Arena Pharma ticks higher on Nasdaq delisting notice for Pfizer deal

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) confirmed that the HSR waiting period for its planned purchase of Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA) expired on Wednesday. The $6.7B acquisition of Arena (ARNA) is now expected to close on Friday, according to an 8-K filing. The confirmation comes after a report on Monday said Arena's planned $100/share sale...

A judge said Wednesday that he would approve a plan that locks members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma into pumping at least another $1.2 billion into a nationwide lawsuit settlement that, if ultimately confirmed, would transform the company into a public trust. The initial approval...

Global grain prices are set to rise further in the "sharpest shock" since the 1970s, Goldman Sachs predicts, hit by shipping disruptions, surging input costs and concerns about new plantings in Ukraine. Goldman raised its forecast grain prices, seeing corn climbing to $7.75 per bushel by summer, while soybeans could...

Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA) rose 3.5% in after hours trading on a report that its planned sale to Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) won't require a longer review from the Federal Trade Commission, according a Dealreporter item. The waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino ("HSR") act for the deal is expected to expire...

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) said the first person was dosed in a phase 2 study of its Omicron-specific bivalent booster candidate (mRNA-1273.214).

The Fed may be one and done when it comes to rate hikes. It's too late for the Fed to step in now to regain control of inflation. The Fed will now be raising rates into slowing growth. It may be even worse than just slowing growth because the Atlanta Fed GDPNow model suggests no growth thus far into the first quarter of 2022.

Oil was trading higher Friday morning in a week that saw wild swings in price. U.S. benchmark crude added $1.83 to reach $107.85 per barrel after falling Thursday by $2.68 to reach $106.02 per barrel. Brent crude, the basis for international pricing, rose $2.21 to hit $111.56 per barrel. Both...

A mediator in Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy case on Wednesday indicated an agreement was being drafted between the company's owners and U.S. states pressing for more money to resolve allegations that the OxyContin maker fueled the opioid epidemic. Members of the wealthy Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma, have been trying...

Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) said its Collaboration Live received expansion of its U.S. Food & Drug Administration 510(k) market clearance for remote diagnostic use on additional mobile platforms. Available on Philips Ultrasound Systems EPIQ and Affiniti, Collaboration Live allows clinicians to collaborate in real-time with colleagues to complete image acquisition and...

The Ukraine and Russian situation creates substantial uncertainties in the global energy market. The Ukraine Russian situation keeps creating substantial uncertainties to the global energy market. Russia provides nearly 40 percent of the European Union’s natural gas and more than 25 percent of its crude oil. Since the situation broke out, the oil price has rocketed to above $130 for the first time since 2008. Natural gas prices have recently touched the $7.5 level too, again for the first time since 2008.

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is trading higher Wednesday after the company received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PF-06482077, or RSVpreF, the company's respiratory syncytial virus vaccine candidate. The FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy Designation is designed to expedite the development and review of drugs intended to...

The management team at General Electric announced an increase to the number of seats on its board and decided to initiate a $3 billion share buyback. On March 8, the management team at General Electric (GE) announced two key developments that investors should pay attention to. One of these was an increase in the size of its board of directors. And the other, more substantive matter, was a significant share buyback program. This latter case may seem odd to investors who have viewed the company as a troubled enterprise in recent years. But when you consider management expectations for the future, combined with the robust fundamental condition of the company today, this particular move makes a lot of sense. This is especially true when you consider exactly how cheap shares of the business are at this point in time.

View Inc. has been granted a hearing at the end of the month to show Nasdaq why its stock shouldn't be delisted. The Milpitas smart glass maker has lost more than 80% of its value since it went public a year ago in a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. The SoftBank-based company's market cap was down to $358 million after its stock dropped by more than 13% on Tuesday.

Bank of America's global oil team lifted oil price forecasts across the board, raising 2022 / 23 Brent forecasts to $110 / $95 from $85 / $75, respectively; the long-term price.

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, fear is moving the markets, pushing inflation to continue to run hot and oil prices to near-record levels. Oil nears $140 barrel as Putin's war stirs up the markets, and supply chain disruptions continue to mount as further sanctions and bans are put in play. Gas prices are hitting record highs. Energy stocks hit multi-year highs, which is why I have three value energy stocks, VET, CPG, and BTU, that stand to benefit from increasing energy prices, but also do not appear overvalued.

OceanPal (NASDAQ:OP) received a written notice from the Nasdaq indicating that it is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1/share. The company has 180 days, or until September 5, 2022 to regain compliance. In the event OP does not regain compliance within 180 days and it...

Regular and consistent dividends are important; with APLE reinstating monthly dividends, it has come on my radar once again. Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) isn't a name I've touched on or even recall mentioning previously. However, it was a small position in my portfolio at one time. As the pressure from the COVID pandemic subsides, I believe that APLE is in a more stable position. They must agree, as they have reinstated a monthly dividend. It is half of what it was before the COVID pandemic, but it is an effort in the right direction. Definitely better than the token $0.01 quarterly that they were paying out.

TherapeuticsMD had a rough 2021, and the share price shows it. The company battled the COVID-19 headwinds and has struggled to expand ANNOVERA’s manufacturing. TherapeuticsMD (TXMD) is still one of my worst-performing stocks over the last couple of years and is now firmly in the penny stock realm. In spite of having a remarkable product portfolio, TherapeuticsMD has had a disastrous commercial campaign to launch these promising assets. It was becoming obvious that the company was not going to win the fight against COVID-19 headwinds. As a result, I decided to stick TXMD in the back of my speculative "Bio Boom" Portfolio and haven't touched it since my previous TXMD article. In fact, I have been disinterested in the ticker until recently, after the company announced that they are selling their vitaCare vitamin business to GoodRx for $150M in cash, with an extra $7M in contingent. The company is looking to use these funds to address their debt with Sixth Street and help fund the company. The market did provide a momentary spike in the share price, however, the move faded in the subsequent trading days following a disappointing earnings report and has the market cap back just above $100M. I believe the market is overlooking the company's potential for a turnaround.

A Data Safety Monitoring Board has determined that Adamis Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:ADMP) phase 2/3 trial for its COVID-19 candidate tempol can continue without any changes. Shares are up 5% in premarket trading. The decision was reached following an evaluation of an interim analysis of efficacy and safety data. Adamis (ADMP) said...

The average of S&P 500 for February 2022 was 4436 (5% down from December 2021 average) and is still 1896 points higher than the corresponding long-term trend value of 2540. This is an update to our series of articles started in 2012 assessing market valuation and estimating forward stock market returns. The most recent previous update was for end of December 2021.