HLND, HPGP, JCI, MBRX, LGND, PALM, PCH, SLG Popular Stocks
U.S. stocks traded mixed Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14 points to 9882 but the S&P 500 down 4 points to 1063 and the Nasdaq composite down 26 points to 2116.
Hiland Partners LP (NASDAQ:HLND, $9.81, +$2.01, +25.77%), a natural-gas company, said Harold Hamm has raised his offer for the company to $10 a share from $7.75 a share and boosted his bid for Hiland Holdings GP LP (NASDAQ:HPGP, $3.15, +$0.75, +31.25%) to $3.20 a share from $2.40. Hamm, a billionaire energy investor, said in a letter to the firms that he believes going private would maximize shareholder value in an uncertain time.
Johnson Controls Inc.’s (NYSE:JCI, $25.03, -$1.25, -4.76%) fiscal fourth-quarter profit surged from a year-ago quarter that included a restructuring charge, as core results for the maker of automotive seats, batteries and heating and cooling systems edged analysts’ expectations despite continuing weak demand. But shares slipped as the company reiterated its 2010 guidance at a level below the Street’s consensus.
Shares of Metabasis Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MBRX, $0.385, -$0.525, -57.69%) slumped after Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND, $1.88, -$0.03, -1.57%) announced plans to buy the company for $3.2 million in cash plus four tradable contingent value rights for the biopharmaceutical’s stockholders. The planned $3.2 million deal, less about $1.3 million in net liabilities at closing, includes four contingent value rights for each former Metabasis share, for a total of about 140.6 million CVRs.
Palm Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM, $13.38, -$0.90, -6.30%) faces a “zero sum game” and will miss its guidance in the second half of fiscal 2010, BMO Capital predicted while cutting its rating to underperforms from market perform.
Potlatch Corp.’s (NYSE:PCH, $29.47, +$1.16, +4.10%) third-quarter profit jumped 82%, boosted by a timber deed sale, as results topped expectations. Falling demand for timber products and weaker pricing has hurt Potlatch, but the company said it was optimistic about its resource business because log prices appear to have bottomed.
SL Green Realty Corp.’s (NYSE:SLG, $39.59, -$2.22, -5.31%) third-quarter profit sank 93% on lower income and higher expenses, as the largest owner and manager of commercial properties in New York City again reported an increase in Manhattan rents.
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