Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and prices are as of 7:45 a.m. in New York.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) fell 1.8 percent to $198.95. The largest Internet retailer was cut to neutral from buy at Bank of America Corp.
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) : The maker of chips used in cars, consumer electronics and phone networks acquired Multigig Inc. to enhance the company’s clocking capabilities. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.
Avon Products Inc. (AVP) surged 23 percent to $23.80. Coty Inc. offered to buy the door-to-door cosmetics seller conducting an internal bribery probe, for about $10 billion. The cash proposal of $23.25 a share is 20 percent higher than Avon’s closing price on March 30. Coty has said it has held “extensive discussions” about financing a deal.
Finish Line Inc. (FINL) : The athletic apparel retailer was cut to neutral from positive at Susquehanna Financial Group.
Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) : The manager of the Franklin and Templeton mutual funds may rise to mid-$140 over the next year as its diversified assets help earnings growth to accelerate, Barron’s reported.
Frontier Communications Corp. (FTR) rose 1.9 percent to $4.25. The phone company serving rural U.S. markets was raised to buy from neutral by Nomura Holdings Inc.’s Michael McCormack, who also raised his 12-month price estimate to $5 from $4.
Groupon Inc. (GRPN) (GRPN US) plunged 11 percent to $16.31. The largest provider of daily deals online reported a “material weakness” in its financial controls and said fourth-quarter results were worse than previously stated because of higher refunds to merchants. That cut revenue in the period by $14.3 million to $492.2 million. Groupon was also downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America Corp.
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) : The world’s biggest computer-services provider is buying a 20 percent stake in SIX, the technology unit of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, Veja reported in its Radar online column, without saying where it obtained the information. IBM has agreed on a contract worth $1 billion to provide services to Batista’s company for 10 years, Veja said.
Medtronic Inc. (MDT) : The world’s biggest maker of heart-rhythm devices said it reached an agreement to pay an $85 million settlement to resolve a previously disclosed federal securities class action suit filed in 2008 by the Minneapolis Firefighters Relief Association.
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) : The world’s largest coffee-shop operator said it’s planning a bigger push into smaller cities in China in an effort to triple stores in the country that will become its second-biggest market by 2014.
Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (THLD) declined 2.3 percent to $8.60. The biotechnology company said that a Phase 2b trial for its TH-302 pancreatic cancer drug met its primary efficacy endpoint.
Towerstream Corp. (TWER) gained 18 percent to $5.62. The Middletown, Rhode Island-based wireless broadband provider has signed a Wi-Fi agreement with a national wireless carrier that uses its current and future rooftop assets, the company said in filing.
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) : The biggest U.S. railroad is poised to rise as an economic recovery boosts traffic, offsetting a slowdown in demand from the coal industry, Barron’s reported in its “The Trader” column.
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