Blackstone, Ryder Rise; KB Home Falls

Mayank Mehta
12 Oct, 2009
New York City

The Black and Decker Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 8.1%. Fastenal Co third quarter net income falls 35%. Digital River plunged after Symantec said it will not extend its e-commerce contract. Blackstone Group surged after it plans to list eight portfolio companies.

[R]12:30 PM New York – The Black and Decker Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 8.1%. Fastenal Co third quarter net income falls 35%. Digital River plunged after Symantec said it will not extend its e-commerce contract. Blackstone Group surged after the private equity fund plans to list as many as eight companies.[/R]

Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 424 increased, 69 declined and 7 were unchanged.

KB Home led decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 7.9% followed by losses in Dynegy Inc of 2.3%, in Gannett Co., Inc of 1.8%, in Symantec Corporation of 1.6% and in The New York Times Company of 1.3%.

The Black and Decker Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 8.1% followed by gains in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc 5.5%, in Fastenal Company of 4.7% and in Abercrombie & Fitch Co of 3.6%.

Other Movers

Barclays PLC ((BCS)) The U.K bank slipped 1.5% or 36 cents to $23.68.

The Black and Decker Corporation ((BDK)) increased 7.3% or $3.48 to $50.72 after the maker and marketer of power tools and other home improvement products was rated “overweight” at Barclays.

The Blackstone Group L.P. ((BX)) increased 6.8% or $1.01 to $15.87 after it said it plans to list as many as eight companies and the company is in the process of selling of five additional holdings. The news was first reported by Reuters and independently verified by 123jump.com.

Fortress Investment Group LLC ((FIG)) increased 5.9% to $5.57 on the back of Blackstone news.

Digital River, Inc ((DRIV)) plunged 36.4% or $14.75 to $25.67 after the company that builds and manages online business for others announced today that Symantec Corporation has notified the company that it will not extend its existing e-commerce agreement that expires in June of 2010.

Elbit Systems Ltd ((ESLT)) the Israel’s non-government defense contractor fell 2.2% or $1.59 to $68.10.

Fastenal Company ((FAST)) decreased 2.2% or 90 cents to $38.49 after the industrial equipment maker reported third quarter sales fell 21.7% to $489.3 million from $625 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 34.7% to $47.6 million or 32 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $72.9 million or 49 cents per share a year ago.

KB Home ((KBH)) the builder of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums declined 5.8% or 96 cents to $15.50.

The Kroger Co ((KR)) added 2.0% or 45 cents to $22.76 after the supermarket chain was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” at JPMorgan and revised its target price to $27 from $21.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc ((MHP)) the parent of bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s increased 2.7% or 75 cents to $28.03 after an analyst at JP Morgan set $35 target according to media reports.

Novellus Systems, Inc ((NVLS)) the maker of semiconductor equipment advanced 2.7% or 59 cents to $21.82.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc ((ONXX)) increased 7.7% or $2.08 to $28.98 after the drugmaker today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Proteolix, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies that target the proteasome for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors.

Polaris Industries Inc ((PII)) rose 3.5% or $1.51 to $43.83 after the maker of snowmobiles and all- terrain vehicles was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup Inc.

Ryder Systems, Inc ((R)) surged 9.8% to $42.45 after it declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents to shareholders on record dates November 16 to be paid on December 11.

Warner Chilcott PLC ((WCRX)) the pharmaceutical company increased 2.8% or 67 cents to $24.19.