Company News for October 21, 2011

• Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) posted a Q3 loss of $0.31 per share, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.05 per share

• KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) reported Q3 EPS of $0.24, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.21 per share. Revenues for the quarter rose 1.4% year-over-year to $1.04 billion

• AutoNation (NYSE:AN) posted Q3 EPS of $0.48, ex-items, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues for the quarter rose 7.1% year-over-year to $3.51 billion

• Share prices of Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ:LRCX) declined 5.91% to close at $40.11 after the semiconductor-equipment maker’s first quarter earnings plunged 63% due to sluggishness in the chip segment

• A definitive merger agreement was concluded between AAR Corp (NYSE:AAR) and Telair International under which AAR Corp will buy Telair International and Nordisk Aviation Products, AS from Teleflex Inc. (TFX) for a purchase price of $280 million

• Shares of retailer Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) increased 0.41% after Thomas Cole, the chief administration officer of the company filed paperwork to sell 72,000 shares of the company

• Shares of Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. (NYSE:PRX) fell 2.32% to close at $28.63 after the pharma company disclosed that it has acquired rights of three products from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ:TEVA) after Teva acquired Cephalon, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEPH)

• On Thursday, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced that it plans to buy BNI Video, a private company for a deal worth $99 million in cash and retention-based incentives

• Analysts at Wunerlich upgraded shares of New Oriental Education & Technology (NYSE:EDU) to "Buy" rating from "Hold" rating

• Analysts at Jefferies upgraded shares of Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) to "Buy" rating from "Hold" rating

tooltip here...