Mid-Day Market Update: Verastem Shares Climb On Duvelisib Data; ZIOPHARM Oncology Shares Slide
|Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.59 percent to 24,941.36 while the NASDAQ climbed 0.02 percent to 7,747.82. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.24 percent to 2,773.11.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
On Monday, the energy shares surged 1.32 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Energy XXI Gulf Coast, Inc. EGC 18.96% up 19 percent, and Teekay Tankers Ltd. TNK 8.42% up 11 percent.
In trading on Monday, telecommunication services shares fell 1.58 percent.
Top Headline
Rent-A-Center Inc RCII 22.09% disclosed that its board unanimously approved a sale to Vintage Capital for about $1.365 billion including debt.
Rent-A-Center stockholders would receive about $15 in cash per share at the end of the transaction, which represents a 49-percent premium to Rent-A-Center’s price ahead of its pursuit of strategic alternatives. The board began exploring options in October 2017.
Equities Trading UP
Gevo, Inc. GEVO 236.13% shares shot up 114 percent to $7.52 after the company disclosed that the EPA has approved registration of isobutanol in 16% blends in gasoline.
Shares of Verastem, Inc. VSTM 21.81% got a boost, shooting up 16 percent to $7.57 in reaction to an encouraging presentation delivered over the weekend. Versatem presented encouraging results from its lead candidate duvelisib at the 23rd Congress of the European Hematology Association on Saturday.
ObsEva SA OBSV 25.77% shares were also up, gaining 34 percent to $19.50. The clinical-stage biopharma company that focuses on addressing conditions related to reproductive health and pregnancy said its phase 2b clinical trial of its linzagolix therapy achieved primary and secondary endpoints.
Equities Trading DOWN
Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. CBIO 57.54% shares dropped 57 percent to $10.95 after the company issued an update on CB 2679d/ISU304 Factor IX clinical program in hemophilia B.
Shares of ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. ZIOP 18.6% were down 15 percent to $3.6687 after the company disclosed that the FDA has placed a clinical hold on a Phase 1 trial to evaluate CD19-specific CAR-T therapies.
Cytokinetics, Incorporated CYTK 14.88% was down, falling around 15 percent to $8.425 after the company reported that data from Phase 2 clinical study of reldesemtiv in patients with spinal muscular atrophy were presented at the 2018 Annual Cure SMA Conference.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.29 percent to $65.25 while gold traded up 0.23 percent to $1,281.40.
Silver traded up 0.06 percent Monday to $16.49, while copper fell 1.32 to $3.103.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 dropped 0.97 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.99 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index dipped 0.42 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 1.54 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell 1.19 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.15 percent.
Economics
The housing market index dropped 2 points to a reading of 68 in June.
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Savannah at 1:00 p.m. ET.
New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in New York at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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