(For more market insights, including options activity, click on ; for the Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, http://link.reuters.com/nex49s)U.S. stocks edged lower on Monday, falling from record levels asa weaker-than-expected read on manufacturing gave traders anexcuse to sell. The Dow Jones industrial average was up0.11 percent at 16,735.12 and the S&P 500 was up 0.03percent at 1,924.08.
** GOOGLE INC, $561.33, -1.81 pct
Google services are being disrupted in China ahead of thisweek's 25th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracydemonstrators around Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a censorshipwatchdog said on Monday.
** GIGATRONICS INC, $2.65, +119.01 pct
The company said it had received orders valued at about $6.9million from a major aerospace company for the delivery of YIG(Yttrium Iron Garnet) filters used in wireless communication.Gigatronics did not name the customer but said it "will be asupplier of filter systems for all three of the US designed 4thgeneration fighters." Gigatronics also said it was expecting anorder later this year for about $10 million associated with theproduction units.
** EVERYWARE GLOBAL INC, $1.78, +61.82 pct
The company, which sells dinnerware and kitchen gadgets,said on Saturday that its asset-backed loan lenders agreed notto exercise their rights and remedies till June 30 following adefault on certain covenants.
Everyware said it also intends to partially reopen itsMonaca, Pennsylvania facility.
** BEBE STORES INC, $3.36, -17.55 pct
The women's apparel retailer's Chief Executive SteveBirkhold has sold 140,980 shares of the company at an averageprice of $4.07, a regulatory filing late on Friday revealed. (http://link.reuters.com/beq79v)
** NPS PHARMACEUTICALS INC, $33.92, +8.96 pct
London-listed drugmaker Shire Plc has secured a $5billion credit facility for a takeover offer forNew-Jersey-based NPS Pharmaceuticals, The Times of Londonreported on Sunday. Insiders told The Times that an initialapproach to NPS by Shire has been rebuffed.
** MASTEC INC, $32.18, -10.61 pct
The infrastructure construction company said on Sunday thatit now estimates second-quarter revenue of about $1.1 billion,below its previous forecast of $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion.The company cited lower than previously expected revenue fromwireless projects and the oil and gas segment for the revision.
Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target on the stock to $45from $49 on Monday.
** PROTECTIVE LIFE CORP, $58.5, +11.85 pct
Japanese insurer Dai-ichi Life Co is in advancedtalks to buy U.S. peer Protective Life in a deal that could beworth over $5 billion, extending a drive to buy assets abroad asan antidote to a weak domestic outlook.
** CLOVIS ONCOLOGY, The company reported positive data from an early stage studytesting its experimental lung cancer drug on Friday, but said 22percent of patients experienced high-blood sugar severe enoughto warrant treatment. The drug - similar to AstraZeneca Plc's AZD9291 - isdesigned to target non-small cell lung cancer containing agenetic mutation. ** BROADCOM CORP, $34.85, +9.35 pct The chipmaker said it was looking to sell or wind down itscost-intensive cellular baseband business that is hurting itsoperating income due to high research and development costs. ** ARCTIC CAT INC $33.65, -9.79 pct The maker of all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles said ChiefExecutive Claude Jordon has stepped down. The company namedChris Twomey as interim CEO. ** NORDION INC $12.86, +7.62 pct U.S.-based Sterigenics International has sweetened itstakeover offer for Nordion Inc, the Canadian medicalisotope producer, to $805 million after a previous bid failed toattract enough shareholder support, Nordion said on Monday. ** ARIAD PHARMACEUTICALS INC, $6.94, +7.43 pct The company said longer-term data from two studies of itsleukemia drug, Iclusig, showed that the drug continues to beeffective in patients who have already received treatment. Iclusig was allowed a restricted return to the U.S. marketin December, after sales were suspended due to safety concerns. ** JUMEI INTERNATIONAL HOLDING LTD, $29.42, +6.98pct Brokerage JG Capital initiated coverage on the Chineseonline cosmetics retailer's stock with an "overweight" rating,saying it expects Jumei to benefit from the company's strongbrand awareness, large loyal user base and online shopping'sincreasing penetration in China. ** CONN'S INC, $48.345, +3.66 pct The electronics and home appliance retailer reported abetter-than-expected profit for the first quarter as furnitureand mattress sales jumped about 65 percent. ** AMERICAN REALTY CAPITAL HEALTHCARE TRUST INC,$10.83, +8.84 pct ** VENTAS INC, $64.49, -3.46 pct Ventas, one of the largest U.S. healthcare real estateinvestment trusts, said it would buy American Realty CapitalHealthcare Trust in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $2.6billion. ** PENN VIRGINIA CORP, $14.321, -5.66 pct The oil and gas producer said it would sell its Mississippiassets to an undisclosed buyer for about $72.7 million. Theassets had net production of about 11.9 million cubic feet ofnatural gas equivalent per day during the first quarter. ** MEADWESTVACO CORP, $42.45, +4.61 pct Activist investor Starboard Value LP reported a 5.6 percentstake in MeadWestvaco and said the packaging materials maker'sstock was "deeply undervalued". ** CENTURY ALUMINUM CO, $14.095, +3.26 pct Analysts at BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded the company's stockto "neutral", according to StreetInsider.com. ** EXPRESS INC, $12.52, -0.71 pct ** AEROPOSTALE INC, $3.72, -4.86 pct Nomura Equity Research cut its price targets on the apparelretailers' stocks. The brokerage cut its price target onExpress's shares to $16 from $20, and on Aeropostale's stock to$5 from $6. ** WALTER ENERGY INC, $4.62, -5.33 pct ** ARCH COAL INC, $3.5, -1.69 pct ** ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES INC, $3.38, +0.00 pct ** PEABODY ENERGY CORP, $16.2, +0.25 pct The United States on Monday formally announced a plan toslash carbon emissions from the power sector by 30 percentnationwide below 2005 levels by 2030, a key element of PresidentBarack Obama's plan to tackle global warming. For a factbox, click ** THERAVANCE BIOPHARMA, $27.94, -2.48 pct Robert W. Baird & Co analyst Brian Skorney downgraded thebiotechnology company's stock to "neutral" from "outperform",saying, "We think the stock may be particularly volatile in thenear term and see little fundamental upside without betterclarity into acceleration of Breo and Anoro sales." Breo and Anoro are two FDA-approved treatments developed bythe company in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline Plc for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a serious lungcondition. Theravance said it would split into two publicly traded U.S.companies in April last year, separating some of its mostadvanced respiratory drugs from its other biopharmaceuticaloperations. ** ALLERGAN INC, $170.25, +1.67 pct ** VALEANT PHARMACEUTICALS INC , $131.39, +0.14 pct Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc on Monday prepared totake its $53.8 billion takeover bid for Allergan directly to theBotox maker's shareholders, and ally Pershing Square called fora meeting to turn over the target company's board. For a BREAKINGVIEWS column, ** RICE ENERGY INC, $31.32, -1.29 pct ** ANTERO RESOURCES CORP, $61.98, +0.78 pct ** CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP, $29.21, +1.71 pct ** GULFPORT ENERGY CORP, $61.84, +0.50 pct ** RANGE RESOURCES CORP, $92.54, -0.44 pct ** STONE ENERGY CORP, $43.71, -1.53 pct Natural gas producer Rice Energy, which went public earlierthis year, said it had successfully tested its first Utica Shalewell in Ohio. The well, the Bigfoot 9H, had a stabilized production rateof 41.69 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) of gas, the companysaid. The market estimate was at about 30 mmcf/d, analysts atTudor, Pickering, Holt & Co said in a note. The high production rate was a positive for otherexploration and production companies with exposure to the drygas window of the Utica, analysts said. ** AMTRUST FINANCIAL SERVICES INC, $41.43, -2.97pct An article on Barron's weekly said the property and casualtyinsurer could be under-reserved due to certain accountingdisparities. (http://r.reuters.com/kaq79v) (Compiled by Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bangalore; Editing bySriraj Kalluvila)