By HV
Monsanto and Toll Brothers are holding the tops position on Sentifi Top Attentions list today. Monsanto rejected Bayer’s record $62 billion takeover offer while Toll Brothers posted outstanding second-quarter earnings thanks to the healthy state of the luxury housing market. Read on to find out more on the top stories on Sentifi.
1/ Monsanto Company: Rejects Bayer’s bid [910% increase in voices in the last 24h]
The St. Louis-based company rejected Bayer’s takeover offer of $62 billion, or $122 a share, deeming it financially inadequate. However, Monsanto made it clear it’s open for more deal talks. JPMorgan echoes Monsanto’s decision with a statement that Monsanto shares could hit $180 over the next five years, and the company should only consider offers that are no less than $150 a share. After the news, Monsanto shares increased 3.1%, and Bayer shares increased 3.23%.
2/ Toll Brothers Inc: Earnings beat expectations [858% increase in voices in the last 24h]
The market for expensive housing is holding up quite well as Toll Brothers posted encouraging second-quarter earnings that beat expectations. Its shares enjoyed an 8% boost, but the report pointed out an anomaly that worries the company. Everywhere else the company sees a very good trend of high-end house buying habits, except for New York where its luxury housing is in the same class with the mass market and the middle market. That leads to slow selling of several units, in contrast with the company’s expectation.
3/ Tech Mahindra Ltd: Posts strong earnings, cancels plan for a payments bank [687% increase in voices in the last 24h]
Net profit rose 18.15% and EBITDA rose 2.2% in IT services firm Tech Mahindra’s fourth-quarter earnings, while it canceled a plan for a payments bank despite having received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India. It cited the reason being business profitability would take longer due to aggressive posturing behavior from many deep-pocketed players.
4/ MAS: Cut trade forecasts after weak Q1 GDP growth [586% increase in voices in the last 24h]
Singapore’s economy remained unchanged from the previous quarter as it expanded 1.8% year on year in the first quarter. The anaemic nature of the economy forces the central bank to cut the trade and exports forecasts. It expects the total merchandise trade to shrink by 6% to 8% this year, up from -1% to 1%, and the non-oil domestic exports to contract 3% to 5%, up from 0% to 2%.
5/ Bayer: Shares rise on rejection from Monsanto [581% increase in voices in the last 24h]
Bayer remains optimistic about the prospects of the Monsanto takeover despite the American company rejected its biggest takeover offer in the history of corporate Germany. The companies still remain in deal talks, but Bayer will have to raise its bid higher which will get the company into a conflict of opinions with its shareholders.
6/ Herbalife Ltd: Rumored to reach a settlement with the FTC [514% increase in voices in the last 24h]
The company’s shares went up 8.5% after it was reported to have reached a deal with the FTC to end an investigation of its business practices. The company faced allegations it was running a pyramid scheme. CNBC and Fox Business News reported that the settlement is untrue, and the two sides are still in talks.
7/ Cigna Corp: Denies any tensions with Anthem [463% increase in voices in the last 24h]
Cigna Corp and Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish cleared the air by denying any tensions between the companies that could lead their merger to fall through. Swedish also said the deal is moving forward with antitrust review.
8/ Sony: Stumbles with earnings forecast, yet shares rise [433% increase in voices in the last 24h]
The profit forecast for 2016 from Sony was 25% below expectations. Kumamoto earthquakes, which took place in April, will cost the company ¥135 billion and only allow the company to make ¥300 billion in operating profit. But, its shares went up 7% as the investors are positive about the company’s growth outlook and strong position in games and virtual reality hardware.
9/ Comp Sciences Corp: Plans on merging with HP Enterprise’s IT services business [430% increase in voices in the last 24h]
Comp Sciences saw its shares soar 19.5% after HP Enterprise plans to spin off and merge its IT services business with the company. HP Enterprise shareholders will own 50% of the new company, while the current Comp CEO will be the chairman, president and CEO.
10/ Tata Power Company Ltd: Hopes to raise capital via bonds [347% increase in voices in the last 24h]
In an attempt to fund its proposed acquisition of renewable energy assets from the Welspun group, Tata Power plans to raise $591 million via the sale of corporate bonds. Though Tata refused to provide any information, the market speculates the company is considering various maturity options that suit investors’ appetite.
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