Stocks to watch: WellPoint, Alcoa

The health benefits company is acquiring Amerigroup, and the aluminum giant kicks off Q2 earnings season.

By MSN Money Partner Jul 9, 2012 8:52AM
By Joseph Woelfel, TheStreet.com

Health benefits company WellPoint (WLP) said Monday it reached a deal to acquire managed health care firm Amerigroup (AGP). WellPoint agreed to pay $92 a share in cash for Amerigroup, or about $4.9 billion. Amerigroup shares closed Friday at $64.34, making the premium of the deal 43%. Shares of Amerigroup rose 39.88% in premarket trading Monday to $90.

Alcoa (AA) kicks off second-quarter earnings season after Monday's closing bell and analysts expect the aluminum giant to report profit of 5 cents a share on revenue of $5.83 billion.

Best Buy (BBY), the electronics retailer, is laying off a total of 2,400 workers as part of its restructuring efforts. The Richfield, Minn.-based company will cut 600 jobs in its Geek Squad technical support business and 1,800 other workers in its retail stores.

Celgene (CELG) isn't buying Human Genome Sciences (HGSI), according to a source in contact with Celgene management, reported TheStreet's Adam Feuerstein. Late Friday, Reuters, citing its own unnamed source, reported that Celgene was one of two possible bidders for Human Genome Sciences, which is trying to fight off a hostile, $13-a-share offer from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Celgene has no interest in an acquisition of Human Genome or a merger of equals between the two companies, a source told Feuerstein. Human Genome has set a July 16 deadline for takeover offers from suitors other than Glaxo.


Air Lease (AL) placed an order for 60 Boeing (BA) 737 MAX 8 and 15 737 MAX 9 airplanes.

The order is valued at $7.2 billion.


PepsiCo (PEP), in a sign of its efforts to curb its reliance on soda sales, this month will begin selling yogurt in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, The New York Times reported.


WD-40 (WDFC) is expected by analysts to post fiscal third-quarter earnings of 61 cents a share on sales of $91.6 million.

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