The deal could close the deal in this quarter, subject to conditions including regulatory approvals and a vote of Stamps.com holders.

However, the deal includes a 40-day period (through Aug. 18) during which Stamps.com  can actively seek better acquisition proposals.During this period, the board will have the right to terminate the Thoma Bravo agreement without penalty.

Chief Executive Ken McBride said that with Thoma Bravo's backing, Stamps.com will intend to capture the expanding e-commerce shipping market.

"The e-commerce landscape is rapidly evolving and we look forward to partnering with the Stamps.com team to continue building on the company’s leading position in e-commerce shipping solutions," said Thoma Bravo principal Brian Jaffee.

The deal will value the cybersecurity company at $12.3 billion.

Proofpoint shareholders will receive $176 in cash for each outstanding share, a 33.55% premium to its Friday closing price.

The  deal also includes a 45-day 'Go Shop" period that will expire on June 9.

“Proofpoint has established itself as a true powerhouse in the cybersecurity sector due to its innovative suite of market-leading products and impressive customer base of leading companies around the world,” said Thomas Brova partner Chip Virnig.“As the sophistication of cyberattacks continues to increase, Proofpoint is delivering the most effective solutions to help organizations protect their data and people across digital platforms.

BancorpSouth Bank reported Q4 earnings that surpassed analysts’ expectations.Revenue, too, beat estimates.

The bank’s earnings per share came in at $0.65, compared to expectations of $0.62.

Revenue rose +4.19% year-over-year to $255.76 million, exceeding the estimate of $255.4 million.

BancorpSouth Bank is a $13 billion bank based in Mississippi, with banking and insurance operations in eight different states through almost 300 branches.

Financial advisory and broking solutions company Willis Towers Watson announced a partnership with data analytics company Polecat Intelligence Ltd.The partnership aims to develop insurance & risk management solutions to help organisations/clients  respond to the rapidly changing and complex challenges they face.

Polecat’s Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will support Willis Towers Watson in areas such as life sciences, reputational and product recall risk as well as D&O. Real-time risk analysis from unstructured data, for example, will be a key feature of the collaboration.

Willis hopes to leverage Polecat’s data expertise in helping clients with risk mitigation.

James Lawn, co-CEO of Polecat, said, “Polecat exists to provide foresight for Corporate Boards and Executive Leadership teams to make better decisions on emerging risks and opportunities.

Dunkin’ Brands could soon be run by private equity. The doughnut company held preliminary discussions to be acquired by private equity-backed restaurant company Inspire Brands, according to a Dunkin’ statement on Sunday.(The deal would take Dunkin’ Brands private at a price of $106.50 a share, said the New York Times which first reported the development). However, there is no certainty that any agreement will be reached, and neither party will comment further unless and until a transaction is reached according to company spokeswoman, Karen Raskopf. Dunkin' website ,mentions that the company owns around 21,000 "points of distribution" in more than 60 countries - that includes 12,900 Dunkin' restaurant franchises and 8,000 Baskin-Robbins stores.  

In 14 of 26 cases where NGHC's RSI indicator exited the overbought zone, the price fell further within the following month.The odds of a continued Downtrend are 54%. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) crossed below the signal line.

Shares of Sina Corp.  surged +10% in premarket trading Monday, after the China-based online media company said that it received a buyout bid from New Wave. The buyout bid would value Sina at about $2.68 billion.In 34 of 43 cases where SINA's MACD histogram became positive, the price rose further within the following month.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals  has agreed to buy Portola Pharmaceuticals   for $1.41 billion.  The deal,  where Alexion will pay $18 a share for the acquisition,  is expected to help Alexion boost its portfolio by including Portola's coagulation factor Xa drug Andexxa."The acquisition of Portola represents an important next step in our strategy to diversify beyond C5," Alexion Chief Executive Ludwig Hantson said in a statement. The acquisition is expected to in the third quarter.

Mylan got an approval from the Food and Drug Administration on the  generic-drug maker's version of Eliquis. Eliquis is a tablet for  reducing stroke risks and pulmonary embolisms in individuals.It’s also used against deep vein thrombosis. The approval is part of FDA’s program Drug Competition Action Plan, which is aimed at providing more affordable medicine for patients.

The oil & gas exploration sector went through a rough patch from November 5 through November 19 with the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE: XOP) falling over 10% during that stretch.Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) fell with the sector and continued to fall for a few more days.

Sure Dunkin Brands Group (Nasdaq: DNKN) operates 12,900 Dunkin Donuts locations, but it also has 8,000 Baskin-Robbins locations. The stock has been performing well over the last few years and there are a number of positive signs that it could continue to perform well. Looking at the fundamental statistics, the company has seen earnings grow by 14% per year over the last three years while sales have increased by 19% per year during the same timeframe.In addition, the profit margin is above average at 23.6%. The statistics above help give the company an SMR rating from Tickeron of 4.

MyoKardia Inc MYOK 1.87%, a thinly traded mid-cap biotech, is on the radar of investors ahead of the company's scheduled presentation at the European Society of Cardiology Congress Aug. 31-Sept. 4 in Paris. The South San Francisco, California-based biotech, founded in 2012, uses a precision medicine approach to discover and develop targeted therapies for serious and neglected rare cardiovascular diseases. READ MORE...

Specialty chip manufacturer Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) has been trending lower since the second half of April and a downward sloped trend channel has formed over the last few months.Past predictions on the stock have been successful 67% of the time. Looking at the fundamentals for Cree, the company has not performed as well as its peers.

We see on the daily chart how a trend channel has formed that defines the overall trend in the past year. Normally I point out when a stock is hitting the upper rail of a downward sloping channel, but in the case of Mylan, it is only at the midpoint of the channel.The daily stochastic readings are in overbought territory and made a bearish crossover on July 8. The Tickeron Trend Prediction Engine generated a bearish signal on Mylan on July 5 with a confidence level of 85%.

However, the timeline for the said closures is yet to be disclosed. Over the past decade, Ascena’s portfolio is made up of apparel brands through acquisitions including plus-size retailer Lane Bryant and women's apparel brand Ann Taylor.But as stores and shopping have mostly shifted online, Ascena is rethinking its strategies for its physical stores to offset debt load. Till July 2018, same-store sales were down 2%, and the company had a total debt of $1.33 billion to recover during the same period.

Mylan NV fell the most in 19 years after the drugmaker offered no updates on a strategic review that has been going on for 10 months as its businesses struggle around the globe. Read More...

Mylan’s first-quarter revenue fell short of analysts' expectations.  The pharmaceutical company reported revenue of $2.5 billion, falling behind analysts’ expectations of  $2.69 billion.Revenue from its U.S. business declined -6%. However, the pharmaceutical company’s adjusted earnings came in at 82 cents per share, beating analysts’ estimates of 79 cents per share. For the full year, the company projects earnings to range between $3.80 and $4.80 per share, while predicting a revenue range of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported positive top-line data on pipeline candidate, M281 from a phase I single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) study of normal human volunteers. Read more...

Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) is engaged in the exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and liquid natural gas.It is also worth noting that the stock hit overbought territory last week, based on the 10-day RSI and the daily stochastic readings. The Tickeron AI Prediction tool generated a bearish signal on Noble Energy on February 22.

Generic drugmaker Mylan on Tuesday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and forecast 2019 earnings well below Wall Street estimates, as it grapples with significant problems at its Morgantown, West Virginia, plant. Read More...