Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; BioMarin To Acquire Prosensa For $17.75/Share

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.07 percent to 17,822.01 while the NASDAQ gained 0.53 percent to 4,738.13. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.20 percent to 2,067.54.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

In trading on Monday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.57 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Cumulus Media CMLS, up 7.6 percent, and Black Diamond BDE, up 6.4 percent.

Energy sector was the top decliner in the US market on Monday. Top losers in the sector included PHI PHII, Trina Solar TSL, and Approach Resources AREX.

Top Headline

BioMarin Pharmaceutical BMRN announced its plans to acquire Prosensa Holding NV RNA for around $840 million, including milestone payments.

BioMarin will buy Prosensa for $17.75 per share, representing a 55% premium over Prosensa’s closing price of $11.44 on Friday.

Equities Trading UP

Prosensa Holding N.V. RNA shares shot up 62.81 percent to $18.63 after BioMarin Pharmaceutical BMRN announced its plans to acquire Prosensa for $17.75 per share.

Shares of Platinum Underwriters Holdings PTP got a boost, shooting up 19 percent to $72.91 after the company agreed to be acquired by RenaissanceRe Holdings RNR for $76 per share.

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals TTPH shares were also up, gaining 12.45 percent to $24.84. According to Bloomberg, Tetraphase Pharma is exploring a sale option after being approached by potential buyers, people familiar with the matter said.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Trina Solar TSL were down 6.77 percent to $10.19 on Q3 results. Trina Solar reported a rise in its profit for the third quarter and narrowed its full-year shipment forecast.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals ENTA shares tumbled 6.13 percent to $40.83 after the company reported a Q3 loss of $0.27 per share on revenue of $2.60 million.

Cash America International CSH was down, falling 3.02 percent to $24.44. Analysts at JMP Securities downgraded the stock from Market Outperform to Market Perform.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.18 percent to $76.37, while gold traded down 0.04 percent to $1,197.90.

Silver traded up 0.10 percent Monday to $16.48, while copper rose 0.15 percent to $3.03.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 climbed 0.52 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 1.47 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.37 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.69 percent and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.73 percent while UK shares fell 0.09 percent.

Economics

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index slipped to 0.14 in October, versus 0.29 in September. However, economists were expecting a reading of 0.33.

The preliminary reading of Markit Services PMI fell to 56.30 in November, versus a prior reading of 57.10. However, economists were expecting a reading of 57.30.

The Dallas Fed general business activity index for November will be released today.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills. The Treasury will also auction 2-year notes.