Today's stocks to watch in the news include Pfizer Inc. (PFE), GW Pharmaceuticals PLC - ADR (GWPH), and Chemtura Corp (CHMT)
U.S. stocks are trading lower this morning, as caution sets in ahead of tonight's presidential debate in the U.S., and a meeting of global oil producers gets set to kick off in Algiers. Among specific equities in focus today are drugmakers Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC - ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH), as well as chemical producer Chemtura Corp (NYSE:CHMT).
- PFE is down 1.2% t $33.86, after the company announced it will not be splitting into two publicly traded companies, after concluding this would not provide any benefits to shareholders. The company added that the decision will not impact its full-year financial outlook. Looking at Pfizer Inc.'s chart, the shares have underperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by roughly 7 percentage points during the past two months, trimming their year-to-date lead to 5%. Analysts have remained upbeat nonetheless. Currently, seven brokerage firms rate PFE a "strong buy," six rate it a "hold," with zero "sell" recommendations on the books.
- GWPH has jumped 15.3% to $123.99 -- fresh off an annual high of $125.00 -- thanks to more promising news surrounding its cannabis-based epilepsy drug, Epidiolex. More specifically, the drug again posted positive late-stage trial results, with GW Pharmaceuticals PLC saying it expects to submit a drug application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next year. Coming into today, GWPH was already up an impressive 55% year-to-date. These gains -- along with rising M&A expectations -- have prompted GWPH option traders to buy to open 1.76 call options for every put during the past two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX).
- CHMT is up 16% at $32.68 -- and earlier hit a nearly six-year high of $32.73 -- following news the company will be bought by Lanxess AG for a little over $2 billion in cash, or $33.50 per share. With Chemtura Corp closing Friday at $28.18, the deal represents a roughly 19% premium for shareholders. Meanwhile, a number of bears got out of harm's way just in time. That is, short interest on CHMT declined by 16.2% during the past two reporting periods.
Stay on top of overnight news & big morning movers. Sign up now for Schaeffer's Opening View.