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

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InvestorPlace Market RecapWheeling 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) gained almost 10% as the company announced it had reached a deal with Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) 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 — 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), with its Nescafe line and single-serve coffee platforms, also could feel the pressure.

Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI) started to surge around noon after it was reported 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) 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) 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.)

Three Up

  • Meritor (NYSE:MTOR): Up 12.6% (94 cents) to $8.40.
  • USG (NYSE:USG): Up 11% ($1.89) to $19.00.
  • YPF (NYSE:YPF): Up 8.3% ($2.28) to $29.72.

Three Down

  • Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO): Down 13.4% ($2.52) to $16.30.
  • Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE): Down 9.8% (42 cents) to $3.85.
  • Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD): Down 8.6% (73 cents) to $7.76.

Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/03/gmcr-watson-zoom-on-deals-wednesdays-ip-market-recap/.

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