It’s not nice to start rumors — but no one’s going to complain if they’re on the complimentary side of one. Such was the case for investors in Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), each of which saw their shares elevate by more than 10% Wednesday on whispers of buyouts.
A day after its first foray under $20 since 2005, RIMM got an adrenaline boost from a report from The Independent newspaper that said Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) was considering a buyout of the troubled BlackBerry maker. RIMM finished Wednesday at $23.59, a gain of 12.36% on the day. The sharp move was just one in a recent series for jumpy Research In Motion shares, which also saw investors pounce on Tuesday’s rumor that the company had hired an investment bank, as well as on last week’s rumor that investor Carl Icahn was interested in acquiring a large position in RIMM.
RIMM’s down-on-its-luck buddy Yahoo rocketed up 10.1% to $15.92 on a report that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was considering making another go at the company after being rebuffed three years ago. Yahoo, which fired CEO Carol Bartz in September, has had no shortage of alleged suitors since then, including Alibaba (of which Yahoo owns a 43% share), private equity firms Silver and Andreessen Horowitz, also-troubled AOL (NYSE:AOL) and now Microsoft.
The rumored buyers also seemed to benefit, with Microsoft gaining 2.25% to $25.91, and Vodafone up 1.23% to $26.32.
Outside the world of publicly traded stocks, sundae mogul Friendly’s announced Wednesday that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which employs about 10,000 people, will keep open 424 of its restaurants while shuttering 63, leaving thousands of people wondering how they’ll get their Jim Dandy fix.
Three Up
- Southern Peru Copper (NYSE:SCCO): Up 10% ($2.40) to $26.39.
- Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC): Up 9.6% ($2.76) to $31.52.
- Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW): Up 7.46% ($1.70) to $24.50.
Three Down
- Northern Oil & Gas (AMEX:NOG): Down 5.06% ($1.05) to $19.71.
- Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD): Down 3.21% ($2.05) to $61.89.
- Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM): Down 2.67% ($1.32) to $48.12.
As of this writing, Kyle Woodley did not own a share in any of the aforementioned stocks.
