US HOT STOCKS: Apollo, Smith & Wesson Active In Late Trading

30th Jun 2010 22:09

U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 96 points at 9774, the Standard & Poor's 500 losing 1% to 1031 and the Nasdaq Composite declining 1.2% to 2109. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the after-hours session are Apollo Group Inc. (APOL), Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC) and Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX). Apollo Group beat expectations on its top and bottom line in its fiscal third quarter but its stock slipped after-hours as the for-profit college company said it will expand orientation in the fiscal first quarter, requiring a free 3-week program for all students entering with less than 24 credits. The orientation will likely help improve retention and loan repayment rates at University of Phoenix, but Apollo admitted it will hurt operating and financial metrics as growth slows. Shares lost 3.9% to $40.80 after-hours. Smith & Wesson's fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 64% as higher overhead expenses and acquisition-related charges masked higher sales and margins. Still, shares rose 5% to $4.30 in after-hours trading, as the results topped expectations. Xyratex swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit as sales more than doubled and margins increased on strong demand for its products, ending up with record quarterly results. Shares rose 1.1% to $14.31 in after-hours trading as the storage-device maker also provided a rosy third-quarter outlook. Regular Session Movers: Aerospace giant Boeing Co. (BA, $62.75, -$0.29, -0.46%) has agreed to buy defense-equipment maker Argon ST Inc. (STST, $34.29, +$9.86, +40.36%) for about $775 million, with the deal coming as the sector shuffles operations amid belt-tightening and shifting priorities at the Pentagon. Boeing will pay $34.50 a share, a 41% premium to Argon's closing price Tuesday. Argon rival Applied Signal Technology Inc. (APSG, $19.65, +$1.45, +7.97%) also rose as investors looked for the next potential deal in the sector, as did Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (MRCY, $11.73, +$0.73, +6.64%). Celgene Corp. (CELG, $50.82, -$2.42, -4.55%) agreed to acquire Abraxis BioScience Inc. (ABII, $74.20, +$12.89, +21.02%) for at least $2.9 billion in cash and stock, broadening its cancer-drug portfolio. Abraxis' primary treatment is Abraxane, a breast cancer injection approved in the U.S. and Europe. General Mills Inc.'s (GIS, $35.52, -$1.38, -3.74%) fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 41% as the company reported higher costs and lower sales, while year-earlier results benefited from an extra week and mark-to-market gains. The packaged-food giant sees earnings for the new year below analysts' projections. Fellow packaged-food company Kellogg Co. (K, $50.30, -$1.45, -2.80%) also slid. Ford Motor Co. (F, $10.08, +$0.20, +2.02%) said Wednesday it is reducing its debt by more than $4 billion, a sign the auto maker remains confident in its own turnaround despite a softening car market in the U.S. BP PLC (BP, $28.88, +$1.21, +4.37%) shares rose as the market reappraised the embattled energy company's value as a takeover target once the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico subsides, equities traders said Wednesday. Shares of energy companies saw some relief Wednesday, recouping some of their losses from Tuesday's sharp declines, spurred by worries about weaker demand in China. The gainers included Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO, $62.19, +$2.03, +3.37%) and Atwood Oceanics Inc. (ATW, $25.52, +$0.77, +3.11%). Mela Sciences Inc. (MELA, $7.44, -$0.86, -10.36%) priced an offering of 2.2 million shares at $7.50 a share, a 9.6% discount to Tuesday's closing price. The medical-device company said it planned to use the proceeds to pursue the premarket approval application and eventual commercialization of MelaFind, which helps identify skin lesions to be considered for biopsy to rule out melanoma. Omnova Solutions Inc.'s (OMN, $7.81, +$0.54, +7.43%) fiscal second-quarter earnings nearly tripled, sending shares in the specialty-chemicals company higher. Acuity Brands Inc.'s (AYI, $36.38, -$4.59, -11.20%) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 3.1% as the maker of light fixtures saw its overhead costs increase, offsetting higher revenue. Results missed analysts' forecasts. Shares of huge Brazilian meatpacker BRF-Brasil Foods SA (BRFS, $13.26, -$0.87, -6.16%) fell after the Brazilian Finance Ministry's antitrust division, known as SEAE, recommended approval of the merger of Perdigao and Sadia, which created BRF, but with restrictions that could mean the sale of key assets. Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL, $22.00, +$0.68, +3.19%) and United Airlines will meet U.S. regulators next week to review the technical aspects of their planned merger. The airlines said in a filing that they will hold a "kick-off meeting" with the Federal Aviation Administration on July 9 to outline the process for securing a so-called "single operator certificate," with a formal combination targeted for the first quarter of 2012. BMO upgraded Diamond Foods Inc. (DMND, $41.10, +$1.45, +3.66%) to outperform from market perform, citing a variety of factors including sales momentum in some of its brands and a more benign commodity environment. The firm expects the snack nuts maker to continue to gain earnings momentum from the integration of its Kettle chips business and sees distribution gains across its portfolio. Domino's Pizza Inc. (DPZ, $11.30, +$0.31, +2.82%) is "very pleased" with second-quarter sales trends, where momentum from the launch of a revamped pizza recipe has continued. "We're very pleased with the momentum that appears to be sustained," Domino's CFO Wendy Beck said Wednesday at an Oppenheimer & Co. investor conference. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires June 30, 2010 17:09 ET (21:09 GMT)