Why Investors Are Buzzing About These Stocks Today

It’s M&A Thursday, as several major M&A deals have been announced today. Among the companies in the mood for mergers and acquisitions are Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA), Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN), and Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY). In this article, we’ll examine the deals related to those four companies as well as take a look at why Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX) is trending. In addition, we’ll examine relevant hedge fund sentiment towards each of the five stocks.

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The Buyout of Dreamworks Becomes Official

A day after the Wall Street Journal reported that the two companies might be in talks, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) made the rumors official by issuing a press release stating that it is acquiring Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) for $41 in cash per share, for a total equity value of around $3.8 billion. Dreamworks is a global entertainment company with interests that span feature film and tv production, licensing and consumer products, and new media properties, including the Company’s controlling interest in AwesomenessTV. The deal is expected to boost content development at Comcast’s NBCUniversal division and help Comcast diversify away from its cable business, which might undergo secular decline due to cord cutting by millennials. After the deal closes, DreamWorks’ CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will become Chairman of Comcast’s Dreamworks New Media division and serve as a consultant to Comcast’s NBCUniversal division. Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) shares have surged by 24% to $40 per share in late morning trading while Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shares are up by 0.7% on the news.

Of the 786 active funds that we track, 83 funds owned $8.78 billion worth of Comcast Corporation’s shares on December 31, which accounted for 6.30% of the float, while 13 elite funds owned $721.7 million worth of Dreamworks Animation’s shares, amounting to 32.60% of the float.

On the next page we take a closer look at the movement witnessed in the shares of Medivation Inc, Sanofi SA (ADR), and Terex Corporation today.

Sanofi Makes an Acquisition Offer to Medivation 

Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) has retracted by 1% while Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) has surged by 8.7% after the former offered to purchase the latter in a non-binding proposal for $52.50 in cash per share. The offer would represent an all-cash transaction of $9.3 billion and would further Sanofi’s expansion strategy in oncology, especially in the prostate cancer indication. Medivation has a promising prostate cancer therapy, Xtandi, on the market, and two oncology assets in clinical development. Given that experts estimate that one-in-seven men will be diagnosed with some sort of prostate cancer during their lifetime, Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) considers prostate oncology drugs to be an important future growth area. Sanofi also believes that the deal, if closed, would be immediately accretive to earnings and would offer additional value creation opportunities for Sanofi shareholders.

Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway was among 31 elite funds that Insider Monkey tracks which held shares of Sanofi SA at the end of 2015. Cliff Asness‘ AQR Capital Management was among the top shareholders of Medivation Inc (NASDAQ:MDVN) in our database as of the same date.

Terex Merger Benefits Lower

Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX) shares are trending today after Reuters reported that Finnish crane manufacturer Konecranes expects less tax benefits than previously forecast from its proposed merger with Terex Corp. Due to new proposals from U.S regulators, $36 million worth of financing and tax synergies between the two companies might be eliminated. The two companies agreed to an all-share merger late last year, but Terex has since received a $3.4 billion non-binding and all-cash deal from Chinese company Zoomlion. Although some analysts think that the lower synergies could lead Terex to sell itself to Zoomlion, Terex’s board is still committed to the merger with Konecranes. 19 elite funds owned Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX) at the end of the fourth quarter, down by four from the end of the preceding quarter.

Disclosure: None