Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Chimerix Slides Following Phase 3 Trial Failure; InterDigital Shares Rise

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.18 percent to 17,520.77 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.31 percent to 5,033.01. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.32 percent to 2,054.50. Leading and Lagging Sectors On Monday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares slipped by just 0.07 percent. Top gainers in the sector included LifeVantage Corp LFVN, Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao-ADR CBD, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated COKE. In trading on Monday, energy shares dropped by 2.06 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC VNR, down 12 percent, and Peabody Energy Corporation BTU, down 13 percent. Top Headline Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and Pep Boys-Manny Moe and Jack PBY announced Thursday that Bridgestone had increased the offer price to acquire all the outstanding shares of Pep Boys common stock from $15.50 per share to $17.00 per share in cash, or approximately $947 million. That's fifty cents per share higher than Carl Icahn's latest offer of $16.50 per share, presented on December 18. Equities Trading UP InterDigital, Inc. IDCC shares shot up 4 percent to $49.56 after the company raised its fourth-quarter revenue guidance. Shares of Rovi Corporation ROVI got a boost, shooting up 12 percent to $17.79 after the company reported the renewal of patent license deal for entertainment discovery portfolio with Sony Corp (ADR) SNE. pSivida Corp. PSDV shares were also up, gaining 9 percent to $4.76 after the company announced its plans to file for EU marketing approval of Medidur™ based on single Phase 3 clinical trial. Equities Trading DOWN Chimerix Inc CMRX shares tumbled 81 percent to $6.63 following Phase 3 trial failure. Chimerix announced in a press release that a Phase 3 study for its SUPPRESS of brincidofovir did not achieve a primary endpoint for the prevention of clinically significant cytomegalovirus infection through Week 24 after transplant. Shares of Iconix Brand Group Inc ICON were down 23 percent to $5.72 after the company confirmed in a press release it is cooperating with the SEC following a formal order of investigation. According to Iconix, the investigation is related to the accounting treatment for the formation of certain joint ventures. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX was down, falling around 9 percent to $103.30 after the company issued a press release, confirming that its chairman and chief executive officer J. Michael Pearson will be on a medical leave of absence, effective immediately. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 3.39 percent to $36.81, while gold traded down 0.83 percent to $1,067.00. Silver traded down 3.64 percent Monday to $13.86, while copper fell 2.07 percent to $2.08. Eurozone European shares closed lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.49 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index slipped 1.35 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index dropped 0.41 percent. The French CAC 40 slipped 0.97 percent, while German DAX fell 0.69 percent. Economics The Dallas Fed manufacturing business index dipped to -20.10 in December, versus a prior reading of -4.90. However, economists were expecting a reading of -7.00.