U.S. HOT STOCK FUTURES: HOT STOCKS TO WATCH

07/19/2012| 09:04am US/Eastern

Recommend:

0

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Thursday's session are Morgan Stanley (>> Morgan Stanley), Walgreen Co. (>> Walgreen Company) and EBay Inc. (>> eBay Inc).

Morgan Stanley's (>> Morgan Stanley) second-quarter profit dropped 50% as the bank recorded a weak performance in its institutional securities business, which includes investment banking and trading results. Shares slid 5.2% to $13.27 premarket after earnings fell short of analyst expectations.

Walgreen Co. (>> Walgreen Company) and pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. (>> Express Scripts Holding Co) struck a multi-year pharmacy network agreement, concluding a long-running dispute between the two companies. Shares of Walgreen, which has struggled with slumping sales since leaving the Express Scripts network on Jan. 1, surged 14% to $35.23 in premarket trade. Fellow pharmacy chain CVS Caremark Corp. (>> CVS Caremark Corporation) shed 5.1% to $46.00 while Express Scripts added 3.7% to $59.83.

EBay Inc. (>> eBay Inc) said Wednesday both its core business and its PayPal payments unit have continued to turn in strong performances, helping send the Internet pioneer's shares up 6.7% to $43.15 premarket. Revenue beat expectations.

International Business Machines Corp. (>> International Business Machines Corp.) boosted its guidance for full-year earnings, alleviating some worries about tech spending, even as its revenue fell short of expectations for the fourth-straight quarter amid "pretty significant" currency headwinds. Shares gained 2.6% to $193.17 premarket.

Qualcomm Inc.'s (>> QUALCOMM, Inc.) fiscal third-quarter profit rose 17% as the chip maker continued to see strong demand for its smartphone technology. Shares traded 5.8% higher at $59.28 premarket.

Select Comfort Corp.'s (>> Select Comfort Corp.) second-quarter earnings climbed 50% as the mattress seller booked strong sales through its company-exclusive distribution system. Results beat analyst expectations and the company also raised its earnings target for the year. Shares jumped 22% to $26.50 premarket.

Mellanox Technologies Ltd.'s (MLNX, MLNX.TV) second-quarter earnings soared as the data-storage company's better-than-expected revenue broke a new record. Shares surged 46% to $95.70 premarket as adjusted earnings sharply beat analysts' expectations.

PPG Industries Inc. (>> PPG Industries, Inc.) plans to merge its chemicals business with Georgia Gulf Corp. (>> Georgia Gulf Corporation) in a $2.1 billion cash-and-stock deal. The paints-and-chemicals supplier agreed to form a new company by separating its chemicals business and merging it with Georgia Gulf. PPG shareholders will receive 50.5% of the shares of the merged company. Georgia Gulf shares surged 14% to $32.99 premarket; PPG shares added 1.6% to $105.87.

Skyworks Solutions Inc.'s (>> Skyworks Solutions Inc) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 4.3% as the wireless-semiconductor company struggled with higher costs that outpaced improved revenue. However, shares popped 8.1% to $28.80 premarket as the company topped its quarterly estimates.

Diana Containerships Inc. (>> Diana Containerships Inc) plans to offer 8.1 million shares to raise funds for general corporate purposes, including vessel acquisitions and working capital. Shares fell 16% to $6.07 premarket.

Nanosphere Inc. (>> Nanosphere, Inc.) intends to offer shares to raise proceeds for general corporate purposes and working capital. The medical diagnostic-test developer didn't indicate how many shares it plans to sell. Shares sank 5% to $2.50 premarket.

Johnson Controls Inc.'s (>> Johnson Controls, Inc.) fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 17% as the car battery maker saw a rise in revenue along with lower expenses. Shares slumped 6.4% to $26.50, however, as results came in below Wall Street estimates and the company's previous growth forecast.

Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (>> Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc) said it will offer an undisclosed number of shares, intending to use the proceeds for the drug maker's general corporate purposes. Shares were down 15% to $1.13 premarket.

 
 
   Watchlist: 
 
 

Alliance Data Systems Corp.'s (>> Alliance Data Systems Corporation) second-quarter earnings rose 50% on stronger-than-expected revenue growth and lower provisions for loan losses.

American Express Co.'s (>> American Express Company) second-quarter profit was essentially flat as the pace of customer card spending slowed, though it continued to benefit from historically low loan losses.

Capital One Financial Corp.'s (>> Capital One Financial Corp.) second-quarter earnings plunged 90% from a year earlier as the company booked a slew of charges related to its acquisition of HSBC Holdings PLC's (HBC, 0005.HK, HSBA.LN) U.S. credit-card portfolio and a settlement with U.S. regulators.

Crown Holdings Inc.'s (>> Crown Holdings, Inc.) second-quarter earnings edged 3.9% higher as the food-packaging maker recorded a gain from insurance proceeds, masking a decline in revenue.

F5 Networks Inc.'s (>> F5 Networks, Inc.) fiscal third-quarter profit rose 16% on healthy network-security demand, though the company warned cautious economic sentiment would drag on current-quarter results.

Greenhill & Co. (>> Greenhill & Co., Inc.) said its second-quarter profit fell 90% to $2.2 million on significantly lower revenue from advisory services compared to last year's strong quarter.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP's (>> Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP) second-quarter earnings fell 33% as the company posted losses related to fair value impacts related to discontinued operations. Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan Inc. (>> Kinder Morgan Inc), which owns Kinder Morgan Energy's general partner, swung to a loss, also citing the fair-value impacts.

Noble Corp.'s (>> Noble Corporation) second-quarter earnings surged more than expected as the offshore-oil driller saw contract dayrates continue to rise.

RLI Corp.'s (>> RLI Corp.) second-quarter earnings fell 45% as the specialty insurer's expenses rose, though the company saw an increase in earned premiums.

SLM Corp.'s (>> SLM Corporation) second-quarter core profit rose slightly as its private-lending business continued to expand and expenses and loan-loss provisions again fell. But sliding interest income and higher funding costs in its legacy government-backed loan portfolio restrained earnings.

Stryker Corp.'s (>> Stryker Corporation) second-quarter earnings rose 4.8% as the company absorbed some charges, while sales growth was hampered by unfavorable foreign-currency rates and softness in international orthopedic markets.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s (>> UnitedHealth Group Inc.) second-quarter earnings rose 5.5% as the health insurer's revenue improved at its UnitedHealthcare insurance business and Optum, its information- and technology-based health-services business.

Verizon Communications Inc.'s (>> Verizon Communications Inc.) second-quarter earnings rose 13% as the company added more contract wireless customers and increased its base of FiOS subscribers.

Werner Enterprises Inc.'s (>> Werner Enterprises, Inc.) second-quarter earnings rose 11% as the trucking company recorded improved margins and growth in its logistics business.

Yum! Brands Inc. (>> Yum! Brands, Inc.), which owns the Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell fast-food chains, saw its profit rise 4.8% in the latest quarter, as improvements at Taco Bell boosted its U.S. business, which is becoming more important given the pullback in China's economic growth.

Xilinx Inc.'s (>> Xilinx, Inc.) fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 16% as the chip maker saw sales declines in most of its main end markets.

-Write to Mia Lamar at mia.lamar@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

0