Upbeat earnings sent the markets soaring to a sharply higher open with the Dow jumping 184 points to 25,987. Nasdaq gained 46 points to 7307.
On the upside
Blackhawk Network Holdings (Nasdaq: HAWK) will be acquired by Silver Lake and P2 Capital partners in an all cash deal valued at approximately $3.5 billion.
Bernstein upgraded Vipshop Holdings (NYSE: VIPS) from a Market Perform rating to an Outperform rating and lifted its price target from $9.20 to $23.50.
Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR) will pay approximately $2 billion to acquire the battery and portable lighting business of Spectrum Brands (NYSE: SPB).
On the downside
Avis Budget Group (Nasdaq: CAR) announced preliminary full year results and adopted a one year stockholder rights plan.
Tesaro (Nasdaq: TSRO) updated the packaging for its VARUBI injectable emulsion to include a warning about anaphylactic shock.
Tiger BioPharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: EIGR) reported disappointing results from a Phase 2 LIBERTY study in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 12 points to 2,798. Bitcoin crashed $1,909 to $11,900.
