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VIDEOTicker Shock: Barry Diller Thinks Coke's the Real Thing?
Monday's top stories and stocks with pontential to move.
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Asian markets closed higher. The Hang Seng was up more than 3% and the Nikkei ended up more than 1%. Meanwhile Europe was in negative territory earlier this morning. And here in the US, we're currently trading lower.
Here's what I’m focused on this morning:
Insider Action?
I love to follow insider activity - you guys know that. When an insider buys stock, it’s often (though, not always) a sign that better times may lie down the road. With that as a backdrop, here are a few companies on my radar screen. General Mills (GIS):
Although the company may be coming off a lower-than-expected quarter, and the shares are trading near their low, it appears as though a director ponied up for 10,000 shares in late March. That’s a pretty big vote of confidence.
Coca-Cola (KO):
I’m also noticing that a couple of executives seem to think the shares are the real thing. Check out the buying, especially by Barry Diller.
Interesting, right?
IBM (IBM)/Sun Microsystems (JAVA):
See, this is why, in this column on Friday (Ticker Shock: RIMM Hits Nothing But Net), I mentioned that somebody asked me whether or not they thought it’d be a good idea to hop into Sun in the low to mid $8s. And I mentioned that I didn’t like the idea, because stuff could go wrong. And it looks like stuff may indeed be going wrong.
Per the Associated Press:
“IBM Corp. withdrew its offer to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. for about $7 billion this weekend, clouding the prospects for a deal that would shake up the computing industry, The Associated Press has learned.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, it looks as if Sun will open lower.
I have no plans to scoop up Sun, even if it does pull back to the $6s in today’s session - which is where it looks like the shares will open. At the same time, I do have a hunch that the 2 parties will chat and ultimately end up working out some sort of deal. I think it’s important, particularly for Sun, to make something happen. Its shares have been essentially dead money for the last 2 years, and I see no other major catalyst on the near-term horizon.
Hold the email folks: I realize IBM’s stock hasn't fared too much better during that same time. But hey, it’s IBM for Pete’s sake.
I don't think this dance is over just yet.
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