Stocks limped into the May finish line as investors continue pricing in an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in June. The S&P 500 closed lower by 0.1% in May’s final session while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly half a percent. The Nasdaq Composite stood out with a gain of 0.29%.
Oil declined as investors preferred safe havens today, a theme that slightly lifted gold while the dollar finished higher against the euro.
Some industry consolidation and stellar earnings lifted Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CPXX), Tata Motors Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TTM) and Westar Energy Inc (NYSE:WR) to best stocks of the day status.
Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc (CPXX)
Shares of biotechnology firm Celator Pharmaceuticals surged 71.6% on volume that was more than 11 times the daily average after Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ: JAZZ) offered to acquire CPXX for $1.5 billion.
JAZZ is paying CPXX $30.25 per share in cash, a 72% premium to CPXX’s closing price last Friday. Earlier this year, CPXX unveiled promising clinical trial results for its leukemia treatment, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
Tata Motors Limited (TTM)
Tata Motors, India’s largest automaker, climbed 12.4% on more than quadruple the usual turnover after TTM reported profits for its most recently completed quarter that easily topped analysts’ estimates. TTM’s first-quarter net income of $771 million tripled from a year earlier and was well ahead of what analysts were expecting.
Net income at TTM’s Jaguar Land Rover unit surged 56% to $690 million. Improved sales in China and Europe helped bolster TTM’s quarterly earnings.
Shares of TTM are up about 14% this year.
Westar Energy Inc (WR)
Shares of electric utility Westar Energy soared 6.4% on more than 15 times WR’s usual turnover after Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE:GXP) said it will acquire WR for $8.6 billion, creating one of the largest electric utilities in Kansas and Missouri.
Including debt, GXP’s offer for WR is about $12.2 billion. GXP is offering $60 per share in cash for WR. WR is based in Kansas while GXP is based in Missouri.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
