Apollo, BPZ, Cadence, Orexigen, Siemens: U.S. Equity Preview

By Cordell Eddings

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes in U.S. trading today. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of 7:45 p.m. in New York, unless otherwise specified.

Airgas Inc. (ARG US): The packaged-gas distributor said fiscal third-quarter profit was 74 cents to 76 cents a share, trailing the previous forecast of as much as 84 cents and the 78-cent average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The shares slipped 13 cents to $38.17 yesterday.

Apollo Group Inc. (APOL US) rose 10 percent to $85. The owner of the for-profit University of Phoenix said it had first quarter earnings of $1.12 a share, higher than the 97 cents analysts expected. The company also announced degreed enrollment was up 18 percent.

BPZ Resources Inc. (BPZ US) fell 16 percent to $7. The U.S. oil and natural-gas producer said yesterday it stopped discussions with Royal Dutch Shell Plc on a Peru venture.

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS US): The maker of programs for creating computer chips named board member Lip-Bu Tan as its new chief executive officer, ending a search for a new leader. The stock rose 2.2 percent to $4.12 in regular trading.

Coach Inc. (COH US) fell $1, or 4.8 percent, to $19.90. The largest U.S. maker of luxury leather handbags lowered its second-quarter profit forecast because of “depressed” store traffic and discounts.

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (OREX US) tumbled 33 percent to $4.04. The pharmaceutical company released study results on its Contrave obesity pill that failed to show enough difference between patients taking the drug and those taking a placebo.

Palm Inc. (PALM US) climbed 10 percent to $4.69. The money- losing maker of the Treo and Centro mobile phones extended yesterday’s gains after unveiling a new touch-screen phone, called the Pre, to compete with Apple Inc.’s best-selling iPhone.

Siemens AG American depositary receipts (SI US) fell 2.74 percent to $71.76. Europe’s largest engineering company said it supports a plan by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to limit firings until the end of the year. Siemens will avoid firings except in an emergency or if it makes an acquisition or sells a unit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cordell Eddings in New York at ceddings@bloomberg.net