Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Friday's session are Pandora Media Inc. (P), Tempur-Pedic
International Inc. (TPX) and Maxwell Technologies Inc. (MXWL).
Pandora bolstered investor confidence by showing its costs have
mounted at a slower pace as revenue continues to climb briskly--and
quickly followed by announcing the Internet radio firm's CEO will
be stepping aside. Results topped Wall Street expectations and
Pandora's reported content-acquisition costs--a key indicator for
investors and analysts--rose at a slower rate than in prior
quarters. Shares jumped 25% to $14.70 premarket.
Mattress company Tempur-Pedic said the Federal Trade Commission
has cleared the company's planned acquisition of Sealy Corp. (ZZ).
Tempur-Pedic said it plans to close the acquisition on March 18,
subject to customary closing conditions. Tempur-Pedic shares rose
8.2% to $46.10 premarket.
Maxwell said it will restate its financial results for 2011 and
most of 2012 due to errors related to the timing of recognition of
revenue from sales to certain distributors. Shares of the company,
which develops power-based systems and components, sank 13% to
$7.90 premarket.
Ann Inc.'s (ANN) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 8.7% as
the women's apparel retailer recorded strong revenue growth,
although same-store sales edged up only slightly. After having to
cut fiscal fourth-quarter estimates last month, Ann reported
above-consensus sales targets for both this quarter and the year, a
welcome sight after a litany of retailers in recent weeks issued
muted guidance at best. Shares rose 7.2% to $31.10 premarket.
Skullcandy Inc.'s (SKUL) sales last year soared 28%, but the
headphone maker issued a dismal first-quarter outlook as it
conceded it made some packaging errors and failed to quickly
address trends in the audio category. Shares sank 17% to $5.55
premarket.
Apollo Residential Mortgage Inc. (AMTG) is launching an offering
of 6.8 million shares, with a plan to use the proceeds to acquire
residential mortgage-backed securities and other assets. The
real-estate investment trust recently had around 24.2 million
shares outstanding. Shares fell 2.4% to $22.13 in premarket
trading.
Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (AI) is offering 3 million
Class A shares, expecting to use the proceeds to acquire
residential mortgage-backed securities and other assets. The
real-estate investment trust had 12.6 million Class A shares
outstanding as of Jan. 31. Shares were off 3.6% at $25.48
premarket.
Del Frisco's Restaurant Group Inc. (DFRG) said a secondary
offering of about 4.8 million shares priced at a 4.6% discount to
Thursday's close. The shares, which are being sold by the
steakhouse operator's largest shareholder Lone Star Funds, priced
at $17 a piece. Shares fell 3.5% to $17.20 premarket.
Ambarella Inc.'s (AMBA) fiscal fourth-quarter profit more than
doubled as the maker of image-processing chips noted growth in the
network security camera market. Shares rose 13% to $13.48 in
premarket trading, as results beat Street expectations.
Foot Locker Inc.'s (FL) fiscal fourth-quarter jumped 28% as the
athletic-gear specialty retailer reported sharply higher same-store
sales during the key holiday period. However, shares fell 4.3% to
$33.79 premarket as per-share earnings just met expectations, and
investors were perhaps hoping for more.
Activist money manager Carl Icahn boosted his stake in
nutritional-supplement maker Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), another move in
a busy day for the billionaire investor that saw his involvement in
several high-profile corporate sagas. In a filing late Thursday
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Icahn
disclosed that he increased his Herbalife stake to 15.55%, up from
about 13%. Shares were up 3.1% to $42.25 premarket.
Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc. (HTGC) is offering 7
million shares. The specialty finance firm had around 52.9 million
shares outstanding as of Feb. 25. Shares fell 3.6% to $12.07
premarket.
Medifast Inc.'s (MED) fourth-quarter income jumped 59% as the
weight-loss company posted an increase in direct sales. But shares
fell 9.8% premarket to $22 as the company's current-quarter view
fell sort of Street expectations.
Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) fell slightly in premarket
trading after the three firms came in near the bottom of key
capital ratios in the latest round of the Federal Reserve's annual
"stress tests." The three firms scored below the likes of Bank of
New York Mellon Corp. (BK) and Citigroup Inc. (C), whose stocks
climbed 1.4% and 2.6% in premarket trading. In a separate release,
Citi, whose request to buy back shares was rejected by the Fed last
year, said it has requested to repurchase $1.2 billion in stock for
the year.
Sequenom Inc.'s (SQNM) fourth-quarter loss widened as the life
sciences company's margins weakened and expenses increased, masking
revenue growth. Shares slipped 4.7% to $4.28 premarket as the loss
was wider than analysts expected.
Continental Grain Co., one of the biggest shareholders in
Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD), sent a letter to the pork company's
board Thursday urging it to consider strategic changes including
breaking up the company. Smithfield shares were up 3.3% to $25.50
premarket.
Workday Inc.'s (WDAY) fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened as the
enterprise-software company recorded an increase in expenses,
though revenue continued to strengthen. Shares slipped 2.6% to $60
premarket as the company offered current-quarter revenue guidance
mostly below analyst expectations.
Watchlist:
AngioDynamics Inc. (ANGO) forecast third-quarter earnings below
analyst expectations and cut its sales guidance, as the
medical-device company cited weaker-than-expected procedure volumes
and capital equipment sales.
AVG Technologies N.V. (AVG) said J.R. Smith will step down as
chief executive after a six-year tenure at the helm of the Internet
and mobile-security provider, which is conducting a search for his
successor.
Cable operator Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) said that
funds affiliated with Apollo Capital Management L.P. plan to sell
6.2 million of their roughly 24 million shares, and funds
affiliated with Oaktree Opportunities Investments L.P. have agreed
to sell 3.1 million shares of around 12.1 million shares. Charter
recently had around 101.2 million shares outstanding.
Comtech Telecommunications Corp.'s (CMTL) fiscal second-quarter
earnings fell 59% as the maker of advanced communication systems
said U.S. budget uncertainty hurt sales broadly. The company also
lowered its full-year outlook.
Cooper Cos.'s (COO) fiscal first-quarter profit rose 37% as the
company's contact-lens business continued to expand, though margins
shrank.
Finisar Corp. (FNSR) swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss as
revenue declined, and as the telecommunication-equipment provider
also posted higher expenses and income-tax provisions.
H&R Block Inc.'s (HRB) fiscal third-quarter loss widened as
a delay to the start of the U.S. tax season affected the
tax-services provider's top line.
Moody's Investors Service placed Medtronic Inc.'s (MDT) credit
ratings under review for a possible downgrade, citing risks
associated with constraints on the medical-devices company's core
cardiac rhythm management and spine businesses.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXPI) said some of its principal
shareholders, including affiliates of AlpInvest Partners B.V., Apax
Partners LLP, Bain Capital Partners LLC and Silver Lake Technology
Management L.L.C., have launched an offering of 25 million shares.
NXP, which had around 251.8 million shares outstanding as of Feb.
28, won't receive any proceeds from the sale.
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of Orchard
Supply Hardware Stores Corp. (OSH) by one notch, citing very weak
credit metrics and the home-improvement retailer's lack of
meaningful progress in addressing maturing debt.
Pharmacyclics Inc. (PCYC) has launched an offering of 2.2
million shares, representing around 3.1% of the company's
outstanding shares. The biopharmaceutical company intends to use
the proceeds for the commercialization of its cancer treatment
Ibrutinib, to advance its clinical pipeline and for other general
purposes.
Quiksilver Inc.'s (ZQK) fiscal first-quarter loss widened as the
sports outfitter's revenue was dragged down by weakness in the
Americas, though margins edged higher. Results missed
expectations.
Offshore-drilling company Rowan Cos. (RDC) has promoted Thomas
P. Burke to the role of president, with the expectation that he
will succeed W. Matt Ralls as chief executive in mid-2014.
Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) raised the bottom end of its
first-quarter earnings and revenue guidance.
TherapeuticsMD Inc. (TXMD) plans to offer $50 million of its
shares, subject to market conditions. The company, which makes
prenatal vitamins and cosmetics, recently had a market
capitalization of roughly $357 million.
Thor Industries Inc.'s (THO) fiscal second-quarter income rose
45% on strong recreational-vehicle sales.
United Continental Holdings Inc.'s (UAL) consolidated traffic
slipped 3.4% in February as the carrier's capacity also
decreased.
Ventas Inc. (VTR) said it may sell as much as $750 million of
its shares as it raises funds for general purposes including
acquisitions and paying down debt. The health-care-focused
real-estate investment trust recently had a market capitalization
of around $20.7 billion.
WuXi PharmaTech Inc.'s (WX) fourth-quarter profit rose 1.4% as
the drug-research contractor posted stronger sales.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com
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