As previously reported, Raymond James upgraded HCP two notches to Outperform from Underperform and established a $35 price target on shares. Analyst Jonathan Hughes is more constructive on HCP's attractive asset mix following an extensive transformation over the past year and said it now has the highest exposure among the Big Three Healthcare REITs to medical office buildings and life science assets and the lowest exposure to the more volatile senior housing operating sector. Hughes also said shares are attractive on a NAV basis and expects management to get "back on offense" with its now attractive cost of capital and source accretive acquisition opportunities.

IBM (IBM) is nearing a deal to acquire HashiCorp (HCP) for about $35 per share, Ryan Gould and Brody Ford of Bloomberg report, citing people with knowledge of the matter. IBM and HashiCorp could announce the deal as soon as Wednesday, sources told Bloomberg. Shares of HashiCorp are up 9% to $31.81 following the report.

IBM (IBM) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal first quarter after the market close on April 24, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

BTIG downgraded HashiCorp (HCP) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The analyst sees a balanced risk/reward after the stock's recent run following takeover speculation. The firm believes the potential takeover by IBM (IBM) has a "lot of merits." HashiCorp is a good strategic asset with strong product capabilities, and deal synergies with a large acquirer such as IBM would be substantial, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Given there is still some uncertainty on a deal being consummated and a typical closing process in the 6-9 month range, BTIG sees limited incremental upside to shares in the near term.

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IBM (IBM) is nearing an acquisition of HashiCorp (HCP) and deal could come together in the coming days, Lauren Thomas and Laura Cooper of Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal for HashiCorp would likely command a premium above where the stock is currently trading, the Journal says. Shares of HashiCorp jumped 7% to $26.37 following the report before halting for volatility. IBM is down 66c to $181.28 in afternoon trade. Reference Link