US SMALL/MIDCAPS-Toll Bros; Regeneron lead as stocks edge up
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Mid- and small cap stocks edged higher on Wednesday after solid results from homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL.N) and a partnership expansion by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN.O) with Sanofi-Aventis (SNY.N)(SASY.PA).
Midcap Toll Brothers Inc surged 14.6 percent to $21.07 after reporting preliminary fourth-quarter results that blew past Wall Street expectations by nearly $100 million, with a 42 percent increase in net contracts to 765 units. For details, see [ID:nN10336909]
"What I found positive was that the rate of cancellations was only about 6 or 6-1/2 percent. That tells me we are getting a lot closer to the residential real estate market being normalized," said Edward Hemmelgarn, chief investment officer of Shaker Investments in Cleveland.
"We're not off to the races, but we're looking a lot better than we did six months ago."
Gains were limited by a decline in Flowers Foods Inc (FLO.N), which dropped 6.2 percent to $22.39 after quarterly sales came in below analysts' expectations, and the company cut its full-year outlook, citing intense promotional competition. [ID:nBNG321049].
Small cap biotech Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc jumped 19.4 percent to $18.87 after the company said it had reached a deal with Sanofi-Aventis to expand and extend their current antibody collaboration, with Sanofi boosting its funding commitment to $160 million from $100 million. [ID:nWNAB4057]
But Sigma Designs Inc (SIGM.O) slumped 11.1 percent to $10.97 after Collins Stewart cut the chipmaker for the IPTV set-top box market and Blu-ray players to "sell" from "hold," citing concerns of a greater-than-expected market share loss to rivals such as Broadcom Corp (BRCM.O).
The S&P MidCap 400 index .MID added 0.5 percent while the S&P SmallCap 600 index .SML gained 0.7 percent. By comparison, the large cap S&P 500 index .SPX rose 0.5 percent. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
