Buzz Stocks: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, Baxalta Inc, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Today's stocks to watch include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT), Baxalta Inc (BXLT), and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT)

Nov 16, 2015 at 9:58 AM

BRK.A
PCP
BAX
GS
WMT
MAR
HOT
BXLT

U.S. exchanges are struggling for gains, with traders flocking to the safety of gold as travel and leisure sectors slump after Friday's attacks in Paris. Among the equities in focus are hospitality interest Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE:HOT), pharmaceutical concern Baxalta Inc (NYSE:BXLT), and retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT).

Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) announced it will buy HOT in a cash and stock deal worth more than $12 billion. The deal will create the largest hotel chain in the world. However, at $72.08 per share, the offer represents about a 4% discount to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc's Friday close of $74.99. As such, HOT is down 6.5% at $70.13.

BXLT is headed higher this morning -- last seen trading at $34.35, a gain of 1.7% -- on news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its drug, Adynovate, for use in patients with rare bleeding disorder Hemophilia A. Currently, three out of four analysts following Baxalta Inc give the security a lukewarm "hold" rating, but the shares have been trending higher since a dip in September, after the company abandoned a bid to buy Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA). Currently, the shares are trading at a 9% premium to their close on July 1, when BXLT was spun off from Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX).

WMT is up 0.7% at $56.78, despite news that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) cut its holding in the security by 2.1 million shares. However, Buffett this morning told CNBC that the reason he reduced his stakes in WMT and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was to fund a Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE:PCP) deal. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has had an abysmal year so far, dropping 33.8% and last week touching a three-year low of $56.30. With holiday shopping just ahead, WMT is among many retailers trying to make up for recent ugly data, announcing last week that it would offer almost all of its Black Friday deals on its website as well as in stores. Still, worries that unseasonably warm weather could curb shoppers' appetites have been weighing on many retail stocks, and WMT is no exception. The true test will come tomorrow morning, when Wal-Mart reports quarterly earnings.

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