A sharp gain in existing home sales lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 28 points to 13,592. Nasdaq slipped 3 points to 3174.
On the upside
Cypress Semiconductor (Nasdaq: CY) will pay a premium of approximately $109.8 million in cash to acquire Ramtron International (Nasdaq: RMTR).
Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to a Buy rating and lifted her price target from $14 to $16.
Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Achillion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACHN) with a Buy rating.
On the downside
Shares of Deckers Outdoors (Nasdaq: DECK) continued falling after Sterne Agee analyst Sam Poser warned of disappointing Uggs sales on Monday.
Citron reported that Aetna (NYSE: AET) will not reimburse for Questcor's (Nasdaq: QCOR) Achtar when used to treat multiple sclerosis and nephrotic syndrome.
JPMorgan downgraded Waste Management (NYSE: WM) to an Underweight rating.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 858.
Existing Home Sales Climb, Markets Open Higher
September 19, 2012 at 10:44 AM EDT