Green Plains Jumps on $190 Million Plant Sale; Drug Developers Rally Pre-Market

Green Plains Inc. surged more than 16% in U.S. pre-market trading after agreeing to sell its Obion, Tennessee ethanol plant to privately held biofuels producer POET LLC for $190 million in cash. Oppenheimer responded by upgrading the stock to Outperform and setting a $14 price target, saying the divestiture removes a major overhang on the balance sheet. Health-care small caps also rallied. Telomir Pharmaceuticals jumped over 30% after laboratory studies indicated its experimental compound Telomir-1 could act as a first-in-class epigenetic therapy by influencing DNA methylation pathways tied to cancer and age-related diseases. Celcuity advanced about 8% on news that U.S. regulators had approved one of its drug candidates, though details were limited. Among larger industrial names, Bank of America upgraded International Paper Co. to Buy and lifted its price target to $57 from $55, citing improved prospects across the containerboard group despite execution risks highlighted in the company’s second-quarter commentary.