Cobalt International bounces around before 10-point upswing; FirstEnergy higher; pharma mixed; retailers tight

By Colin Hanner

Chicago, April 7 – The distressed market was “lackluster” on Friday, a trader said, with notable distressed names continuing to dominate the most-active list.

“Treasuries were down, stocks were teetering here and there,” a trader said. “There was just not a lot of conviction heading into the weekend. Clearly, after lot of newsworthy stuff was going on with Syria. People don’t want to have a lot of conviction on bets before heading into the weekend.”

Perhaps the second-biggest headline after the bombing of a Syrian airbase by U.S. forces was the release of nonfarm payrolls for March, which came in lower than expected though a trader said that news had cleared out by the afternoon to cap off a day of low volume.

For the third-straight session, crude oil future prices continued to rally, as did many related exploration and production companies, traders said.

California Resources Corp. was down on the session, but one of the wider movements of the day was from oil and exploration company Cobalt International Energy, Inc., which traded into the double digits during intraday trading before paring those gains mid-day.

Akron, Ohio-based energy company FirstEnergy Corp. fared as well as Cobalt, though a trader said he did not see a reason behind it.

Pharmaceutical companies were mixed on the session.

Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. was up or flat in two of its issues, respectively.

satellite telecommunications Intelsat SA was “a bit better” on the session, a trader said, trading up near a round number, as was broadcasting and outdoor advertising company iHeartCommunications Inc.

Up oil sees mixed movement

Below the $50 level heading into the week, crude futures were higher for the third-straight session by over a point, though distressed names did not move in sync with the prices.

California Resources’ 8% notes due 2022 were down ¼ point to 82, a trader said.

On the other hand, Houston-based Cobalt International’s 7¾% notes due 2023 were up around 10 points, starting the day in the mid-50s, then skyrocketing to the low-70s before paring to a mid-60s handle, a trader said.

FirstEnergy higher

FirstEnergy’s long-bonds – its 6 3/8% notes due 2039 – were 3¼ points higher on the day, a trader said.

On Friday, several Cleveland-area publications reported on recently introduced legislation in the state’s senate, SB 128, which would give “so-called zero emissions credits” to FirstEnergy’s nuclear plants, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported.

The plants’ survival have been a point of contention in the struggling energy company’s restructuring talks.

Electricity provider GenOn Energy Inc.’s 9 7/8% notes due 2020 were up 1 to 67½.

Health care mixed

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s 6 1/8% notes due 2025 were “normally active” on the session, and traded down ½ point to 74½, a trader said.

Mirroring those losses were the 6 3/8% notes due 2020, which were down ½ point to 86¾.

Changing course, Endo International plc’s 6% notes due 2023 were up 1/8 point to 85¾.

In the hospital sector, Quorum Health Corp.’s 11 5/8% notes due 2023 were down almost 2 points to 85½.

The movement comes more than two weeks after the Brentwood, Tenn.-based group announced its disappointing quarterly results, and just a day after Quorum announced it would not seek legal claims against its former company, Community Health Systems, Inc.

Neiman flat and lower

In a week that has seen further shakeup of the traditional retail landscape, Neiman Marcus Group capped the week flat and down in two of its most notable issues.

The 8% notes due 2021 were “about where they were” at a 60½ handle, a trader said, and the 8¾% notes due 2021 were down 1½ points to 56¼.

Fellow brick-and-mortar retailer J.C. Penney Co., Inc.’s 6 3/8% notes due 2036 were unchanged at 76¼.

Distressed roundup

Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA’s 7¼% notes due 2020 were ½ to 1 point better to 93, a trader said.

San Antonio, Texas-based iHeartCommunications’ 9% notes due 2021 were up ¾ point to 76¼, a trader said.

And Philadelphia-based packaging and paperboard company Paperworks Industries Inc.’s 9% notes due 2019 were down ¼ point to 77¾, building on the ¾-point loss it suffered Thursday.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.