The fourth quarter started on a positive note, with major market benchmarks picking up solid gains Monday. The Dow Jones Industrials closed up more than half a percent as market participants focused squarely on the fundamentals of the U.S. economy and the likelihood of a favorable start to earnings season in the next couple of weeks. But beyond the general upward market trend, some companies got particularly good news that sent their shares significantly higher. LiLAC Group (LILAK), Insys Therapeutics (INSY), and Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR -0.47%) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
LiLAC gets a favorable review
LiLAC Group rose about 6% after the tracking stock for billionaire cable-television pioneer John Malone's operations in Latin America and the Caribbean earned favorable comments in Barron's over the weekend. The tracking stock has lost some value lately, and Hurricanes Irma and Maria did enormous damage in some of its markets. Yet the article noted that Malone has been buying back shares, and while it suffered damaged to its infrastructure, it would likely be compensated for much of that via insurance. With Malone planning to spin off LiLAC in the near future, the business should get a chance to demonstrate how well it can command its coverage area and produce long-term growth.
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Insys looks for approval
Insys Therapeutics picked up almost 12% after it told investors that it filed a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration last Friday. The drugmaker hopes to have a new spray-based formulation of its buprenorphine partial mu-opioid agonist approved for managing moderate to severe acute pain. Among the advantages of buprenorphine are its lower potential for abuse, plus its lower incidence of cognitive impairment and constipation. Insys has gotten a lot of attention for its using synthetic versions of chemical ingredients found in marijuana for some of its treatments, but in the end, it has to get FDA approval for its candidate drugs in order to succeed.
Synchronoss sees promise for the future
Finally, Synchronoss Technologies climbed more than 14%. The provider of cloud services for enterprises and mobile network carriers said that its process to find and evaluate strategic alternatives continues. Major shareholder Siris Capital Partners had demanded exclusive negotiations in order to move forward, but Synchronoss said it had determined that exclusivity wasn't in its best interest. The company also cited attractive proposals from other potential partners, which investors hope will eventually bring about a favorable resolution for everyone.
