Longs Drugs shares rose in 3Q, but rivals slipped

Both CVS Caremark Corp. and Walgreen made offers to buy their smaller rival Longs during the quarter. Longs accepted CVS' offer--the first and smaller of the two bids--but neither deal has closed and some Longs shareholders want the company to hold out for a larger offer.

CVS offered $2.7 billion, or $71.50 per share, and its offer has received regulatory approval. Walgreen later offered $75 per share. The bids made Longs the only one of four major drug stores to see its shares rise during the third quarter.

Shares of California-based Longs rose in the weeks ahead of CVS' bid, and finished the quarter with a surge of almost 80 percent.

CVS reported its second-quarter results in July, and generally met Wall Street expectations. But analysts were disappointed with Walgreen's results, as the company said it offered too many promotions and discounts. Rite Aid posted a larger than expected loss as its Brooks Eckerd stores continued to struggle. The company shook up its senior management after reporting its results.

CVS stock dipped 15 percent for the quarter, and Walgreen shares lost 4.7 percent.

Shares of Rite Aid fell to new all-time lows as the company dealt with debt and weakness at Brooks Eckerd stores, which the company bought in 2007. The stock lost 47 percent of its value through Sept. 29 and touched a low of 79 cents.