Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Friday's session are Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and
Expedia Inc. (EXPE).
Zynga's second-quarter loss narrowed as the social-game maker
slashed expenses, though the number of daily active users slumped,
resulting in far fewer bookings. Shares fell 18% to $2.87 premarket
as the company guided for a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss
and lower-than-expected bookings.
Starbucks's fiscal third-quarter earnings jumped 25% as the
coffee giant booked same-store sales growth across all its regions.
Shares climbed 6.9% to $72.88 in premarket trading as results
topped Wall Street estimates and the company again raised its
full-year earnings guidance.
Expedia's second-quarter earnings fell 32% as the online travel
agent reported higher costs that offset growth in revenue. Expedia
shares fell 23% to $49.77 premarket following the weak
second-quarter results and lowered guidance.
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) said it reached an agreement to
buy back nearly $6 billion worth of Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR, VIVEF)
holding in the company, ending months of negotiations over the fate
of the videogame giant. Shares rose 18% to $17.89 premarket after
Activision said it will buy 429 million shares for about $13.60 per
share, reducing conglomerate Vivendi from being majority
shareholder.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) swung to a surprise second-quarter loss
as the Internet retail heavyweight's expansion plans continued to
weigh on results, though revenue kept strengthening and was in-line
with Wall Street views. Shares slipped 1.2% to $299.63
premarket.
Gilead Sciences Inc.'s (GILD) second-quarter profit rose 8.6% as
the drug company posted sales gains from its core business of
antiviral HIV treatments and made continued progress in its
expansion into other disease areas. Shares rose 5.6% to $64.25
premarket.
Pearson PLC (PSO, PSON.LN) said it would continue to restructure
to sharpen its focus on digital education and high-growth markets,
as part of which it will look at a possible sale of Mergermarket.
American depositary shares rose 7.8% to $20.92 premarket.
Oil-services company Halliburton Co. (HAL) is launching a $3.3
billion Dutch auction through which the company intends to
repurchase some 8% of its stock at a price probably above
Thursday's close. The company also agreed to plead guilty to
destroying evidence in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster
in April 2010, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.
Shares rose 4.7% to $46.42 premarket.
Outerwall Inc.'s (OUTR) second-quarter profit rose a
better-than-expected 27%, but revenue fell short of the formerly
named Coinstar's own estimate. Shares fell 8.1% to $60.00 premarket
as the company also guided for current-quarter earnings below
analyst estimates.
Qlik Technologies Inc.'s (QLIK) second-quarter loss widened as
an increase in costs masked revenue growth. Shares of Qlik, which
sells software to midsize and large enterprises that allows
businesses to search and query business data, were down 5.1%
premarket to $30.00 as the company cut its full-year earnings
guidance.
SolarWinds Inc.'s (SWI) investors ignored a 17% jump in the
company's second-quarter profit, as the information-technology
management software firm's shares fell on disappointing guidance
commentary. The stock slumped 21% to $36.25 in premarket trading,
as SolarWinds issued a weak outlook for the third quarter and
trimmed expectations for the full year.
Tempur Sealy International Inc. (TPX) swung to a second-quarter
loss on acquisition-related charges as the mattress company
reported its first full quarter to include results from its March
acquisition of Sealy Corp. Shares fell 12% to $37.00 premarket as
the results missed expectations and Tempur Sealy cut its 2013
guidance.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) said the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has put a partial clinical hold on a mid-stage study
of its experimental hepatitis C treatment VX-135 because of
toxicity concerns. Shares were down 8.7% to $80.00 premarket.
Watchlist:
Carmike Cinemas Inc. (CKEC) said its offering of 4.5 million
shares priced at $12 a piece, a 3.7% discount to its Thursday
closing price. The movie theater operator had 17.9 million shares
outstanding as of July 19.
CBS Corp.'s (CBS, CBSA) board has authorized a sharp increase in
the amount of shares the media company can repurchase, adding $5.1
billion to the program.
Cerner Corp.'s (CERN) second-quarter earnings rose 15% as the
hospital-information technology vendor reported stronger sales and
margins and bookings climbed.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.'s (CLF) second-quarter profit
declined 43% as the mining company's revenue was stung by weaker
iron-ore pricing, while the bottom line was also hurt by an
investment write-down charge.
Deckers Outdoor Corp.'s (DECK) second-quarter loss widened as
the footwear maker recorded a decline in UGG and Teva brand sales
as well as weaker margins. Revenue fell short of the company's
projections.
Dole Food Co.'s (DOLE) second-quarter earnings soared from a
year earlier as the fresh fruit-and-vegetable producer booked a
large gain related to its recent divestiture of several business
lines and an increase in revenue, though earnings from continuing
operations weakened.
Dresser-Rand Group Inc.'s (DRC) second-quarter earnings rose 57%
as the equipment maker continued to record strong growth in
aftermarket bookings.
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.'s (EW) second-quarter earnings rose
39% as its key replacement heart valve showed sales gains in the
U.S. and Europe.
Flextronics International Ltd.'s (FLEX) fiscal first-quarter
earnings dropped 54% after the contract electronics manufacturer
posted about $41 million in restructuring charges, though results
beat the company's guidance.
Freescale Semiconductor Ltd.'s (FSL) second-quarter loss widened
as the chip maker was hurt by debt-extinguishment and refinancing
charges, masking a modest sales increase as most of the company's
main product groups reported growth.
Global Payments Inc.'s (GPN) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings
surged as the credit-card processor recorded fewer costs related to
a security breach last year and its revenue grew.
HealthSouth Corp.'s (HLS) second-quarter results beat
expectations as profits more than tripled thanks to a big
income-tax benefit as well as revenue growth.
KBR Inc.'s (KBR) second-quarter earnings fell 13% as the defense
contractor posted decreased revenue in its hydrocarbons and
government segments. Still, results beat analyst expectations.
LogMeIn Inc. (LOGM) swung to a second-quarter loss as the
information-technology company's costs outpaced revenue growth.
However, results beat expectations.
McKesson Corp.'s (MCK) fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 12% as
the medical-products distributor posted broad revenue growth and a
boost from a recent acquisition.
Principal Financial Group Inc.'s (PFG) second-quarter profit
rose 33% as the asset manager and insurer continued to benefit from
its global growth. Results exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Republic Services Inc.'s (RSG) second-quarter earnings declined
62% as an environmental remediation charge and pension-related
costs hurt the waste-collection and recycling-services company's
bottom-line results.
Taubman Centers Inc.'s (TCO) second-quarter earnings rose 6.9%
and a key profit measure improved as the luxury-mall owner pulled
in higher rents.
Universal Health Services Inc.'s (UHS) second-quarter profit
jumped 41% as revenue for the health-care facility operator's
acute-care and behavioral segments rose, and as the bottom line was
lifted by a nearly $38 million gain.
VeriSign Inc.'s (VRSN) second-quarter profit jumped 23% as the
Internet-domain-name company reported a double-digit increase in
revenue and higher operating margins, lifting results above Wall
Street's expectations.
Western Refining Inc. (WNR) has filed plans for an initial
public offering for some of its pipeline, transportation and
storage assets, a move that comes months after the company began to
mull the formation of a limited partnership.
XL Group PLC (XL) and Stone Point Capital LLC formed a new
company that will manage investments in insurance-linked securities
and other products in reinsurance capital markets.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@dowjones.com
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