Cerner Corporation (CERN) stock gained a huge 19% in the premarket hours amid speculations of Oracle’s takeover talks of the company.
During regular trading, the stock barely kept in the green with a small gain of 0.72% at its close of $79.49. Following the emergence of the news in the premarket today, the stock jumped up to $95.
The medical records company Cerner Corporation has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, Currently, the company has 294.22 million outstanding shares in the market.
What is Happening?
On December 16, news emerged that Oracle Corp. is in talks for the takeover of CERN at about $30 billion. According to Wall Street Journal, the company might soon reach a deal. Furthermore, if the deal goes through, it would be Oracle’s biggest acquisition to date. Moreover, Oracle is the second-largest software company by revenue and market capitalization.
The emergence of the news caused CERN stock to rally big in the after hours. Hence, it crossed its 52-week high of $84.20, as it reached $97.50. Previously, the stock had attained the 52-week high on January 28, 2021. Currently, it has reached well beyond the 52-week high which will be marked as the new high aftermarket opens on Friday. Further, there is sure enough possibility of the stock crossing the current value if it did not fall under corrections soon.
CERN’s Quarterly Dividends
On December 10, the company announced increased quarterly dividends. As per the announcement, CERN’s board of directors issued a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per outstanding share. This shows an increase of 23% from the previous quarter’s dividend of $0.22. Moreover, the record date for shareholders for the dividend is December 27, 2021. Further, the cash dividend will be payable on January 11, 2022.
Financial Analysis
On October 29, 2021, the company declared its financial results for the third quarter of 2021. The Q3 ended on September 30, 2021. In the third quarter of 2021, CERN generated revenue of $1.468 billion, against $1.369 billion in Q3 of 2020. This marked an increase of 7% year-over-year. Further, the third quarter’s revenue beat the consensus estimate by 1.16%.
Moreover, the adjusted non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.86 in the third quarter of 2021. This shows an increase of 19% from $0.72 in the third quarter of 2020. Further, the earnings per share also beat the consensus estimate of $0.82 for the quarter.
