Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Thursday's session are PetSmart Inc. (PETM), Ciena Corp. (CIEN) and NQ Mobile Inc. (NQ).

PetSmart's fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 31% as the specialty pet store's same-store sales and margins continued to grow. However, shares dropped 8% to $61.26 premarket as the company predicted downbeat results for 2013.

Ciena slightly narrowed its fiscal first-quarter loss as the networking-equipment company recorded stronger revenue and margins. Stripping out one-time items, the company swung to a surprise per-share profit, sending shares up 14% to $16.98 in premarket trading.

NQ Mobile's fourth-quarter income rose 53% as the mobile Internet services company reported more users. The company's American depositary shares jumped 24% premarket to $10.89 as the results beat Wall Street's expectations.

James River Coal Co.'s (JRCC) fourth-quarter loss widened as the coal producer was hurt by a goodwill write-down and lower coal prices and shipments. Results missed expectations and the company failed to issue coal-production or cost guidance for 2013, with chief executive Peter T. Socha saying that "there are just too many moving pieces." Shares fell 11% to $2.26 premarket.

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACUR) filed plans to offer up to $75 million in common stock, debt securities and warrants. The specialty pharmaceutical company plans to use proceeds for general corporate purposes. It has a market capitalization of $141 million, according to FactSet. Shares were down 10% to $2.40 premarket.

MGIC Investment Corp.'s (MTG) 135 million share offering priced at $5.15 each. The offering, along with the $350 million aggregate principal of senior notes due 2020, is the company's first test of capital markets after sentiment on the company improved in recent months. Still, shares fell 6.6% to $5.24 premarket.

FIS Inc. (FIS) said private-equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC has agreed to sell about 19.3 million shares, which represents nearly all of its remaining ownership stake. The banking and payments technology provider had about 294.5 million shares outstanding as of Jan. 31. Shares were off 2.8% to $37.35 premarket.

FleetCor Technologies Inc. (FLT) said selling stockholders have agreed to sell 4.5 million shares. The company had about 81.2 million shares outstanding as of Feb. 8. Shares slipped 2.6% to $70.40 premarket.

Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Co. (KYN) has commenced an offering of 4 million shares as the management investment company looks to raise funds to make additional portfolio investments and for general corporate purposes. It had about 88.4 million shares outstanding as of Nov. 30. Shares slipped 5.7% to $33.11 premarket.

Oculus Innovative Sciences Inc. (OCLS) intends to offer common stock, but didn't detail how many shares it would sell. The commercial health-care company had about 37.4 million shares outstanding as of Jan. 24. Shares tumbled 25% to 41 cents premarket.

SolarCity Corp. (SCTY) swung to a fourth-quarter loss as the solar-panel installer's heavy operating costs offset an increase in revenue. Shares fell 8% to $17.73 in premarket trading as the results fell far short of Street expectations.

Horizon Pharma Inc. (HZNP) said the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has granted marketing authorization for the company's osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis treatment, Duexis. Shares rose 5.4% to $2.16 premarket.

 
    Watchlist: 
 

Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) said an offering of about 7.7 million shares of its Series C common stock held by FTI Ventures LLC priced at $64.75, a 2.6% discount to Wednesday's close.

DryShips Inc.'s (DRYS) fourth-quarter loss widened as the dry bulk shipper recorded losses on the sale of tankers and other charges, and revenue continued to fall.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) said three of its largest stockholders, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, the Carlyle Group L.P. (CG) and Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) Merrill Lynch are selling about 60.1 million shares. The car-rental company had about 421.7 million shares outstanding as of Feb. 26.

InvenSense Inc. (INVN) said it won a motion to stay the patent litigation brought by STMicroelectronics NV (STM) while separate proceedings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office challenged the validity of all of STM's asserted patents.

KAR Auction Services Inc. (KAR) said a secondary offering of 13 million of its shares priced at $19.25 a share, a 4.1% discount to its Wednesday's close.

Korn/Ferry International's (KFY) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 19% as the executive-search company's increase in operating expenses masked revenue growth, though core earnings improved.

Layne Christensen Co. (LAYN) expects to report a surprise fiscal fourth-quarter loss as the drilling-services provider said it will book steep losses in its heavy civil segment.

MRC Global Inc. (MRC) said an upsized offering of 23 million from the company's biggest stockholder priced at $28 a piece, a 4.6% discount to Wednesday's close

Piedmont Natural Gas Co.'s (PNY) fiscal first-quarter profit rose 13% as the natural-gas distributor's stronger revenue offset higher gas costs.

Rovi Corp. (ROVI) said it has entered into a license agreement with online video site Hulu LLC, which resolves all outstanding litigation. The entertainment, data and technology company didn't disclose specific terms of the agreement.

Semtech Corp.'s (SMTC) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 5.9% as revenue strengthened, although the chip manufacturer's results were muted by higher costs. First-quarter revenue guidance topped analysts' projections.

Shoe Carnival Inc. (SCVL) lowered its fourth-quarter earnings projections as colder weather and the delay in income-tax refunds hurt the footwear retailer's athletic sales. Shoe Carnival also reported sales for the quarter that missed its expectations.

Sigma Designs Inc. (SIGM) said its Chief Financial Officer Thomas E. Gay has resigned and will be replaced in the interim by corporate controller Elias N. Nader.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s (AMTD) President and Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk plans to sell up to 200,000 shares of the online-brokerage company's common stock, which is about 8% of the 2.5 million shares he holds.

Time Warner Inc. (TWX), a company partly named after a magazine, is getting out of the magazine business. The company has decided to spin off its entire Time Inc. magazine group, it said Wednesday, giving up on talks with Meredith Corp. (MDP) over the proposed merger of most of their titles.

Triple-S Management Corp. (GTS) said it plans to convert 7 million Class A shares into Class B shares. To enhance the liquidity of the Class B shares, Triple-S will conduct a secondary offering for all or a substantial majority of the converted shares and plans to repurchase up to $30 million Class B shares in the offering. Triple-S, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, had about 9 million Class A shares and 19.3 million Class B shares outstanding as of Feb. 26.

Vail Resorts Inc.'s (MTN) fiscal second-quarter profit rose 31% as skiers returned to the slopes in Colorado after a weak start to the season.

Wausau Paper Corp. (WPP) has agreed to nominate two candidates recommended by Starboard Value LP to its board, a move that comes as the activist hedge fund has recently engaged in a back and forth with Wausau over its strategic review process.

Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK) has agreed to acquire the PVC pipe and fittings unit of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA's (SGO.FR, CODYY) CertainTeed Corp. for $175 million.

Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com

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

Piedmont Nat Gas (NYSE:PNY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Piedmont Nat Gas Charts.
Piedmont Nat Gas (NYSE:PNY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Piedmont Nat Gas Charts.