A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Shares of Waterloo, Ont. software company Open Text Corp. (OTEX-T) were up 2.4 per cent on Monday after announcing it has agreed to buy the cloud-based security firm Carbonite Inc. (CARB-Q) for US$1.42-billion.
The deal will value the Boston-based company at US$23 a share, a 25-per-cent premium on its closing price on the Nasdaq Friday. Open Text said it would make the purchase with cash and its line of credit, and expects it to close in 90 days.
Carbonite shares jumped 24.6 per cent.
- Josh O’Kane
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA-Q) increased 5.1 per cent after Bloomberg reported KKR & Co had formally approached the drugstore giant for what could be the biggest-ever leveraged buyout.
According to the report, the New York-based private equity firm has been preparing a proposal to take Walgreens Boots private.
TC Energy Corp. (TRP-T) rose 0.3 per cent after it said its Keystone pipeline is back in service after the approval of the company’s repair and restart plan by the U.S. Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The pipeline was shut on Oct. 30 after a drop in pressure was detected and more than 9,000 barrels of oil spilled in in northeastern North Dakota.
On the decline
Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (ITP-T) lost 0.2 per cent on the heels of reporting third-quarter revenue increased 5.2 per cent to US$293.6-million versus a year ago, which the company said was primarily due to the Polyair and Maiweave acquisitions.
Net earnings came in at US$12.5-million or 21 cents US per share versus US$9.7-million or 16 cents US a year ago.
Analysts were expecting revenue of US$306.8-million and earnings of 25 cents US per share.
Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (PBH-T) plummeted over 5.9 per cent with the premarket release of its third-quarter results that fell shot of expectations
The specialty foods producer said its earnings dropped in the third quarter due to indirect fallout from the African swine fever outbreak in China.
The company says prices for specialty pork products it imports from Europe spiked because China is importing much more pork, while prices for meat products in the U.S. and Canada didn’t rise because China had placed restrictions on imports from the two countries.
Desjardins Securities analyst David Newman said: “PBH reported 3Q results which were below our forecast and consensus. While we saw few major surprises in 3Q, which was fairly consistent with our expectations, the extent of the EBITDA guidance reduction caught us by surprise. PBH reported 3Q19 adjusted EBITDA of $84-million, below our estimate of $89-million and consensus of $93-million. Reported EBITDA margin of 8.7 per cent was below our estimate of 9.4 per cent.”
As trade concerns linger, Chinese retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA-N) was down 0.2 per cent in New York despite saying Monday that sales for its annual Singles’ Day shopping event crossed the record US$30-billion mark.
The 24-hour event began in 2009 and sales now far exceed those of the U.S. Cyber Monday event, which reported sales of US$7.9-billion last year.
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. (NEPT-T) dropped 17.4 per cent after it reported before the bell total revenue of $6.5-million for its second quarter, down 8 per cent compared to $7-million a year ago and ahead of expectations of $5.8-million.
The net loss for the quarter was $20.8-million compared to a loss of $3.1-million a year ago.
The company also announced a collaboration agreement with International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF-N) to co-develop hemp-derived CBD products for the mass retail and health & wellness markets.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS-N) was down 1.8 per cent after a Reuters report that it plans to it move away from its objective of finding US$5-billion in fresh annual revenue by 2020
The new targets, to be outlined by Chief Executive David Solomon’s management team in January at Goldman’s first-ever investor day, could include a broad efficiency ratio and profitability measures, four sources familiar with the matter said.
They could also include narrower items, such as goals for Goldman’s fledgling retail bank, Marcus, according to some of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
With files from Terry Weber, Brenda Bouw, staff and wires
David Leeder