3PAR, BHP, Rio Tinto Rise

Bikram Pandey
23 Aug, 2010
New York City

3PAR soared 40% after Hewlett Packard offered 33% premium to Dell bid. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group increased after hung Parliament election in Australia raised the prospect of mining tax cancelation. Warner Chilcott added 3% after it announced special dividend.

[R]11:15 AM New York – 3PAR soared 40% after Hewlett Packard offered 33% premium to Dell bid. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group increased after hung Parliament election in Australia raised the prospect of mining tax cancelation. Warner Chilcott added 3% after it announced special dividend.[/R]

Of the stocks in the Dow, 20 increased, 9 decreased and 1 was unchanged.

Of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Wal-Mart Stores led the gainers with a rise of 2.03% followed by increase in Bank of America of 1.4%, in Pfizer Inc of 1.3% and in Merck & Co of 1.25%.

Hewlett Packard led the decliners with a fall of 2% followed by decline in Cisco Systems of 1.2%, in Intel Corp of 0.9%, and in Travelers Cos of 0.7%.

Other Movers

3PAR Inc ((PAR)) soared more than 41% to $25.44 after Hewlett Packard offered $24 a share, 33% premium than the price offered by Dell Inc few days ago.

BHP Billiton Ltd ((BHP)) increased nearly 2% and Rio Tinto Group gained more than 1% after Australian elections showed neither party with a majority, increasing the prospect that the mining industry tax may be canceled.

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. ((COCO)) rose 1.5% or 7 cent to $4.56 after the post-secondary education company said fourth quarter revenue surged 36.6% to $482.7 million from $353.5 million in the same period last year. Net income in the quarter increased 46% to $33.85 million or 38 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $23.19 million or 27 cents per share in the last year quarter.

Hibbett Sports, Inc. ((HIBB)) fell 0.2% or 7 cent to $23.90 after the sporting goods retailer said second quarter net sales rose 13.6% to $139.82 million from $123.12 million on comparable store sales rise of 11.9%. Net profit in the quarter soared 261.3% to $4.01 million 14 cents per diluted share as against net income of $1.11 million or 4 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.

Hormel Foods Corporation ((HRL)) gained 0.8% or 36 cent to $43.84 after the meat and food products firm reported third quarter revenue sales rose 10% to $1.73 billion compared to $1.57 billion in the prior-year quarter. Net earnings in the quarter grew 11% to $85.37 million or 63 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $77.17 million or 57 cents last year.

Liberty Bell Bank, the banking institution said second quarter net income generated was $34,000 or 1 cent per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $211,000 or 8 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. Net interest income for the quarter rose 20% to $1.40 million from $1.16 million in the year-ago quarter.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. ((SAFM)) increased 0.1% or 8 cent to $43.24 after the fully integrated poultry processing company reported third-quarter net sales fell 3.1% to $489.1 million from $504.8 million for the same period a year ago. Net income in the quarter declined 16% to $36.1 million or $1.55 per share compared to net income of $43.0 million, or $2.06 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

StealthGas Inc. ((GASS)) gained 2% or 10 cent to $4.93 after the fleet of liquefied petroleum gas second quarter revenue decreased 0.7% to $26.9 million from $27.1 million. Net income in the quarter fell to $4.1 million 19 cents per diluted share as against net income of $6.5 million or 29 cents per share in the same quarter a year ago.

The J. M. Smucker Company ((SJM)) rose 1.4% or 84 cent to $60.49 after the jelly and coffee maker stated first-quarter net sales edged lower 0.4% to $1.047 billion compared to $1.051 billion last year. Net income climbed 4.9% to $102.88 million or 86 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $98.06 million or 83 cents per share in the previous year.

Tuesday Morning Corporation soared 4.4% or 12 cent to $3.71 after the closeout retailer reported net sale for the fourth quarter fiscal 2010 increased 6.4% to $200.8 million from $188.7 million in the same quarter last year. Comparable store sales rise of 6.0%. Net income rose in the quarter was $1.3 million or 3 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.6 million or 4 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.

Net sale for the fiscal 2010 rose 3.3% to $828.3 million from $801.7 million in the period of fiscal 2009. Comparable store sales increased 2.2% for the fiscal year. Net income was $10.7 million or 25 cent per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $44.0 million or break even per share for the year-ago.

Warner Chilcott Plc ((WCRX)) rose as much as 3% after it announced a plan to pay a special dividend of $8.50 a share.