Stocks Post Modest Gains On Slow News Ahead of Fed (CHK, CEO, GERN, GYMB, LDK)

Stocks had a quiet day on a slow news Monday, and the major indexes edged up slightly. Investors are eying the Fed, and will be paying close attention to tomorrow’s FOMC minutes, which are due out at 2pm.

The Chinese Solar Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by LDK Solar Company (LDK) with a 16% gain.

Stocks inched up on the day, with the Dow rising 4 points to 11,010. The S&P and Nasdaq, meanwhile, both edged up fractionally to close at 1,165 and 2,401, respectively. Oil fell -45 cents to $82.21 a barrel, while gold rose $9.10 to $1,354.40 an ounce.

In earnings news, LDK Solar spiked by 15.5% after hiking its third-quarter revenue outlook. The firm now expects revenue of between $610-$640 million, compared to the previously forecasted range of $570-$600 million. The company also boosted its outlook for solar wafer and module shipments to between 550-570 MW, and 80-90 MW, respectively. LDK’s prior guidance had forecast between 520-550 MW in solar wafer shipments, and between 75-85 MW of solar modules. At the end of the second quarter, four asset managers counted LDK among their top-15 U.S.-listed equity holdings, and 1067 tickerspy members currently hold the stock in their portfolios.

Gymboree (GYMB) shares surged by 22.4% after the company announced that it will be acquired by Bain Capital Partners for $1.8 billion. The deal is worth $65.40 per share in cash, which represents a 23.5% premium to the stock’s closing price on Friday, and a 57% premium to the closing price on September 30th, the last session before reports spurred buyout speculation. Five Pros held Gymboree in their top-15 U.S.-listed equity holdings at the end of the second quarter, and 53 tickerspy members hold the stock in their portfolios.

In other M&A news, Chesapeake Energy (CHK) said it will sell a third of its 600,000 acre Eagle Ford project leasehold to China’s state-owned CNOOC (CEO). The deal is worth $1.08 billion in cash on closing, and CNOOC will pay an additional $1.08 billion of Chesapeake’s drilling costs. Chesapeake shares added 1.1% on the news.

Geron (GERN) shares gained 6.4% after the company announced that it has initiated the first trial of a human embryonic stem cell-based therapy on a human patient. President and CEO Thomas Okarma said, “Initiating the GRNOPC1 clinical trial,” which is focused on patients with recent spinal cord injuries, “is a milestone for the field of human embryonic stem cell-based therapies.” The first patient was enrolled at Atlanta, Georgia’s Shepherd Center, one of seven potential trial sites in the U.S.

Tags: CEO, CHK, GERN, GYMB, LDK