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

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

InvestorPlace Market Recap[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

Three Down

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].

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/investorplace-market-recap/
  2. GMCR: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=GMCR
  3. SBUX: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SBUX
  4. the Verismo: https://investorplace.com/2012/03/starbucks-single-serve-coffee-may-kill-green-mountain-sbux-gmcr-keurig-verismo/http:/investorplace.com/2012/03/starbucks-verismo-green-mountain-sbux-gmcr-nestle/
  5. NSRGY: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=NSRGY
  6. also could feel the pressure: https://investorplace.com/2012/03/starbucks-verismo-green-mountain-sbux-gmcr-nestle/
  7. WPI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=WPI
  8. reported: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120321-713031.html
  9. HIG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=HIG
  10. ZNGA: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=ZNGA
  11. For more about the deal, check out our IPOPlaybook blog.: https://investorplace.com/ipo-playbook/zynga-snaps-up-hot-gaming-operator-omgpop/
  12. MTOR: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MTOR
  13. USG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=USG
  14. YPF: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=YPF
  15. AGO: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AGO
  16. YGE: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=YGE
  17. KKD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=KKD
  18. Kyle Woodley: https://investorplace.com/author/kyle-woodley/
  19. InvestorPlace.com: https://investorplace.com/
  20. here: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/investorplace-market-recap/

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