Praxair (PX) Scales 52-Week High: What's Driving the Rally?

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Shares of Praxair, Inc. (PX - Free Report) scaled a 52-week high of $169.26 during the trading session on Oct 2, before retracing a bit to close at $169.03. The prime reason behind this surge can be attributed to the recently-received anti-trust clearance for the proposed business combination between Praxair and Linde AG.

The company has a market cap of $48.6 billion. Over the last three months, its average volume of shares traded has been approximately 1.5M. Also, Praxair surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 3.46%.

Notably, the stock has rallied around 19% in a year’s time, higher than the S&P 500’s gain of 16%. Additionally, Praxair has outperformed the 4% decline recorded by the industry during the same time frame.

Investors are optimistic on this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company, backed by Praxair’s solid backlog and new order wins. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

What Led to the 52-Week High?

In June 2017, Praxair signed a business combination agreement with Linde to form a new holding entity. The all-stock transaction will combine Praxair's efficient operating model and Linde's expertise in engineering and technology, creating a leading industrial gas company with a robust international presence, a large customer base, and solid financial flexibility. Moreover, the merger will likely close in second-half 2018.

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