The markets closed flat with the Dow slipping 7 points to 10,359 as investors anticipate a settlement between Goldman Sachs and the Securities and Exchange Commission for securities fraud. Nasdaq eased a fraction to 2249.
On the upside
Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage of Akorn (Nasdaq: AKRX) with a Market Outperform rating.
Susquehanna Financial Group analyst C. Ming Zhao upgraded Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and set a price target of $50 on the stock saying that the company's microblogging site Sina Weibo is experiencing phenomenal growth.
Bloomberg reported that L-1 Identity Solutions (NYSE: ID) entered negotiations to sell its biometric data tracking unit to Safran.
On the downside
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) reported a drop in ticket sales for the first half of 2010 and warned of lower sales in the second half of the year as well.
Shares of Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NYSE: KLIC) continued to fall after revealing yesterday that a number of orders were pushed out in the fourth quarter.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel rejected Vivus' (Nasdaq: VVUS) obesity treatment Qnexa citing safety concerns. Shares of Vivus were halted while Orexigen Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OREX) and Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA), which both have diet drugs awaiting approval, both dropped.
In the broad market, advancing issues barely edged out decliners by a slim margin on the NYSE while decliners outpaced advancers by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks fell 5 points to 634.
