Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH), North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NYSE:NADL) and Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR) are today’s top gainers midday. Getting a slow start to this four-day week are midday losers Voltari Corp (NASDAQ:VLTC), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) and International Tower Hill Mines Ltd(NYSEMKT:THM).
Hillshire Brands Surges on News of Potential Pilgrim’s Pride Buy
Up an impressive +21.99%, Hillshire Brands Co (NYSE:HSH) is this Tuesday’s top midday gainer. Poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) said today that it made a multi-billion-dollar offer to buy Hillshire – an interesting move considering that the latter announced at the start of the month plans to acquire Pinnacle Foods (NYSE:PF). With positions in both HSH and PPC, billionaire George Soros stands to benefit from these moves.
North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NYSE:NADL) surged +10.59% on news of a new deal with Russia’s Rosneft. George Soros initiated a position in the offshore drilling contractor in the first quarter of the year.
Yet another new Soros pick takes the last spot on today’s list of midday gainers: Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR). It’s price jumped +10.01% today and continues its 2014 stride, with its price up +15.94% YTD.
Voltari Corp., Himax Technologies Dip
Voltari Corp (NASDAQ:VLTC) plunged -10.50% today, bringing its five-day losses to a total -21.16%. The mobile data solutions provider has been in Carl Icahn’s investment portfolio for four consecutive quarters.
Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX) dipped -9.01% early in the day today following reports that Renasas Electronics plans to sell its stake in a unit that supplies driver display chips for Apple. In the portfolios of billionaire investor Julian Robertson and also a Tiger Global holding, HIMX has had a rough go as of late and is down -53.98% this year alone.
The share price of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd (NYSEMKT:THM) slipped -7.26% midday today. Despite today’s loss, the long-time John Paulson pick is having a nice run in 2014 and has gained +35.85% since the start of the year.
