News Summary

Shares of Johnson & Johnson JNJ dropped about 1.7% after the company announced its plans to purchase US-Swiss medical device maker Synthes Inc for $21.3 billion in cash and stock. JNJ is offering 159 Swiss francs ($181.30) per share for Synthes, representing a 22% premium over the share price on April 14. Shares of Boeing Co BA rose about 0.1% after the company reported a 13% rise in its first-quarter earnings. Boeing reported its Q1 earnings at $586 million, or $0.78 per share, up from $519 million, or $0.70 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's revenue dropped 2% to $14.91 billion from $15.22 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.70 per share on revenue of $15.27 billion. Boeing reaffirmed its 2011 profit projections of $3.80 to $4 per share, compared with analysts' estimates of $4.09 per share. Shares of SAVVIS Inc SVVS gained about 8.6% after CenturyLink CTL announced its plans to buy SVVS for $40 per share, or $2.5 billion in cash, plus net debt of about $0.7 billion. Shares of Exelon Corp EXC gained about 0.5% after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings. The company's quarterly net income dropped to $668 million, or $1.01 per share, from $749 million, or $1.13 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's adjusted earnings increased to $1.17 per share, from $1 per share. EXC's revenue increased to $5.05 billion, from $4.46 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.05 per share on revenue of $4.63 billion. EXC continues to project 2011 profit of $3.90 to $4.20 per share, versus the consensus of $4.04 per share. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.