Buzz Stocks: Teva, McGraw Hill Financial, and Sohu.com

Today's stocks to watch in the news include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (TEVA), McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI), and Sohu.com Inc (SOHU)

Jul 27, 2015 at 9:29 AM

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U.S. stocks are set to start the week on a rough note, after China's Shanghai Composite plunged 8.5% -- turning in its worst daily performance since 2007. In company news, today's stocks to watch include pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA), Standard & Poor's parent McGraw Hill Financial Inc (NYSE:MHFI), and Chinese search giant Sohu.com Inc (NASDAQ:SOHU).

TEVA is making news this morning, announcing that it has agreed to purchase Allergan PLC's (NYSE:AGN) generic drug business for $40.5 billion in cash and stock. As a result of this deal, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) is dropping its $40 billion hostile takeover bid for Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL). This news is going over well, as TEVA is set to start the morning more than 12% higher -- and possibly flirt with record highs -- after closing Friday at $61.85. Watch for more news from TEVA this week, as it will announce earnings on Thursday. The option pits are bearishly aligned toward TEVA ahead of the announcement, as the firm's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) 0.64 ranks in the 70th annual percentile. Should TEVA impress the Street, we could see some of this bearish sentiment unwind.

MHFI is also getting in on the acquisition fun, announcing that it will buy financial data firm SNL Financial. McGraw Hill Financial Inc will dish out roughly $2.23 billion to purchase the company from private equity New Mountain Capital LLC. The cash deal is expected to add to MHFI's earnings in 2016. Meanwhile, the company also reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Technically, MHFI has been a solid performer, but has spent the past few months battling a wall in the $109 region. The shares closed at $105.58 on Friday, and are pointed higher ahead of the bell.

Finally, Chinese search engine SOHU is 6% lower in pre-market trading -- and in danger of hitting new lows -- after announcing quarterly earnings and after China's brutal trading day. Options players were aligning themselves on the bearish side of the spectrum ahead of the earnings report, as SOHU's SOIR of 0.62 was higher than 82% of the past year's worth of readings. Technically, shares of Sohu.com Inc have wilted 16% in 2015, and closed at $44.68 on Friday.

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