News Summary

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc VRX gained about 3.7% after the company announced its plans to acquire Lithuania-based AB Sanitas for around 314 million euros ($442.9 million) in cash. The transaction also includes 50 million euros of Sanitas debt. The deal is likely to immediately add to Valeant's results. The major shareholders of Sanitas have agreed to sell the 87.2% of the outstanding shares of Sanitas. After purchasing the controlling block of shares, Valeant would commence a mandatory tender offer to buy the remaining interest in Sanitas. Shares of AutoZone Inc AZO gained about 6.2% after the company reported upbeat earnings for the fiscal third quarter on Tuesday. AutoZone reported its quarterly earnings at $227.4 million, or $5.29 per share, up from $202.7 million, or $4.12 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its sales surged to $1.98 billion from $1.82 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $4.97 per share on sales of $1.92 billion. The retailer's sales at stores open for more than a year increased 5.3%. Shares of Medtronic Inc MDT fell about 2.5% after the company reported a 19% drop in its fourth quarter net income on Tuesday. Medtronic reported its Q4 profit at $776 million, or $0.72 per share, down from $954 million, or $0.86 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding restructuring and other costs of $198 million, Medtronic's earnings came in at $0.90 per share. The company's net sales surged to $4.30 billion from $4.20 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $4.29 billion. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.