US HOT STOCKS: Walgreen, Jefferies, Patriot Coal, Sonic

U.S. stocks were mixed Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2 points to 10445, the S&P 500 slipped 1 point to 1112 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10 points to 2299. Among the companies whose shares were actively trading in the session are Walgreen Co. (WAG), Jefferies Group Inc. (JEF) and Patriot Coal Corp. (PCX). Walgreen's (WAG, $28.32, -$1.82, -6.04%) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 11%, hurt by the elimination of a tax benefit due to the health-care overhaul, costs from its acquisition of Duane Reade and weakened consumer spending. Profit was short of analysts' expectations as Walgreen's same-store sales which exclude Duane Reade rose 0.7% amid continued consumer weakness, a slowdown in generic-drug introductions and a milder flu season. Rival CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS, $31.66, -$0.12, -0.38%) shares also fell on the weakness. Jefferies (JEF, $24.61, +$1.74, +7.61%) posted a fiscal second-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates as the financial group continued to see strong performance from its investment-banking arm, which reported record quarterly revenue. Executive Committee Chairman Brian Friedman said the investment bank's mergers-and-acquisition and strategic-advisory business has "continued to pick up." Patriot Coal (PCX, $13.97, -$2.23, -13.77%) said it would permanently shut down a mine in West Virginia that it closed last week because of a roof collapse. The closure of the Harris mine, which produces metallurgical coal used in steel production, is expected to eat into profits for this year, next year. Brean Murray Carret cut its 2010 and 2011 earnings estimates, and dropped the target price on shares to $26 from $30. Sonic Corp.'s (SONC, $8.85, -$0.44, -4.74%) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 35%, as the drive-in restaurant chain's sales weakness continued, and earnings dropped much further than analysts expected. Carnival Corp. (CCL, $33.68, -$1.06, -3.05%) reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings, but projected third-quarter earnings below estimates. The cruise line operator said unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates have hurt earnings, and fuel costs for the third quarter are expected to cost 9 cents more a share than in the previous year. President Barack Obama's administration sent BP PLC (BP, $29.51, -$0.82, -2.70%) its biggest invoice yet: $51.4 million for oil clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. Monday, the administration said it has billed BP and other, unnamed responsible parties $51.4 million, raising the total to $70.9 million. Other Stocks In Focus: Pacific Crest upgraded lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc. (AONE, $8.94, +$0.37, +4.34%) to outperform from sector perform saying "it is time for investors to step in front of an increasing policy focus on electrified transportation in the wake of the gulf oil spill and increased enthusiasm around EVs coinciding with successful new product launches." Affymax Inc. (AFFY, $7.43, +$0.25, +3.48%), a biopharmaceutical company, said it received a $30 million milestone payment from Japanese partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (TKPYY, $21.15, -$0.25, -1.17%) for Affymax's investigational drug that treats anemia in patients with chronic renal failure. Structural cracks discovered recently on at least two American Airlines Boeing 767 jetliners, including one jet that air-safety regulators believe could easily have lost an engine, are prompting concerns that some of the problems may turn out to be more widespread. AMR Corp.'s (AMR, $8.10, -$0.14, -1.70%) carrier American, with oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration, has checked the bulk of its wide-body 767 fleet to look for possible cracks in critical components that attach engines to the wings. On Monday, the FAA said problems were found on three planes. Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, $13.10, -$0.40, -2.93%), Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL, $23.41, -$0.90, -3.70%), US Airways Group Inc. (LCC, $9.71, -$0.29, -2.90%) and UAL Corp. (UAUA, $22.35, -$0.90, -3.85%) were all trading lower. Apple Inc. (AAPL, $274.87, +$4.70, +1.74%) sold its three millionth iPad Monday, 80 days after the tablet computer's introduction in the U.S. and giving further insight on how the device will boost current-quarter results for the tech giant. Media and marketing research firm Arbitron Inc. (ARB, $29.26, +$1.09, +3.87%) said it acquired the technology portfolio, patents and trade name from Integrated Media Measurement Inc., now known as Audience Measurement Technologies Inc. The IMMI technologies acquired by Arbitron include IMMI's cellular phone-based technology, designed to capture consumer cross-platform media usage. Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (ASTI, $3.00, +$0.11, +3.81%) a thin-film solar module developer, won a 4.5-year, multi-million-dollar contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for developing low-cost light-weight photovoltaics that can hold up in battle conditions. The first phase of the contract is expected to take 18 months and is valued at $3.8 million. Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. (ACFC, $2.98, -$0.22, -7.03%) said it plans to sell up to 3.2 million shares in an initial public offering as part of its conversion from a mutual-holding company. The bank-holding company intends to offer the shares at $10 each, first to depositors as of March 31, 2009. It has 12 branches in southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida, and $914 million in assets as of March 31. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 13:18 ET (17:18 GMT)