CORRECT: US HOT STOCKS: Goldman Sachs, Google, BP Active In Late Trading

15th Jul 2010 00:07

("US HOT STOCKS: Goldman Sachs, Google, BP Active In Late Trading" at 4:57 p.m. ET misstated the news related to Vivus' obesity drug. A corrected version follows:) U.S. stocks ended mixed Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.41 points to 10359.31 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.76 point to 2249.08, but the Standard & Poor's 500 edged up 1.31 points to 1096.48. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the after-hours session are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Google Inc. (GOOG) and BP PLC (BP). Goldman shares climbed 4.6% to $151.89 in late trading, adding to gains from Thursday's trading session, after the Securities and Exchange Commission said the bank will pay $550 million and reform its business practices to settle SEC charges that the Wall Street firm misled investors in a subprime mortgage product just as the U.S. housing market was starting to collapse. Goldman agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations. Google's second-quarter earnings climbed 24% as the Internet giant's advertising revenue accelerated growth, and the company noted very strong growth in its emerging businesses. Still, shares fell 4.4% to $472 in after-hours trading, as the company's earnings missed Wall Street's expectations. BP's U.S. shares climbed 1% to $39.30 in late trading after the oil giant said the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico stopped during a test to see whether a recently placed cap on the well can entirely seal it. The gain after hours added to the 7.6% jump shortly before the close of regular trading Thursday. Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (AMD) second-quarter loss narrowed on sharply higher revenue and margins. Shares climbed 3.9% to $7.70 in after-hours trading as the chip maker's results topped expectations. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel rejected Vivus Inc.'s (VVUS) weight-loss drug Qnexa, sending down shares of rival weight-loss drug makers Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARNA) and Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (OREX) shortly before the close of regular trading Thursday. The other two companies, which had strong stock gains for most of Thursday's session, face similar panels in September and December, respectively. The advisory panel Thursday narrowly rejected Qnexa on concerns potential safety concerns could be magnified if used by millions of patients. Vivus shares remain halted at $12.11, but are likely to drop sharply as well. Lazard Capital recently projected they are worth $3 to $4 if the drug is rejected. Orexigen fell 11% to $4.46 after hours, while Arena climbed 7.7% to $4.22 late. AngioDynamics Inc.'s (ANGO) fiscal fourth-quarter profit grew 29% as the company reported higher across-the-board sales, although margins were pressured by a difficult pricing environment. Still, results for the maker of minimally invasive medical devices topped Wall Street's expectations, sending shares up 3.4% to $16 in late trading. Regular Session Movers NBTY Inc. (NTY, $53.74, +$16.27, +43.42%) agreed to be acquired by private-equity firm Carlyle Group in a deal valued at $3.5 billion, one of the largest transactions to take a public company private since the credit bubble burst. Carlyle and Blackstone Group LP (BX, $10.56, +$0.28, +2.72%), two of the world's largest buyout firms, had been eyeing the vitamin and nutritional-supplement maker, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night. NYMagic Inc. (NYM, $25.32, +$4.47, +21.44%) agreed to be acquired by ProSight Specialty Insurance, which is backed by private-equity firm TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs's merchant banking unit, in a deal valued at about $224 million. NYMagic specializes in property-and-casualty insurance for the marine industry and nonmarine liability insurance. ProSight is a specialty P&C insurer. Landstar System Inc.'s (LSTR, $40.70, -$0.77, -1.86%) second-quarter profit grew 37% as the trucker posted better-than-expected revenue growth on strong volumes and pricing. But the lower end of the company's third-quarter earnings guidance was below Street estimates. Revenue growth guidance for the new quarter was better than expected. Akorn Inc. (AKRX, $3.47, +$0.32, +10.16%) was started at market outperform by Rodman & Renshaw, which said the generic-pharmaceutical company's products act like brand name drugs and as Akorn is on track to produce strong revenue and earnings' growth over the next several years. Credit Suisse raised its stock-investment rating on Web services company AOL Inc. (AOL, $21.50, +$0.43, +2.04%) to neutral from underperform, citing downside risk from current levels is somewhat mitigated by recent strategic asset sales, which have improved the company's cash position currently and over the next few years. BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. (BMTI, $8.47, -$0.69, -7.53%) priced its offering of 5 million shares at $8.50 each, a 7.2% discount to Wednesday's close and 15% below the close on Tuesday before the offering was announced. The biotechnology company, which had about 22.1 million shares outstanding, plans to use the money for developing and commercializing its pipeline. BP PLC's (BP, $38.92, +$2.74, +7.57%) shares rose Thursday as the energy company said oil flow stopped as part of its well integrity test. BP had begun the test to show whether a recently placed cap can entirely seal off a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico. J.P. Morgan initiated coverage on Ciena Corp. (CIEN, $13.43, -$0.35, -2.53%) with a stock-investment rating of underweight, saying that the company's March acquisition of Nortel Networks Corp.'s (NRTLQ, $0.03, +$0.00, -5.08%) Metro Ethernet Networks is transformative, but the firm believes that short-term integration risk is high. Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (FCS, $10.25, +$0.45, +4.59%) swung to a higher second-quarter profit than analysts expected as sales beat estimates and margins surged to a 10-year high as the industry rebounded. Looking ahead, the company forecast third-quarter sales of $415 million to $425 million, ahead of the $411 million average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Frequency Electronics Inc. (FEIM, $4.96, +$0.33, +7.13%) shares climbed after the maker of timing and control products for space and earth-based communications applications reported it swung to a profit and revenue rose 4.9%. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires July 15, 2010 19:07 ET (23:07 GMT)