Morning Commentary: NXP Semiconductors, Pinduoduo convertibles active in early trading

By Rebecca Melvin

New York, Oct. 1 – The convertibles market started off the new month on a mostly quiet note on Tuesday, but there was some notable trading action in both NXP Semiconductors NV’s 1% convertibles and the new Pinduoduo Inc. convertibles, according to a trading source.

The NXP Semiconductors 1% convertibles, which are due on Dec. 1, 2019, were trading higher at more than 111.5 with shares up more than 2%. Shares of the Netherlands-based semiconductor company were last up $2.24, or 2%, to $111.36.

KeyBanc analyst Weston Twigg upgraded the NXP shares from Sector Weight to Overweight earlier in the session.

Pinduoduo’s 0% convertible notes due 2024, which priced in September, were also a standout in trade, according to the market source.

The $875 million Pinduoduo issue has been consistently active since its market debut. Shares of the Chinese-based e-commerce platform were fractionally higher early Tuesday.

Some of the market’s highfliers this past year have seen shares come off sharply of late, including those of Exact Sciences Corp. Those 0.375% convertibles due 2027 were “hanging in there” despite a downturn in the underlying shares of the cancer diagnostics company, according to a market source. But they were still down on an outright basis.

The convertibles traded last on Monday at 108.4. That was down from previous trades ranging from 199 to 111, according to trace data.

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