Diamonds and Dogs




04/17/2012
Zynga Inc. (ZNGA)Zynga's logo is a dog and today that is just what Zynga is, down 5.80% at $10.31. The company is thought to be down today due to the fact that Zynga executives told Bloomberg that they were looking to make more acquisitions in the next few years. The latest acquisition of the company, OMGPop, cost Zynga $180 million. While such acquisitions will help Zynga to keep its games on the top of charts, it worries many investors. These investors are left questioning; will Zynga have to continue to buy its way to the top? Can the company continue to create popular new games, or has it lost its touch? Zynga is in a dog fight today, trying to keep its investors from bailing on them.
West Pharmaceutical Inc. (WST)
West Pharmaceutical isn't heading west today, just north, up 12.72% at $45.01. The company is up today based on the beating analysts' estimates. First quarter EPS estimates were at $0.65, compared to the actual EPS of $0.83. Furthermore the adjusted profit per share for 2012 rose from the range of $2.37-$2.55, to the range of $2.50-$2.67. The improved outlook for West Pharmaceutical forced the stock upward to an eight month high. With another solid day of trading the shares might be able reach the 52-week high. The market did extremely well today (Dow up 194 points, S&P up 21, and the Nasdaq up 54). With such a great day in the market many stocks were up, and West Pharmaceutical was able to post some of the largest gains.