March 03, 2010, 8:27 AM EST
March 3 (Bloomberg) — Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of 8 a.m. in New York unless stated otherwise.
Activision Blizzard inc. (ATVI US): the world’s largest video-game company said it formed a new unit to run the “Call of Duty” franchise following the departure of two executives who oversaw creation of the title.
Blackstone Group LP (BX US) rose 3.1 percent to $14.55. the world’s biggest private-equity company was raised to “Outperform” from “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer & Co. by equity analyst Christopher Kotowski. the 18-month target price is $20.50 per share.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST US) fell 3.7 percent to $59.10. the biggest U.S. warehouse-club chain reported second- quarter profit excluding some items of 70 cents a share, 2 cents less than the average of 20 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
Joy Global inc. (JOYG US) rose 2.9 percent to $53.15. the maker of mining equipment reported first-quarter profit excluding some items of 73 cents a share, 14 percent higher than the average of 18 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey.
Medivation inc. (MDVN US) tumbled 69 percent to $12.37. Medivation and Pfizer inc. (PFE US) said Dimebon, their experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease, failed to benefit patients in an advanced study. Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, fell 1.4 percent to $17.36.
Merck & Co. (MRK US): the company’s experimental drug to treat grass-pollen allergies helped fight children’s symptoms during the final round of testing generally required for U.S. clearance.
Novell inc. (NOVL US) surged 28 percent to $6.06. the seller of corporate-network software received an unsolicited takeover bid of $5.75 a share from shareholder Elliott Associates LP, valuing the company at about $2 billion.
Verifone Holdings inc. (PAY US) fell 5.1 percent to $19.60. the provider of electronic payment technology that had advanced 26 percent this year reported first-quarter profit excluding some items of 26 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate by 14 percent.
–With assistance from Craig Trudell in New York. Editors: Stephen Kleege, Joanna Ossinger
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net.
Related Articles
Blackstone, Costco, Joy Global, Medivation: US Equity Preview