SKIL, VRGY, GRO, TRA, CF, NE, HAWK, GFF, NVAX Popular Stocks
U.S. stocks declined Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.25% to 10307, the S&P 500 lost 0.44% to 1090 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.66% to 2143.
SkillSoft PLC’s (NASDAQ:SKIL, $10.70, +$0.91, 9.30%) fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 63% on higher margins as results for the provider of Internet-based corporate training widely beat its expectations.
Verigy’s (NASDAQ:VRGY, $9.70, +$0.70, 7.78%) fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed more than expected, as a drop in operating expenses and smaller charges more than offset lower revenue. The semiconductor-testing company also projected a narrower loss for the current quarter than current consensus estimates.
Debt-stressed rural services provider PGG Wrightson Ltd. Friday detailed its plan to raise NZ$180.7 million in a fully underwritten renounceable rights issue that it says it will cut debt by NZ$277 million. Last month, China’s Agria Corp. (NYSE:GRO, $3.26, -$0.24, -6.86%) said it would take up a cornerstone shareholding by buying 11.5% of the company. Friday’s agreement will see Agria lift its stake to 19% after taking up 58% of the entitlement of debt-stressed major shareholder Rural Portfolio Investments Ltd., which controlled 27.5% of PGG Wrightson before the rights issue and said it would sell rights to Agria.
Shareholders of Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE:TRA, $40.14, +$2.04, 5.35%) voted out the current chairman of the fertilizer company and instead elected to the board three nominees proposed by CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF, $83.11, +$0.24, 0.29%), a vote that carries major implications for CF’s attempts at a hostile takeover of Terra.
Shares in offshore drilling contractors Noble Corp. (NYSE:NE, $39.39, -$2.31, -5.54%) and Seahawk Drilling Inc. (NASDAQ:HAWK, $22.59, -$3.76, -14.27%) fell after analysts said Mexico’s state-owned Pemex appears to be reducing its jackup rig contracts with offshore drillers for 2010. Credit Suisse cited ODS-Petrodata indications that Pemex will build up its own rig fleet to compensate. “If confirmed, this would have negative implications for the jackup-focused stocks as Mexico had been considered one of the few bright spots globally,” the firm wrote.
Diversified company Griffon Corp. (NYSE:GFF, $10.18, +$1.13, 12.44%) reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat the expectations of the one analyst who provided estimates for the quarter.
Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX, $3.30, -$0.47, -12.47%) priced its offering of 6.8 million shares at $3.30, a 12% discount to Thursday’s closing price. The biotechnology company said it will use proceeds for preclinical studies and clinical trials of its VLP-based vaccines, internal research and development, working capital and other purposes.
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