Ancestry.com Jumps On Possible Acquisition (ACOM, LEE, MON, XOM, CLNE)
Ancestry.com Inc (NASDAQ:ACOM) soared 14% to $25.81. As per reports from Bloomberg, the company has been working with Frank Quattrone’s Qatalyst Partners LLC to find buyers. The report further stated that the company probably will attract interest from private-equity firms, said the person. Subscribers to Ancestry.com in the first quarter rose to 1.87 million, a 16 percent increase from the year-earlier period, according to a statement on April 25. Net income rose 51 percent in the three months ended March 31 as revenue surged 19 percent to $108.5 million.
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) soared 30% in the opening session as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway amended its 13F for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 and showed a new 1,655,125 share stake in Lee Enterprises Inc. The new stake was disclosed after a confidential treatment request with the SEC was denied.
Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) jumped 1.50% after the company declares a quarterly dividend and announces a share repurchase program for up to $1 billion of common stock. Positive results YTD have created the opportunity to reinvest in the business and to return value to shareowners, the company says.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) added 0.75% to $78.18. The company takes a 10% stake in a JV to explore for gas trapped in Australian coal seams, a bet on an unconventional fuel that has become one of the world’s hottest energy plays. The Gippsland Basin of southeast Victoria state contains potential reserves of methane gas occurring naturally in ~16B metric tons of brown coal close to the surface and ~280B tons in deeper seams.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ:CLNE) jumped 5.50% after Northland Securities upgrades shares to Outperform from Market Perform with a $20 target price. The firm says fleet demand is substantial and growing, and the macro environment has become increasingly positive for the use of CNG/LNG.