erikrkolodny
ET Sponsor
It has (seemingly) been a very long time since weâve had a merger mania. And I donât really think weâll have one soon, but there are definitely a few deals here and there coming through the pipeline. Yesterdayâs story happens to be the attempted takeover of Foundation Coal (FCL) by Alpha Natural Resources (ANR). The terms of the deal call for it to be an all stock acquisition with ANR paying a ratio of 1.083 shares of its own stock for each share of FCL which based on Mondayâs close gave FCL a value of 31.25 (FCL closing price 28.86 X 1.083 shares issued). There are three things worth mentioning here: 1) everyone must understand the deal in order to trade the stocks. There was no cash component to this particular deal, but in many there are. One must understand the basics behind the deal to trade it successfully. There are also various ways to play the deal off of the numbers. First, if the spread gets out of whack on the opening bell, i.e. letâs say ANR opened at 28.86, but FCL opened at 34 instead of 31.25, it indicates that there may be another interested acquirer in the works. One should note if the spread continues to widen one should be long FCL. Another type of trade is to buy the acquirer if it opens lower and goes thru unchangedâ¦for instance, ANR was issuing shares so its stock should have been down. Thus, if it opened negative, but rallied toward unchanged, itâd be a buy the instant it ticked positive. 2) The spread (i.e. difference between the two stocks) should never be exactly correct. Usually, what happens is that the spread is slightly negative because there is a time value involved, i.e. if the deal doesnât close for six months, there is a calculation for inflation in the spread. 3) Be aware of what is going on. If thereâs a deal going on, please know that there is a deal going on. Have I mentioned that it is important to realize what is going on? All it can do is help. Thus, for day traders, making these plays can be very profitable (as it indeed was yesterday), but youâve got to do some basic homework in the mornings to simply keep up with the newsflow.
Markets in Asia were lightly mixed overnight (most closing within less than 0.5% of unchanged), but the tone in Europe is decidedly negative with every major market down a little over 1%. Gold, oil, and bonds are steady. Today seems to be a continuation of a battle that has recently developed between financials in the news and the techs in the news with the banks down across the board but INTC strength mitigating the weakness somewhat (although most other big cap techs are down slightly as of this writing). Today looks to be a continuation of the recent slop in low trade again; just as yesterday the bias ended up being slightly to the upside for most major sectors but tech, the bias is likely to be notably weaker overall today albeit on quiet turnover. Looks to be another difficult day trading day so pick spots.
Reiterating-
Please understand that if the ideas do not get to the hoped for set-ups cited below, more often than not, one should not blindly trade the symbol next to said idea.
If the whole story is not there -
If something is good, assume either a short thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specifiedIf something is bad, assume either a buy thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specified-
Good- The following stocks have good news and/or a strong technical pattern
AMAT- in-line earnings, but stock generally traded slightly higher after-hours last night until very late; should have strength from INTC but watch out if it bucks INTC's trend
INTC- company sees a slight pickup in second quarter business; company said business is âa little better than expectedâ
RNN- closed near high of day after a âUtrech Universityâ study noted that itâs Zoraxel could become a new class of drug for treating sexual dysfunction
STEC- closed near a high after posting great earnings
MRGE- closed near a high after signing a deal with a Chinese healthcare company
ULTR- good earnings
SMG- on âMad Moneyâ last night
TDW- good earnings
DPS- good earnings
Bad-The following stocks have bad news and/or a weak technical pattern
BMC- poor earnings
KRG- announced share offering
SOLR- poor earnings
CLF- announced share offering
PL- announced share offering
GAP- closed near a low on terrible earnings
CTRP- island reversal pattern after posting great earnings
MBI- near complete reversal after posting earnings in closing near a low
STV- bad earnings
HTE- bad earnings
MA, V- MA sees longer-term growth falling below its internal targets
MDCO- its leading drug failed in a phase III trial
NAT- doing share offering at 32
F- doing share offering at 4.75
BBT- doing share offering at 20
MGM- looking to do private placement
LIZ- poor earnings
M- poor earnings guidance
BKUNA- announced a massive loss after the close yesterday; may not continue as a going-concern
Earnings:
WED MAY 13 BEFORE
ACXM AZ DPS
GRS LIZ M
TDW TKC
WED MAY 13 AFTER
ANW CA CLWR
JACK WFMI
Good luck today.
Erik R. Kolodny
Markets in Asia were lightly mixed overnight (most closing within less than 0.5% of unchanged), but the tone in Europe is decidedly negative with every major market down a little over 1%. Gold, oil, and bonds are steady. Today seems to be a continuation of a battle that has recently developed between financials in the news and the techs in the news with the banks down across the board but INTC strength mitigating the weakness somewhat (although most other big cap techs are down slightly as of this writing). Today looks to be a continuation of the recent slop in low trade again; just as yesterday the bias ended up being slightly to the upside for most major sectors but tech, the bias is likely to be notably weaker overall today albeit on quiet turnover. Looks to be another difficult day trading day so pick spots.
Reiterating-
Please understand that if the ideas do not get to the hoped for set-ups cited below, more often than not, one should not blindly trade the symbol next to said idea.
If the whole story is not there -
If something is good, assume either a short thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specifiedIf something is bad, assume either a buy thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specified-
Good- The following stocks have good news and/or a strong technical pattern
AMAT- in-line earnings, but stock generally traded slightly higher after-hours last night until very late; should have strength from INTC but watch out if it bucks INTC's trend
INTC- company sees a slight pickup in second quarter business; company said business is âa little better than expectedâ
RNN- closed near high of day after a âUtrech Universityâ study noted that itâs Zoraxel could become a new class of drug for treating sexual dysfunction
STEC- closed near a high after posting great earnings
MRGE- closed near a high after signing a deal with a Chinese healthcare company
ULTR- good earnings
SMG- on âMad Moneyâ last night
TDW- good earnings
DPS- good earnings
Bad-The following stocks have bad news and/or a weak technical pattern
BMC- poor earnings
KRG- announced share offering
SOLR- poor earnings
CLF- announced share offering
PL- announced share offering
GAP- closed near a low on terrible earnings
CTRP- island reversal pattern after posting great earnings
MBI- near complete reversal after posting earnings in closing near a low
STV- bad earnings
HTE- bad earnings
MA, V- MA sees longer-term growth falling below its internal targets
MDCO- its leading drug failed in a phase III trial
NAT- doing share offering at 32
F- doing share offering at 4.75
BBT- doing share offering at 20
MGM- looking to do private placement
LIZ- poor earnings
M- poor earnings guidance
BKUNA- announced a massive loss after the close yesterday; may not continue as a going-concern
Earnings:
WED MAY 13 BEFORE
ACXM AZ DPS
GRS LIZ M
TDW TKC
WED MAY 13 AFTER
ANW CA CLWR
JACK WFMI
Good luck today.
Erik R. Kolodny
