Medivation and Syngenta soar on merger news

Here are some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be tracking for you today.

Medivation (MDVN) stock surged this morning. The cancer drug maker is being bought by Pfizer (PFE) in a deal valued at about $14 billion. That translates to $81.50 a share in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year and will give Pfizer access to Medivation’s cancer drug pipeline. Pfizer terminated its $150 billion dollar deal to buy Allergan (AGN) earlier this year after the Obama administration issued new rules that would make a tax inversion deal less favorable.

US listed shares of Syngenta (SYT) soared in early trading following news that a US national security panel cleared government-owned ChemChina’s $43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds company. The two companies expect the deal to close by the end of the year. However, the tie-up is still subject to antitrust and other regulatory approval.

Facebook (FB) shares are in focus after Barron’s reported over the weekend that the social media giant’s stock has the potential to rise by more than 20% to $153 a share over the next year given the growing advertising revenue among its platforms.

Valeant (VRX) shares were higher in early trading. The embattled Canadian drug maker has hired Paul Herendeen as its new Chief Financial Officer. Herendeen was previously CFO at animal-health giant Zoetis (ZTS). This comes after Valeant replaced its longtime chief executive Michael Pearson with pharmaceutical veteran Joseph Papa in April.