioTech : Interesting Article of a Specialist...BlueBird Mentionned and many

Link to Article : http://bit.ly/1NeXXBa

Buy Biotech When There's Blood on the Street: Pontifax's Ran Nussbaum ARNI, ARRY, SGEN, IMGN, MRNS, CLVS

Ran Nussbaum Ran Nussbaum, managing partner with The Pontifax Group, doesn't worry too much about overall market volatility. Biotechs, he feels, are somewhat immune to turmoil because their fundamentals are based in real life. He prefers to play on good science and unmet medical needs, and then sit tight until a stock is discovered. In this interview with The Life Sciences Report, Nussbaum describes a few takeover candidates primed for stellar growth, as well as promising names that are part of the movement toward personalized medicine.
Nanotechnology580
The Life Sciences Report: As you and I speak, the global securities markets are very volatile. But we saw the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI) begin to trend down on July 20. Even with this turmoil in the markets, the NBI is still up more than 25% over the past 12 months, and it is up more than 320% over the last five years. Speaking to biotech only, do you see this pullback as a needed break, or do you see this as the bubble bursting?

Ran Nussbaum: Some biotech companies carry very high valuations right now, but I don't think this is a bubble. I do know that there have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), and there have been a lot of initial public offerings (IPOs)—and I believe the IPO window is still open. However, a bubble, by definition, is something that is not connected to real life. For example, it's a bubble when you are not generating data and your shares are climbing. This is not what we are observing now. We've just seen a lot of investors running in to biotech, buying good shares such as Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD:NASDAQ) and Celgene Corp. (CELG:NASDAQ).

"We believe Arno Therapeutics Inc. is very good story for prostate and breast cancer indications."
This pullback is something that we thought would occur during Q3/15 or Q4/15. We have been saying, since 2008, that when there's blood on the street, buy biotech. This pullback has created a lot of opportunities. Just one example, right in the middle of this market turmoil: On Aug. 24, Exelixis Inc. (EXEL:NASDAQ) announced that the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation for cabozantinib in renal cell carcinoma, which is the company's lead product candidate. It is just bizarre that then this company's shares would drop. But from an investor's point of view, such anomalies are an opportunity, because you can purchase shares when they fall, even when a company is doing great.

TLSR: What are some of the technologies that will keep biotech alive over the next years?

RN: First, let me say that there was a gap between when we completed mapping the human genome in 2003 and when we began to generate good, validated targets and technologies from that information. The immune checkpoints have changed the entire picture. An antibody against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4) was the first of this group of checkpoint inhibitors to gain FDA approval— Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (BMY:NYSE) anti-CTLA4 antibody Yervoy (ipilimumab) for melanoma. Merck & Co. Inc.'s (MRK:NYSE) anti-PD-1 antibody, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), was the first anti-PD-1 drug to get approved by the FDA, and it was granted accelerated approval.

You're looking now at a quantum leap in technologies, given how many new checkpoints companies have generated in the last five years, and also how chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and T-cell receptors (TCRs) have changed the picture again. The CRISPR/Cas9 technologies are being developed, and you can edit a genome at any spot now. This is something big. Foundation Medicine Inc. (FMI:NASDAQ) has come up with a good, clear and loud vision about how to treat cancer by mapping the mutations, and there are other companies out there trying to identify the driving mutations of tumors. This is the perfect personal medicine solution that the entire market has waited for.

"Some biotech companies carry very high valuations right now, but I don't think this is a bubble."
As a philosophy, we are not racing to catch trends. Right now we are trying to identify the next technologies to rule the biotech arena, including driving mutations and new ways to target cancer cells. By the way, I think that cancer metabolism will be something big in the next few years. All in all, when we are looking at the biggest goal right now, it's to generate new targets that might be the perfect personal medicine for our generation.

TLSR: Ran, if this stock market turmoil doesn't cause weakness in the economy, the Federal Reserve could hike the Federal funds rate before year-end. I wonder if you believe these technologies, and the catalysts and milestones associated with them, will be able to push through the headwinds of a down-trending market, if that occurs?

RN: There are some good reasons for the Fed to increase interest rates, but if it does that, then the economy will slow down. If the economy is growing, as I think it is, and if Chinese money is coming into the U.S. public markets, I think you will see again that America is actually more solid and more stable. We can see some signs of progress too in Switzerland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. I think the economy is in good shape. That said, I think no biotech company—no Gilead or Kite Pharma (KITE:NASDAQ)—can be stronger than the market forces. If the market goes down, companies will go down as well.

But there are some good things going on with these companies. The thing I like about biotech is if the market is weak, these companies will still be able to come up with good clinical data and outcomes. Ultimately, these companies will climb. It's all about fundamentals. I can't predict the markets, but I think I know the good companies in this arena.

TLSR: I'm asking this question because you own some private equity. In a downturn, I wonder if you would be looking at fewer IPOs and diminished M&A activity. What would you expect if we go into a period of share price consolidation?

RN: That's a fair situation to think about. The first thing is that there will be only cherry picking of IPOs. You will not see every private company going public. The market will try to choose the best of them, and so you will see fewer IPO rounds. You will also see private companies having difficulties raising money.

TLSR: Let's talk about some companies, please.

RN: Sure. We have had a long relationship with Arno Therapeutics Inc. (ARNI:OTC.MKTS). It lost a significant portion of its valuation over the past year, but we didn't sell even one share. We wanted to give Arno a fighting chance with onapristone. We think that on progesterone receptor-positive prostate and breast cancers, the odds are good that onapristone will get some responses in refractory cancer patients. Of course, we want to see that shown in a broad-based trial.

"The recent pullback in the markets has created a lot of opportunities."
The management team is very strong. I'm a true believer in the chairman, Dr. Arie Belldegrun, who is a serial entrepreneur. He sold Cougar Biotechnology Inc. to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:NYSE). He sold Agensys Inc. to Astellas Pharma Inc. (ALPMF:OTCPK; 4503:TYO), and he's the executive chairman, CEO and founder of Kite Pharma. He is also a urologic oncologist and professor of urology at the UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine. Arno's CEO, Dr. Alex Zukiwski, is also very strong.

TLSR: I realize this is an early-stage, Phase 1 company, which would be consistent with a low valuation, but why is Arno's market cap in the low single digits?

RN: I think that the financial structure is not the perfect scenario for Arno. Bear in mind that we have good investors. It's not just Arie Belldegrun, but also David Bonderman, chairman of TPG Capital. We also have Dr. Phillip Frost, CEO and chairman of OPKO Health Inc. (OPK:NYSE); Frost also served as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s (TEVA:NYSE) chairman of the board. Arno has many more sophisticated investors, but most of them are invested in convertible loans and not equity holders.

I think that investors are trading Arno shares at very low volume while they wait to see if the company will raise more money, or generate good data and then raise money. This company has been low profile, and is very much under the radar. It is not pitching its story before coming up with good results. I really believe that Arno will generate good data before raising more money and will win this thing.

TLSR: Onapristone is a progesterone receptor antagonist. The progesterone receptor is constitutively overactivated; it's just always on. Medivation Inc. (MDVN:NASDAQ) has an approved drug called Xtandi (enzalutamide) that acts on three different steps of androgen receptor signaling, and the androgen receptor is also constitutively overactivated. Xtandi is an extremely successful drug. Do you think that, because Arno is antagonizing an always-on receptor, the company could really be on to something?

RN: Medivation is a great company, now with a $7.5B market cap. Yes, the mode of action is similar, but separate. You have pretty much summarized our theory, but Arno needs to come up with good data and good outcome stories. We feel Arno should go after Xtandi-refractory prostate cancer patients, but right now Medivation obviously has proof of concept, and Arno does not. We think there is a good scientific rationale that onapristone will work on prostate cancer patients, and breast cancer patients as well. We don't want to say Arno will be Medivation and will give you a billion-dollar market cap. We want to do the right thing. We want to see good data first.

By the way, onapristone was licensed from Bayer AG (BAYRY:OTCMKTS; BAYN:XETRA), but it was not for oncology indications. It showed some toxicity in the original indication, but now we have a good candidate. Arno came up with its own formulation for oncology. We believe we have a very good story for prostate and breast cancer indications.

TLSR: Could we go to the next name, please?

RN: Array BioPharma Inc. (ARRY:NASDAQ) has multiple shots on goal. It has MEK (a receptor tyrosine kinase) inhibitors and a great relationship and collaboration with Genentech (a unit of Roche Holding AG [RHHBY:OTCQX]). It has at least 10 different collaborations with big pharmas.

"The biggest goal right now is to generate new targets that might be the perfect personal medicine for our generation."
Array is an engine of best-in-class MEK inhibitors, and from my point of view, this will be very valuable to either AstraZeneca Plc (AZN:NYSE) or Pfizer Inc. (PFE:NYSE). Someone is going to buy this prolific drug-producing machine. It's unbelievable that it is under the radar and so undervalued. Right now everybody is going after immuno-oncology and biologics, but Array has a very solid, basic science platform for small molecules, which will always be used as first-line treatment in oncology.

TLSR: Array currently has a market cap of only $835M, even though it has three Phase 3 programs and partners like AstraZeneca, Genentech, Celgene and Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY:NYSE). Why do you think this company is so under the radar?

RN: It's because the company has built a business model based on codevelopment and outlicensing rather than fully owned programs. Also, investors—especially retail investors—are not paying attention to this marvelous research platform right now because they are focused on trendy technologies.

TLSR: The irony here is that small molecules can be given by mouth as pills, whereas biologics cannot. Pills are what patients and oncologists prefer. But this company is going unnoticed because it is not developing CAR T-cells and antibodies, both of which must be infused.

RN: Exactly. They're not immune checkpoints. They're not TCRs. They're not even antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).

TLSR: You own some ADC companies, don't you?

RN: Yes, and some of these— Seattle Genetics (SGEN:NASDAQ) and ImmunoGen Inc. (IMGN:NASDAQ), in particular—are rising again.

ImmunoGen was the first to get an ADC approved—Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), which was approved in February 2013 for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Kadcyla is marketed by Roche. But then ImmunoGen lost a lot of its glory. Seattle Genetics also had a lot of glory, and then it went down too. But now investors are looking at ImmunoGen's potential for developing an ovarian cancer drug, and at Seattle Genetics for its anti-CD33 molecule for acute myeloid leukemia, and these companies are coming back from the dead.

"Even if the market is weak, biotech companies will still be able to come up with good clinical data and outcomes."
ImmunoGen's new early-stage platform, in collaboration with Novartis AG (NVS:NYSE), is unbelievably good. If we see one day that chemotherapy as we know it today has vanished, I'm sure ADCs will be used broadly in first line, as these kinds of compounds can target a chemotherapy payload directly to the tumor cells, which is very effective. It carries chemotherapy into the right cell that highly expresses the target.

TLSR: I know you like the gene therapy concept. Can you speak to that?

RN: Gene therapy will be the next big thing. In my opinion, bluebird bio Inc. (BLUE:NASDAQ) has the best-proven gene therapy platform in the world. Everybody is aiming for age-related macular degeneration, wet or dry, but bear in mind that there are a lot of hematologic malignancies for which bluebird is coming up with good solutions.

I do believe that these are very smart guys. For full disclosure, bluebird collaborates with Kite on the next generation of TCRs. When I look at bluebird's core business, it seems like the big pharmas of the world won't allow it to remain an independent company. bluebird can be something big. I believe that by year-end 2016, somebody will buy it.

TLSR: Today, bluebird has a $4.8B market cap. What would be a fair value for this company as an acquisition?

RN: I think it will be acquired for $10B or so.

TLSR: Do you have another name?

RN: Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (MRNS:NASDAQ) is developing an oral drug for central nervous system diseases, and it is working on the same mechanism of action that SAGE Therapeutics Inc. (SAGE:NASDAQ) is working on. SAGE has proven the concept. I believe that if you are holding SAGE, which is a good, very promising company taking on an unmet medical need, you need to own Marinus at a very low valuation to hedge that.

TLSR: We have a $204M valuation in Marinus. We have a $1.5B valuation with SAGE. You're saying Marinus can capitalize on that technology and grow to that size, perhaps?

RN: I think that SAGE can be traded up to a $4B company within a year from now, and that could bring Marinus up to $1B market cap within a year and a half.

TLSR: Did you want to talk about one more company?

RN: Clovis Oncology Inc. (CLVS:NASDAQ) is a great company. It has three different programs, including a PARP inhibitor. On Aug. 24 we saw Medivation buying a $600M PARP inhibitor from BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BMRN:NASDAQ). Clovis is a pure M&A play, as it is running three different oncology agents in the clinic.

TLSR: Ran, thank you.

Ran Nussbaum is a managing partner and cofounder of The Pontifax Group, which has established four funds with more $370M under management and more than 45 portfolio companies. Over the past eight years, Nussbaum has managed the group's activity alongside Tomer Kariv. He also served as CEO of Biomedix and was NasVax Ltd.'s and Ocon Ltd.'s chairman of the board. Prior to joining Pontifax, he was a partner at Israel's largest business intelligence and strategic consulting firm. Nussbaum's work revolves around constant and active involvement in companies, providing them with strategic and business development oversight. Nussbaum serves as a board member of many of the Pontifax Group's portfolio companies, including Kite Pharma, cCAM Ltd., TheraCoat, Quiet Therapeutics, Nutrinia and BioBlast Pharma Ltd.

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: NSSC +6.5%, MCHP +6.3%, LUV +1.8%, SSL +0.6%

M&A news: TE +23.8% (to be acquired by Emera for $27.55 per share in cash), CAPN +17.3% (acquires substantially all assets from privately-held NeoForce Group), FCX +6.2% (hired bankers to consider asset sales or cost cuts, according to Bloomberg), ALTR +3.2% (discloses the waiting period under the HSR Act in connection with the proposed acquisition by Intel (INTC) expired on September 4)

Select financial related names showing strength: BCS +4.4%, ING +4%, DB +3.9%, C +3.8%, CS +3.8%, HSBC +3.7%, JPM +2%, BAC +1.9%, MS +1.8%

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: BHP +3.9%, RIO +3.5%, X +3.1%, SSNI +3.1%, ABX +2%

Select fan favorite names showing strength: GPRO +3.2%, NFLX +3.1%, TSLA +2%, AAPL +2%, TWTR +1.8%

Other news: IMMU +26.5% (reports interim Phase 2 results for sacituzumab govitecan), NSPH +25.2% (receives FDA 510k clearance for its Verigene Respiratory Pathogens Flex Nucleic Acid Test), ABGB +21.6% (cont vol pre-mkt), ASTI +14.3% (agreement to redeem all $21 mln of its senior secured convertible notes from an undisclosed note holder), ICLD +13.1% (secures a new managed services contract valued at $10 mln), ACI +8.1% (attributed to a cautious Bloomberg report on distressed debt deals), TSEM +7.4% (signs agreement with one of its customers to receive $30 mln advance payment), CHK +5.9% (announces new Haynesville and dry gas utica gathering agreements with the Williams Companies (WMB)), JD +5.7% (announces a $1 bln share repurchase program), SUNE +5.3% (installs eight solar systems for India's Delhi Metro Rail Corp), MGIC +4.4% (still checking), BIDU +3.4% (launches a Siri-like online-to-offline personal assistant named Duer for the newest version of its search mobile app), BABA +3.3% (METRO GROUP announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba Group (BABA) to promote business in China), FEYE +3.2% (names new CFO), ARRY +3.2% (new CFO), BMY +2.6% (reports Opdivo showed sustained survival benefit in this patient population, as demonstrated in both CheckMate -017 and -063), GM +2.4% (trading higher with mkt), YHOO +2.3% (in symp with BABA), HTZ +2.2% (Glenview Capital Management discloses 5.2% passive stake in 13G filing), GE +2% (EU set to approve GE acquisiton of Alstom (ALSMY) power unit today, according to WSJ)

Analyst comments: FIT +8% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley), ACHN +7.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS), W +6.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), SNDK +3.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan), BP +3.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS), SNY +3.4% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBSI), COT+2.9% (upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts), AMGN +2.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS), AA +2.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), REGN +2.4% (upgraded to Buy from Sell at UBS), WFC +2.3% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Evercore ISI), PG +2.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey), PHG +2.1% (initiated with a Outperform at Credit Suisse), YUM +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Outperform at Credit Agricole), BAC +1.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura), ODP +1.8% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley & Co)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: NSSC +6.5%, MCHP +6.3%, LUV +1.8%, SSL +0.6%

M&A news: TE +23.8% (to be acquired by Emera for $27.55 per share in cash), CAPN +17.3% (acquires substantially all assets from privately-held NeoForce Group), FCX +6.2% (hired bankers to consider asset sales or cost cuts, according to Bloomberg), ALTR +3.2% (discloses the waiting period under the HSR Act in connection with the proposed acquisition by Intel (INTC) expired on September 4)

Select financial related names showing strength: BCS +4.4%, ING +4%, DB +3.9%, C +3.8%, CS +3.8%, HSBC +3.7%, JPM +2%, BAC +1.9%, MS +1.8%

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: BHP +3.9%, RIO +3.5%, X +3.1%, SSNI +3.1%, ABX +2%

Select fan favorite names showing strength: GPRO +3.2%, NFLX +3.1%, TSLA +2%, AAPL +2%, TWTR +1.8%

Other news: IMMU +26.5% (reports interim Phase 2 results for sacituzumab govitecan), NSPH +25.2% (receives FDA 510k clearance for its Verigene Respiratory Pathogens Flex Nucleic Acid Test), ABGB +21.6% (cont vol pre-mkt), ASTI +14.3% (agreement to redeem all $21 mln of its senior secured convertible notes from an undisclosed note holder), ICLD +13.1% (secures a new managed services contract valued at $10 mln), ACI +8.1% (attributed to a cautious Bloomberg report on distressed debt deals), TSEM +7.4% (signs agreement with one of its customers to receive $30 mln advance payment), CHK +5.9% (announces new Haynesville and dry gas utica gathering agreements with the Williams Companies (WMB)), JD +5.7% (announces a $1 bln share repurchase program), SUNE +5.3% (installs eight solar systems for India's Delhi Metro Rail Corp), MGIC +4.4% (still checking), BIDU +3.4% (launches a Siri-like online-to-offline personal assistant named Duer for the newest version of its search mobile app), BABA +3.3% (METRO GROUP announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba Group (BABA) to promote business in China), FEYE +3.2% (names new CFO), ARRY +3.2% (new CFO), BMY +2.6% (reports Opdivo showed sustained survival benefit in this patient population, as demonstrated in both CheckMate -017 and -063), GM +2.4% (trading higher with mkt), YHOO +2.3% (in symp with BABA), HTZ +2.2% (Glenview Capital Management discloses 5.2% passive stake in 13G filing), GE +2% (EU set to approve GE acquisiton of Alstom (ALSMY) power unit today, according to WSJ)

Analyst comments: FIT +8% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley), ACHN +7.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS), W +6.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), SNDK +3.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan), BP +3.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS), SNY +3.4% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBSI), COT+2.9% (upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts), AMGN +2.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS), AA +2.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), REGN +2.4% (upgraded to Buy from Sell at UBS), WFC +2.3% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Evercore ISI), PG +2.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey), PHG +2.1% (initiated with a Outperform at Credit Suisse), YUM +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Outperform at Credit Agricole), BAC +1.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura), ODP +1.8% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley & Co)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: ABGB +26.3%, TE +24.4%, FIT +9.5%, TSEM +8.7%, JKS +8.5%, FCX +5.6%, JD +5.2%, BCS +4.7%, MGIC +4.4%, BP +4.4%, SUNE +4.3%, NOAH +4.2%, DB +4.1%, HSBC +4.1%, QIHU +4.1%, ING +4%, BITA +4%, YY +3.9%, NFLX +3.8%, AZN +3.8%, CS +3.8%, GSK +3.7%, AA +3.6%, BABA +3.6%, RIO +3.6%, ABB +3.6%, BHP +3.6%, GPRO+3.5%, FEYE +3.5%, YHOO +3.2%, TWTR +3%, TOT +2.9%, PYPL +2.9%, GM +2.7%, C +2.7%, RDS.A +2.7%, X +2.6%, SHPG +2.6%, WFC +2.5%, MS +2.4%, AAPL +2.4%, CDE +2.4%, ABX +2.3%, BAC +2.3%, ABX +2.3%, TSLA +2.2%, JPM +1.9%

Gapping down: KBIO -3.7%, CLLS -2.1%, INFN -1.9%, SOHU -1.8%, REXX -1.7%, RDY -1.6%, RIG -0.5%