There’s no additional news yet on Axiall Corp. (AXLL), since the company rejected a $1.4 billion ($20/share) takeover attempt by Westlake Chemical (WLK). The stock has traded between 17 and 19.59 since that news emerged on January 29, and it’s climbing again today.
Westlake hired Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to advise them. There’s a strong likelihood that Westlake will return with a higher offer. If such an offer materializes, you will not be required to make a fast decision. I’ll keep you apprised of how to proceed in my weekly updates.
If you’re concerned that no offer will materialize, and that Axiall’s share price will fall, put in a stop-loss around 17.
Yesterday, Vulcan Materials (VMC) reported fourth-quarter 2015 results of $0.31 per share, when the market was expecting $0.26. As a result, the stock is climbing. The price could climb to 97 quickly, but would then likely trade sideways for a little while before climbing again.
If the price gets to 97 quickly—before my next report—and you want to trade out into a stock that’s low and rising, here are some good choices from the Smart Investing portfolios: Boise Cascade (BCC), BorgWarner (BWA), FedEx (FDX) and Johnson Controls (JCI). These stocks are on an uptrend, and each appears to have room to grow more than 10% in the very short-term.
Buy-and-hold investors should continue to hold VMC. The company has a great outlook for aggressive earnings growth.