On the upside
Varian (Nasdaq: VARI) received a $1.5 billion cash offer from scientific instrument maker Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A).
Shares of Acadia Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACAD) rallied for a 2nd day after the company announced positive late-stage trial results for its Parkinson's disease treatment. NBTY
Vitamin supplement maker NBTY (Nasdaq: NBTY) reported higher revenues and flat earnings that beat expectations.
On the downside
Shares of Aetna (NYSE: AET) fell after the health insurance provider reported higher revenues and flat membership growth. Higher expenses trimmed earnings.
Specialty glass maker Corning (NYSE: GLW) posted lower revenues and earnings that beat expectations, but analysts noted most of the demand came from smaller and mid-size displays with tighter margins.
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) reported slightly higher revenues and lower profits despite adding 1.1 million subscribers in the quarter.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a slim margin on the NYSE, but were edged out by a narrow margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks was unchanged at 548.
