Friday was a quiet end to the trading week on Wall Street, with major benchmarks generally easing slightly lower. The far-reaching impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma became apparent to market participants today, as the monthly employment figures from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the first drop in jobs in seven years. Yet most acknowledged the short-term nature of that setback, and the positive mood that has prevailed in the stock market for a while generally persisted. Some specific stocks saw big gains, and Herbalife (HLF +5.26%), Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR +0.00%), and Omega Protein (OME +0.00%) 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.
Herbalife has a successful tender
Shares of Herbalife soared 11% after the nutritional supplement specialist announced the results of a tender offer. Herbalife had agreed to purchase up to $600 million in stock at a price between $60 and $68 per share. Those who tendered shares were also given the right to receive an additional payment if Herbalife is taken private within the next two years. Herbalife said that the owners holding 6.7 million shares accepted the offer. Investors were pleased with the results of the tender, but the fact that it wasn't fully subscribed showed that shareholders are confident that Herbalife is actually worth more than the tender price.
Image source: Herbalife.
Synchronoss goes back to the table
Synchronoss Technologies stock soared 32% in the wake of the cloud-backup and mobile-activation company's decision to start talking again with major shareholder Siris Capital about a possible acquisition. After having broken off talks, Synchronoss has agreed to give Siris a period of exclusivity during which the private equity company will have the ability to negotiate a potential acquisition bid. According to Synchronoss, Siris has offered better terms than previous offers included, and investors are optimistic that after a long road that has been plagued by drama and turmoil, a final deal could give them the favorable resolution they've been seeking.
Omega gets an offer it can't refuse
Finally, shares of Omega Protein jumped by nearly a third. The maker of fish-oil supplements and other marine protein products received an offer from Canadian aquaculture specialist Cooke to purchase all of Omega's stock for $22 per share in cash. The deal values Omega Protein at about $500 million, and Cooke said that the deal will further diversify its business exposure to the finfish aquaculture industry. The two parties believe that the acquisition should be complete by the end of 2017 or early in 2018, but Omega shareholders will have to vote in favor of the deal in order for it to move forward.
