TraderPlanet Market News - Stocks
Questcor Pharmaceuticals Spokesperson Comments on Reports of Conference Cancellation
Questcor spokesperson Gregory Gin told : "Questcor maintains an active schedule in communicating and meeting with investors. The company will participate at the Leerink conference on February 16th and the Citi conference on February 27th that overlaps the RBC conference, which is the reason for the cancellation."
Diamond Foods Spokesperson Says it is Hard to Speculate on What Today's Announcement Will Mean for Pringles Deal
Diamond Foods met Wednesday with Senior Proctor & Gamble management.
Proctor & Gamble Releases Statement on Diamond Foods
Proctor & Gamble spokesperson Paul Fox released the following statement:"This is breaking news for us and the information released by Diamond Foods is very disappointing. Pringles remains a valuable asset and it has attracted considerable interest from other outside parties. We need to evaluate next steps and we are currently keeping all our options open. As we evaluate the right next steps, we will be guided by what is best for our shareholders and our employees. In the meantime, we are focused on building and supporting the Pringles business and our employees."
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Aflac Incorporated Prices $750 Million of Senior Notes
Aflac Incorporated announced today that it has priced $400 million (par value) of five-year fixed rate, senior notes with a coupon of 2.65%, and $350 million (par value) of 10-year fixed rate senior notes with a coupon of 4.00%. The five-year notes will be issued at a price of 99.911 to yield 2.669% and the 10-year notes will be issued at a price of 99.820 to yield 4.022%. The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay in full at maturity the Parent Company's $347 million aggregate principal amount of 1.87% Samurai notes due June 2012. The company intends to use the balance of the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including capital contributions to subsidiaries, if needed.
Robert Half International Announces Quarterly Dividend; Increases to $0.15 from $0.14
Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE symbol: RHI) today announced an increase to its quarterly cash dividend, from $.14 to $.15 per share. The cash dividend will be paid on March 15, 2012, to all shareholders of record as of February 24, 2012.
MannKind Announces Exercise In Full of Over-Allotment Option and Completion of Public Offering
MannKind Corporation (Nasdaq: MNKD) today announced the completion of an underwritten public offering of 35,937,500 units, including 4,687,500 units sold pursuant to the full exercise of an over-allotment option previously granted to the underwriters (with each unit consisting of one share of its common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.6 of a share of its common stock). All of the securities were offered by MannKind at a combined price to the public of $2.40 per unit. The gross proceeds to MannKind from this offering were approximately $86.3 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by MannKind. The warrants are exercisable at $2.40 per share and expire four years from the date of issuance. The shares of common stock and warrants are immediately separable and were issued separately. MannKind anticipates using the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including research and development expenses, capital expenditures, working capital and general administrative expenses.
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Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Announces Proposed Public Offering of 5.25M Shares
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRWD) announced today that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 5,250,000 shares of its Class A common stock. All of the shares are being offered by Ironwood. The Company will grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 787,500 shares in connection with the offering. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. The final terms of the offering will be disclosed in a final prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Visa Rises On Strong Q1 Earnings; Updates Guidance
Visa (NYSE: V) released its fiscal Q1 earnings results on Wednesday after the closing bell. The company reported net income of $1.03 billion, or $1.49 per share, compared to $884 million or $1.23, in the year ago period. Operating revenues at Visa for Q1 were $2.55 billion versus $2.24 billion in last year's first quarter. Going into the report, Wall Street analysts had consensus EPS and revenue estimates of $1.45 and $2.47 billion. Looking ahead to fiscal 2012, Visa said that it now sees net revenue growth in the low double digits and adjusted EPS in the high teens. This compares to earlier guidance which called for revenue growth in the high single to low double digits and adjusted EPS in the mid to high teens. Currently, Wall Street analysts have consensus EPS estimates of $5.87 on revenues of $10.07 billion for Visa in fiscal 2012. In Wednesday's after hours trading session, V shares have risen 2.61% to $111.18.
Cisco Beat on Earnings
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) reported earnings on Wednesday. The company beat analyst's expectations. Cisco's first quarter earnings came in at $0.47/share, while analysts had been anticipating only $0.43/share. Revenue for the company came in at $11.50 billion against an estimated $11.23 billion.The company stated that it had hit its $1 billion cost savings plan a quarter ahead of schedule.Shares of the company rallied just over 3% in after-hours trading.
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Dr Pepper Snapple Group Raises Quarterly Dividend by 6.3% to $0.34
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share on the company's common stock – a 6.3% increase in the dividend rate. The dividend is payable in U.S. dollars on April 6, 2012, to shareholders of record as of close of business on March 19, 2012.
Halcon Resources Closes New Revolving Credit Facility
Halcón Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: HK) today announced that it has closed on a new $500 million five-year senior secured revolving credit facility with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. as the administrative agent and lead arranger, which replaces the Company's previous revolving credit facility. The new facility increases the borrowing base to $225 million, extends the maturity to February 8, 2017, lowers the interest rate and improves the financial flexibility of the covenant package when compared to the Company's prior revolving credit facility. The pricing on the new facility will be LIBOR plus 150 to 250 basis points based on the utilization of the borrowing base. As of February 8, 2012, the Company had no borrowings outstanding under the new revolving credit facility.
