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Companies to Watch: Roche gets more time for Spark deal, AstraZeneca shows promise in clinical trial, Snap get upgraded


Here are the companies the Yahoo Finance team is watching for you today.

Pharma giant Roche (RHHBY) is getting a little more time to wrap its $4.3 billion dollar purchase of Spark Therapeutics (ONCE). The deadline to buy all of Spark's outstanding shares has been extended until October 1st. That's while regulators continue their review of the deal. Roche is offering $114.50 a share, which is a more than 15% premium.

AstraZeneca (AZN) is trading near all-time highs, after researchers showed a potential new use for one of its blockbuster drugs. A clinical study showed diabetes medication Farxiga also helped patients suffering from heart failure. The company expects to ask regulators later this year for permission to officially market the drug to heart patients.

Snapchat (SNAP) just got an upgrade to outperform at Evercore. The firm made the call based on the opportunities for Snap in gaming, which analyst Kevin Rippey says could bring in $350 million in revenue. Evercore also raised its price target to $20 from $18. Analysts overall have raised their consensus one-year target price for SNAP by 42% over the past three months.

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Walmart (WMT) is making a bigger push to compete with Amazon. The retailer’s Mexico unit is now offering free same-day delivery within 3 hours. Some 12 thousand products are on the list including laptops, cell phones, and Televisions. Walmart opened two distribution centers for e-commerce in Mexico earlier this year.

EBay (EBAY) is reportedly considering selling both its classified ads business and StubHub. It's designed to avoid a clash with new activist hedge fund investors, according to the Sunday Times, Elliott Management and Starboard Value have been calling for eBay to sell the divisions for months. Both funds reached a deal with management back in March for seats on eBay's board.