— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The Lehigh Valley’s three New York Stock Exchange-traded companies hit 52-week highs on Friday.
Shift4, Air Products and PPL have been gaining for weeks.
Shift4 (NYSE:FOUR) reached $111.74 before closing at $110.00, and it’s up in early trading Monday. The payment-processing company has been adding clients and gaining favorable views from industry analysts.
Founder and Chief Executive Jared Isaacman has said his company will keep growing, but profitably. Also the company added a new client: Barclays Center, the Brooklyn home of the Nets of the National Basketball Assocation and the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Air Products touched $332.69 before ending Friday at $331.81. Activist investors have been seeking changes in strategy, capital allocation and management at the maker of industrial gases.
The Upper Macungie Township-based company proposed two new directors for election in 2025, but investor Mantle Ridge topped that, nominating nine. Chief Executive Seifi Ghasemi is 80, and some investors have been inquiring about a succession plan.
PPL hit $35.00 on Friday, finishing the day at $34.45. The company didn’t come out with much news, but it’s a beneficiary of the Artificial Intelligence boom. AI requires data centers which in turn require lots of electricity.
PPL Chief Executive Vincent Sorgi has said the company is in talks with companies that may build data centers in its service area.
Then there’s OraSure. The South Bethlehem-based maker of diagnostic kits continues to muddle along, finishing the week at $3.88, less than half of its 52-week high.
This company has seen revenue plummet since the Covid-19 pandemic. OraSure will discuss its prospects at an investor conference Wednesday.
— Disclosure: I own shares of Shift4 and Air Products as part of a buy-and-hold strategy. I do not day-trade or invest in derivatives.
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