It was another day of elevated risk appetite on Wall Street. Although oil prices dropped, traders bid equities higher, pushing the S&P 500 to a gain of 0.44%. The Nasdaq Composite added roughly the same amount while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained two-thirds of a percent.
Although oil prices fell, emerging markets stocks rose, pushing into a bull market while extending a significant rally off their January lows. In New York, financial services and healthcare shares led U.S. stocks higher.
It was not a Merger Monday, but some competing deals explain why Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE:HOT) and Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) are three of today’s best stocks.
Affymetrix, Inc. (AFFX)
Shares of Affymetrix, a maker of gene testing equipment, climbed 14% on volume that was more than 15 times the daily average after former executives of the company offered to acquire the company for $1.5 billion.
That offer values AFFX at $16.10 per share, an almost 15% premium to where the stock closed yesterday. The offer also bests the $1.3 billion scientific instruments maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) offered for AFFX earlier this year.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT)
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide jumped 5.5% on turnover that was more than seven times the daily average after the company said the $13 billion takeover it recently received from Chinese insurance company Anbang Insurance Group Co is superior to the $11.5 billion Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) offered for HOT.
If HOT proceeds with allowing Anbang Insurance to acquire it, the deal would represent the largest takeover to date of U.S. real estate assets by a Chinese company. Anbang is offering $78 per share for HOT, beating MAR’s offer of just over $68 a share. MAR has until March 28 to launch a competing bid for HOT.
Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN)
Wynn Resorts soared 5.9% after Macquarie Research upgraded its view on Macau stocks to “neutral.” The research firm said Wynn Macau is its top pick in the short term. Macquarie said it expects Macau gaming revenue to decline 6% this year, which is far better than its original estimate calling for a 13% drop.
Also helping shares of WYNN was a price target upgrade from Deutsche Bank. Deutsche lifted its forecast for WYNN to $94 from $82, but that doesn’t imply much appreciation potential, as WYNN closed around $94 today.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
