Here’s what’s hot in the market today: Medco Health Solutions and Express Scripts saw massive trading after the Express said it would acquire Express. SFN Group saw high volume trading following its acquisition by Randstad Holdings. Speaking of acquisitions, InterDigital jumped on word that Google may be interested in the company. Elsewhere, AmerisourceBergen took a hit after being downgraded by Goldman Sachs. Finally, Mellanox Technologies saw increased interest after reporting record earnings for the quarter that ended Jun. 30.
Medco Health Solutions (NYSE: MHS) was up more than 12% about $63.50 on close to 37 million shares. Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) announced it would acquire the health care company for $29 billion. Medco shareholders will receive nearly $29 in cash and 0.8 shares in Express Scripts after the transaction. Express Scripts jumped more than 5% to top $55 on around 9-times average trading volume.
SFN Group (NYSE: SFN), the workforce provider formerly called the Spherion Corporation, was up 51% to nearly $14 on over 32 times its average trading volume. Netherlands-based Randstad Holdings announced Thursday that it would acquire SFN Group in a cash tender offer of $14 per share. After the acquisition is complete, Randstad will be the third largest human resources company in the U.S. More than 14 million shares in the SFN Group were exchanged by midday.
AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), a pharmaceutical provider, was downgraded by Goldman Sachs on Monday, its rating lowered from “Conviction Buy” to “Buy.” AmerisourceBergen dropped more than 7% to trade under $39 on more than 5 times average volume, as 10.5 million shares were traded.
Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX) saw more than 600,000 shares traded, as the semiconductor manufacturer rose nearly 11% to top $32. The company reported record quarterly earnings on Wednesday after the close, with revenue totaling over $63 million, a 15% increase over the previous quarter.
InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC) rose almost 8% to top $73 on more than 7 million shares. The technology research firm revealed that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) was considering acquiring the company.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
