Boise, PartnerRe, Volcom, Washington Post: U.S. Equity Preview

Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of 8:50 a.m. in New York.

Shares of defense-related companies may move after President Barack Obama said al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed. Those stocks include Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) , Raytheon Co. (RTN) , Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and General Dynamics Corp. (GD) .

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACUR) : The pharmaceutical company said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Reddick, who joined in August 2003, died.

Alcoa Inc. (AA) rose 2.2 percent to $17.38. The largest U.S. aluminum producer was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which also lifted it share-price estimate to $22 from $17.

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) fell 2.5 percent to $15.30. The world’s largest producer of chipmaking equipment was downgraded to “neutral” from “overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Boise Inc. (BZ) slipped 3.7 percent to $9.46. The paper and packaging maker reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share, missing the average analyst estimate by 1 cent.

Cephalon Inc. (CEPH) rose 5.3 percent to $81.09. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) , the world’s largest generic-drug maker, agreed to buy the biopharmaceutical company for $6.8 billion, trumping a hostile offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX) .

Valeant slumped 8.8 percent to $48.

Dolby Laboratories Inc. (DLB) gained 1.9 percent to $51. The maker of audio signal processing systems is trading at a discount and may already reflect concern about a PC market slowdown, Barron’s reported in its “The Trader” column.

EMC Corp. (EMC US) climbed 1.2 percent to $28.68. The world’s biggest maker of storage computers was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at Bank of America Corp.

International Coal Group Inc. (ICO) surged 31 percent to $14.46. Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) said it will buy the coal miner for $14.60 a share in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.4 billion.

International Paper Co. (IP) (IP) added 4.1 percent to $32.14. The world’s largest paper and pulp producer may rise to $42 during the next year as demand for packaging expands globally, Barron’s reported, citing Chip Dillon, an analyst at Credit Suisse.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (KND) increased 2.3 percent to $25.79. The health care provider may rise to the mid-$30s within a year if its planned $1.3 billion acquisition of RehabCare Group Inc. adds to earnings growth, Barron’s reported.

Loews Corp. (L) fell 4.8 percent to $42.12. The holding company run by New York’s Tisch family reported first-quarter earnings of 92 cents a share. The average analyst estimate called for a profit of 91 cents.

Macy’s Inc. (M) gained 2.5 percent to $24.50. The department-store retailer may be trading at a discount as consumer spending rebounds and the company cuts debt to improve its credit rating, Barron’s reported.

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (MI) : The Milwaukee-based bank being bought by Bank of Montreal reported a first-quarter loss of 27 cents a share, missing the average estimate among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, which was for a loss of 17 cents.

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) jumped 2.9 percent to $239.45. The mail-order and online movie-rental service was raised to “buy” from “hold” at Citigroup Inc.

Online Resources Corp. (ORCC) : The maker of Internet banking software said first-quarter revenue was about $39.3 million, above the average analyst estimate of $38.1 million in a Bloomberg survey. Online Resources also said a Virginia court found former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matthew P. Lawlor wasn’t wrongfully fired, while awarding him $5.3 million on other claims that the company intends to contest.

PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) : The reinsurer that acquired Paris Re Holdings Ltd. said the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan will cost the company $230 million more than it projected last month. The cost will be about $730 million, the Bermuda- based insurer said.

Puda Coal Inc. (PUDA) declined 1.2 percent to $5.93. The Chinese coal company said Chairman Ming Zhao offered to buy the company for $12 a share. The company is continuing its investigation into allegations made by blogger Alfred Little that Zhao sold half the company and pledged the other half to Chinese private-equity investors.

Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (SKH) : The operator of nursing and assisted living homes has an unclear outlook as investors assess a rate cut by Medicare and possible takeover bids, Barron’s reported in its “The Trader” column.

Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. (TLCR) rallied 4.8 percent to $29.25. Grifols SA won tentative U.S. antitrust approval to buy the biopharmaceutical company for $4 billion after agreeing to sell some assets, reducing the number of major companies in the blood-plasma industry to three.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) dropped 6.6 percent to $6.47. Community Health Systems Inc. (CYH) said it raised its all-cash offer to acquire the hospital operator to $7.25 a share from $6.

TiVo Inc. (TIVO) jumped 16 percent to $11.06. Dish Network Corp. (DISH) and EchoStar Corp. (SATS) agreed to pay the pioneer in the market for home DVRs $500 million, including an initial payment of $300 million, as part of an agreement to dismiss all pending litigation between the companies.

Dish rallied 8.2 percent to $27.10.

Volcom Inc. (VLCM) surged 24 percent to $24.40. PPR SA, the French owner of Gucci and Puma, agreed to buy all of the clothing manufacturer for $607.5 million in cash to strengthen its lifestyle sports unit with skate- and snowboarding gear.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) : The media company may be fairly valued and the advance of the shares may slow after gaining about 15 percent this year, Barron’s reported in its “The Trader” column.

Washington Post Co. (WPO) : Warren Buffett said he intends to retain Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s stake in the publishing company after announcing in January that he plans to step down from its board.

To contact the reporter on this story: Inyoung Hwang in New York at ihwang7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net.