Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Wednesday's session are Container Store Group Inc. (TCS), J.C.
Penney Co. (JCP) and NuPathe Inc. (PATH).
Apollo Education Group Inc.'s (APOL) fiscal first-quarter profit
fell 26% as the for-profit education company continued to battle
declining enrollments. Adjusted earnings topped analysts'
expectations and the company raised its outlook for the fiscal
year, sending shares up 9.2% to $29.40 premarket.
AZZ Inc.'s (AZZ) fiscal third-quarter earnings climbed 20%, yet
missed expectations, as a revenue boost from the electrical and
industrial products business and past acquisitions masked the
negative effect of continued project delays. The company lowered
its outlook for the year, pushing shares down 4.3% to $44.91
premarket.
Constellation Brands Inc.'s (STZ, STZB) fiscal third-quarter
income jumped 93%, with the wine and spirits maker continuing to
benefit from a major acquisition in the beer market. The results
beat expectations, and the company again raised its adjusted
earnings outlook for the year. Shares climbed 6.4% to $74.38
premarket.
Container Store swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss as the
storage and organization products retailer recorded expenses
related to the company's initial public offering, which masked
higher sales. Sales growth for the latest period and the company's
top line projection for the full fiscal year were slightly under
Wall Street's expectations. Shares dropped 11% to $40.79
premarket.
J.C. Penney said it was pleased with its performance during the
holiday season and it is seeing "continued progress" in its
turnaround effort. But shares declined 6.1% premarket to $7.65 as
the company didn't offer any specific sales figures in its short
statement.
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) swung to a fiscal first-quarter
profit on sharply higher revenue, which received a boost from the
chipmaker's acquisition of Elpida Memory Inc. last year. Adjusted
earnings and revenue beat expectations, sending shares up 9.8% to
$23.85 premarket.
NuPathe said it received an offer from Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries Ltd. (TEVA) to acquire the drugmaker for roughly $114
million, or $3.65 a share, topping Endo Health Solutions Inc.'s
(ENDP) pending deal. NuPathe shares surged 33% to $4.30
premarket.
Watch List
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) said its board authorized a
stock buyback program of up to $400 million this year, replacing a
plan that expired at the end of last year.
Medical-device maker ArthroCare Corp. (ARTC) said Tuesday it has
entered into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a
years-long U.S. Department of Justice investigation into
allegations of a $400 million securities fraud scheme.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) said its investigational
treatment for some types of hepatitis C in combination with other
agents will get an accelerated review by European regulators.
K12 Inc. (LRN) is planning to form a new company that will focus
on technology-based learning programs and will be spearheaded by
K12 founder and Chief Executive Ron Packard, who has resigned from
the online education provider.
Merge Healthcare Inc. (MRGE) said a former employee falsified
millions of dollars worth of customer contracts in an apparent
attempt to reach sales quotas and garner about $250,000 in
additional commissions. Merge offers health stations, clinical
trial software and other health data and analytics services meant
to engage consumers in their personal health.
Monsanto Co.'s (MON) fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 8.6%
with a boost from improved sales of its soybean and corn seeds.
Results beat expectations. Regarding the coming U.S. planting
season, Monsanto said the pace of its U.S. order book and strong
pre-pays were tracking well with 2014 targets.
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) added more net subscribers in
2013 than previously expected, and the satellite-radio provider
struck a bullish tone about 2014 in comments that come as some
investors bet Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA, LMCB) will sweeten its bid
for the company.
WellPoint Inc. (WLP) will sell contact-lens and eyewear retailer
1-800 Contacts Inc. to private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners,
unloading a company it bought for around $900 million less than two
years ago. The insurer also agreed to sell the glasses.com website
and its technology for helping people try on glasses virtually,
which were part of the 1-800 Contacts purchase, to Italian eyewear
company Luxottica Group SpA.
Write to John Kell at john.kell@wsj.com and Lauren Pollock at
lauren.pollock@wsj.com
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