GMCR, Watson Zoom on Deals — Wednesday’s IP Market Recap

by Kyle Woodley | March 21, 2012 4:47 pm

[1]Wheeling and dealing was all the rage Tuesday, with several stocks across a number of industries soaring on moves and even talk.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR[2]) gained almost 10% as the company announced it had reached a deal with Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX[3]) to sell Starbucks-branded Vue packs, to be used in GMCR’s upscale Keurig Vue brewer.

The news was a much-needed lift for Green Mountain, which has gained almost 25% year-to-date but was pounded hard earlier this month after Starbucks announced plans to make its own single-cup serving system — the Verismo[4] — in direct competition with GMCR’s regular Keurig system. And the Verismo could end up being a threat to more than just Green Mountain — Swiss foodmaker Nestle (PINK:NSRGY[5]), with its Nescafe line and single-serve coffee platforms, also could feel the pressure[6].

Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI[7]) started to surge around noon after it was reported[8] that the company was coming close to buying rival generic-drug maker Actavis. According to the report, people familiar with the talks said the deal — expected to be for about 4.5 billion euros — likely would happen after Easter.

By acquiring Actavis, Watson would get a company with 1.84 billion euros in 2011 sales and a strong foothold in Europe, according to the report. WPI shares finished up almost 9% by the close of Wednesday trading.

Hartford Financial (NYSE:HIG[9]) jumped at the bell and eventually retreated to a 1.4% gain after the company said it would spin off its annuity business and work on selling off its other life insurance-related business. According to Reuters, HIG instead will focus on property insurance and group benefits.

Lastly, Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA[10]) gained about 2.5% on Tuesday, though most of that was made before the late-afternoon report that the social gamemaker agreed to acquire OMGPOP, the creator of the hit app game Draw Something. (For more about the deal, check out our IPOPlaybook blog.[11])

Three Up

• Meritor (NYSE:MTOR[12]): Up 12.6% (94 cents) to $8.40.
• USG (NYSE:USG[13]): Up 11% ($1.89) to $19.00.
• YPF (NYSE:YPF[14]): Up 8.3% ($2.28) to $29.72.

Three Down

• Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO[15]): Down 13.4% ($2.52) to $16.30.
• Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE[16]): Down 9.8% (42 cents) to $3.85.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD[17]): Down 8.6% (73 cents) to $7.76.

Kyle Woodley[18] is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com[19]. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here[20].

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/03/gmcr-watson-zoom-on-deals-wednesdays-ip-market-recap/

---