Stock Alert: Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), BASF SE (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BASFY), Bayer AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BAYRY)

Comcast Corp.’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE:TWC) may be the opening act for a yearlong festival of telecommunications deals that would alter Internet, phone and TV service for tens of millions of Americans. Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) stock performance was -1.57% in last session and finished the day at $135.97. Traded volume was 5.10million shares in the last session and the average volume of the stock remained 3.21million shares. The beta of the stock remained 0.86. Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) insider ownership is 0.10%.

Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) failed to inform the Japanese government of several serious side effects associated with its leukemia drug, Tasigna. Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) knew of more than 10 cases in which patients experienced serious side effects while being treated with Tasigna, but did not report these instances to Japanese officials. As a result, the Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry has opened an investigation into whether or not Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) broke the country’s pharmaceutical affairs law. Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) dropped -0.16 percent to $88.47 Tuesday on volume of 1.31million shares. The intra-day range of the stock was $88.31 to $88.70. Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) has a market capitalization of $216.47billion.

In draft guidance published this morning, the UK drugs watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has not recommended US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary Janssen’s Zytiga (abiraterone) for prostate cancer which has spread in people whose first treatment has failed, have no or mild symptoms and for whom chemotherapy is not yet clinically indicated. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock on May 13, 2014 reported a increase of 0.50% to the closing price of $101.02. Its fifty two weeks range is $82.12 -$101.98. The total market capitalization recorded $285.80billion. The overall volume in the last trading session was 6.18million shares. In its share capital, JNJ has 2.83billion outstanding shares.

Germany’s chemical industry expects output and sales to rise slightly this year, boosted by domestic demand, which rose 6% in first quarter from the year-earlier period. Chemicals association VCI, representing over 90% of Germany’s industry, said optimism among chemical producers is on the rise as the outlook for the euro-zone economy brightens, VCI President Karl-Ludwig Kley said in a news release. Industrial chemical prices were flat on the quarter, signaling that prices aren’t likely to fall much further this year, VCI said. Prices during the first three months of the year were down 2.4% from the year-earlier quarter. The outlook is in accord with major chemical companies like BASF SE (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BASFY), which has projected moderate growth and an end to falling prices this year. On Tuesday, shares of BASF SE (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BASFY) dropped -0.36% to close the day at $114.57.

Merck agreed to sell its consumer-products business, including the allergy-treatment Claritin and nasal decongestant Afrin, to German drug maker Bayer AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BAYRY) for $14.2 billion. Shares fell 2.5%. Bayer AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BAYRY) stock performance was -0.32% in last session and finished the day at $141.05. The beta of the stock remained 1.48.