U.S. markets had a positive day, primarily because crude oil finally stabilized and bounced back off decade lows to finish higher. The major indices all declined throughout the morning, but then fought back from the lunch hour on, as oil prices began to rise.
In addition to oil prices, traders were concerned about the upcoming FOMC meeting this week and whether or not the Fed will raise interest rates on Wednesday. The general consensus seems to be that rates will rise, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty that is keeping stock prices muted.
Overall, Monday was a quiet day, with no economic reports today for the markets to decipher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher by 0.6%, with the S&P 500 right behind it, up 0.5%. The Nasdaq was up by 0.4%. Almost all sectors were down this morning but roared back to finish in the green, except for basic materials stocks.
Talk of acquisitions helped several stocks today, such as Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TSL) and Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ:ATML). Those two, along with Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) are three of today’s best stocks.
Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (TSL)
TSL stock took off today after the world’s largest supplier of solar panels reported receiving an offer to buy out the company from a group of investors that includes its own CEO.
The offer was presented from CEO Jifan Gao and Shanghai Xingsheng Equity Investment & Management Co., with a value of $11.60 per ADR share, or approximately $986 million. The stock price is 21% higher than Friday’s closing price. Xingsheng is an affiliate of Industrial Bank Co.
Formerly an $18 stock, TSL had been cut in half since early 2014 as a result of flooding the market with cheaper solar panels. TSL rose more than 11% today.
Atmel Corporation (ATML)
Trina wasn’t the only potential buyout candidate today. Atmel Corporation announced it has received a new takeover offer that easily exceeds a previous offer from German based Dialog Semiconductor PLC (ETR:DLG). ATML stock rose 3% on the news.
Atmel did not name the new suitor, but said the offer was for a total of $1 billion in stock at $9 per share. The previous Dialog offer was only $4.65 in cash plus 0.112 of a DLG American Depository share for each Atmel share of stock. That totals out to approximately $8.81 per share.
Atmel’s board of directors is now entertaining talks with the new suitor; however, the original agreement with Dialog is still in effect.
Mattel, Inc. (MAT)
MAT stock got another boost today after Gerrick Johnson of BMO Capital Markets upgraded the toymaker’s shares from “market perform” to “outperform,” while also increasing the price target from $25 to $33 per share. MAT stock was up 3% by day’s end.
BMO said it was a believer in the company’s turnaround, stating that the stock has seen its bottom and will be a much stronger performer over the next few years.
MAT stock bottomed in October near $19 per share, and is up about 50% since then.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
