NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – Shares of the following companies made notable moves in the stock market on Thursday:
Advancers
Anika Therapeutics Inc. (ANIK) shares surged 36%. The firm said it has received approval from Canadian health regulators for Monovisc, its single-injection viscosupplement for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.
American International Group Inc. (AIG) shares jumped 21% after Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche fueled hope about the insurer’s recovery efforts. See full story on AIG.
Financials: Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) shares gained 4.4% after FBR Capital Markets raised the stock to outperform from market perform, citing the company’s relative credit strength. Similarly, Allied Capital Corp. (ALD) added 5% as Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded the shares following the firm’s second-quarter earnings announcement. See full story on financials.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) shares jumped 9.2% after its results topped analysts’ estimates. The sporting goods retailer said Thursday that its second-quarter profit dropped to $38.9 million, or 33 cents a share, from $39.9 million, or 34 cents, a year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of 4 cents a share. See full story on retail stocks.
EDAP TMS SA (EDAP) shares gained 6.4%. On Wednesday, the French firm said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave marketing clearance for its Sonolith I-Sys therapeutic ultrasound device.
Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) shares rose 7% after the dental tools supplier announced its fiscal first-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations. The St. Paul, Minn.-based company reported earnings of 38 cents a share on sales of $790 million. Analysts had expected earnings of 38 cents a share on sales of $754 million.
Shares of Cigna Corp. (CI) rose 3.2% and Humana Inc. (HUM) gained 3.2%. Health care was the second-most advancing sector on the S&P 500 index (SPX), trailing financials. Read more on Patterson.
Lennar Corp. (LEN) shares rose 5.5% after Pali Research analyst Stephen East encouraged investors to purchase shares of the home builder in a research note Thursday. Lennar, which has been questioned about its joint ventures in the past, has reduced joint-venture exposure, boosted cash flow, moved toward profitability and focused on snapping up distressed land, the analyst said.
UBS AG (UBS) shares rose 9.3% after the Swiss government said late Wednesday that it will sell its stake in the bank. The Swiss Confederation will convert all its UBS mandatory convertible notes due 2011, worth 6 billion Swiss francs, or $5.6 billion, into UBS shares, the bank said in a statement on its Website. Separately, UBS will hand over the names of 4,450 clients to the U.S., in a tax settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. See full story on UBS.
Decliners
GameStop Corp. (GME) shares fell 5.8%. Hurt by weak consumer spending trends in light of the economic uncertainties, the retailer posted weaker-than-expected profits on Thursday and forecast a lower and widened profit range for the rest of the year.
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) shares fell 5.2%. It said late Wednesday it had fiscal first-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share on $838 million in sales. Excluding one-time items, the storage-technology company would have earned $76 million, or 22 cents a share. NetApp named company president Tom Georgens as chief executive. See full story on new CEO.
PetSmart Inc. (PETM) shares sank 11% after the pet-supplies retailer projected 2009 earnings below analysts’ expectations on Wednesday. The company projected earnings of $1.37 to $1.45 a share, analysts forecast $1.53 a share.
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) shares slumped 11%. On Thursday the retailer reported a surprise loss for the second quarter, hurt by store-closing and pension costs and lower demand for home appliance and apparel. It swung to a loss of $94 million, or 79 cents a share, compared to a profit of $65 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier. See full story on Sears.
More retail: Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) shares fell 3.7% after the bookseller said Thursday that second-quarter profit fell to $12.3 million, or 21 cents a share with comparable-store sales decreasing 6.9%. Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) dipped 3.16% after the owner of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works reported late Wednesday that second-quarter net income fell 27% to $74.3 million compared to a year ago.
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