Weekly Market Recap: Urban Outfitters Up, Samsung vs. Apple Verdict

Monday

Markets closed down on Wall Street today: Dow -0.03%, S&P -0.00%, Nasdaq -0.01%, Oil -0.05%, Gold +0.23%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) declined to $95.97 a barrel. Precious metals rose, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) increasing to $1623 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 0.81% to settle at $28.81.

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to today’s top stock stories:

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares increased 2.6 percent after it became the all-time most valuable company as defined by market capitalization on Monday. The company closed with a $623.5 billion market cap at its highest stock price ever of $665.15 per share, up from Friday’s $607.5 billion.

Coventry Health Care Inc. (NYSE:CVH) shares jumped 19 percent after Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) confirmed it will purchase the company in a cash and stock deal valued at $5.7 billion. With the transaction, Aetna will become one of the biggest providers in government-financed health care. Aetna’s shares increased over 5 percent on the news.

Western Liberty Bancorp’s (NASDAQ:WLBC) shares rose 34 percent after Western Alliance Bancorp.(NYSE:WAL) said it purchase the company for $55 million.

On the down side, ATP Oil and Gas Corp. (NASDAQ:ATPG)’s shares tanked 32 percent after the company said on Monday it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE:LOW) shares fell 6 percent after it reported its second-quarter earnings results. The company said earnings dropped 10 percent in the quarter from margins being squeezed and declining same-store sales. With the weak numbers, Lowe’s cut its 2012 projections.

Tuesday

Markets closed down on Wall Street today: Dow -0.51%, S&P -0.35%, Nasdaq -0.29%, Oil +0.60%, Gold -0.17%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) rose to $96.55 a barrel. Precious metals were mixed, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) falling to $1640 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 0.66% to settle at $29.95.

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to today’s top stock stories:

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) reported its second quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday and said its quarterly revenue came in slightly short of Wall Street’s target. The company said its sales were $14.5 billion, shy for analysts’ estimates of $14.7 billion. In the previous year, sales were $15.7 billion. Dell’s second quarter profit was $732 million (42 cents per share) as compared to the prior year’s $890 million (48 cents per share). Second quarter adjusted earnings were 50 percents per share, coming in higher than analysts’ 45 cents estimates.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was granted a patent on Tuesday that would allow users to skip unwanted broadcast segments, such as commercials, with on-device content like songs, podcasts, or other media. U.S. Patent No. 8,249,497, which was granted Apple today, is for “seamless switching between radio and local media.” The patent describes a system in which a mobile device will automatically switch between broadcast content and stored media to offer a unique, customized user experience.

Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) shares fell 4.3 percent. On Monday, a regulatory filed disclosed that Peter Thiel, Facebook’s first main outside investor, had sold more than 20 million shares of the company’s stock.

Groupon Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GRPN) shares declined 2.4 percent. On Tuesday, Barclays cut its rating on the company from “Overweight” to “Underweight.”  The analyst, Mark May, also decreased his price target to $4. The company went public last November and year-to-date, its stock has tanked 78 percent.

On the plus side, Urban Outfitters Inc.’s (NASDAQ:URBN) shares rose 18 percent. On Tuesday, the company reported that its fiscal second-quarter earnings increased 8.1 percent.

Thursday

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to Wednesday trading and the market’s BIGGEST movers:

Markets closed mixed on Wall Street yesterday: Dow -0.23%, S&P +0.02%, Nasdaq +0.21%, Oil +0.43%, Gold +0.87%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) rose to $97.30 a barrel. Precious metals also increased, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) rising to $1,657 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 0.43% to settle at $29.86.

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to today’s top stock stories:

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is preparing its staff for something big next month, issuing an all-staff vacation blackout from September 21 until September 30, and speculators believe it’s the next iPhone launch. At this point, a September iPhone launch seems all but certain — after all, it’s been nearly a year since Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) released the last iteration of its top-selling smartphone, and tech blogs and insider sources have been churning out rumors since March, with the information becoming more credible and more specific as time progressed.

Don’t Miss: Verizon HINTS Apple’s Next iPhone Will Launch September 21.

James River Coal Co.(NASDAQ:JRCC) rose a second consecutive day. On Wednesday, shares increased more than 9 percent after Tuesday’s news that a federal court had sent an emissions ruling to the Environmental Protection Agency for a revision.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE:WSM) shares jumped 11 percent. With the company’s revived gross margin and strong sales growth, its profit increased 10 percent in the fiscal second quarter. The quarterly results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Zynga Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares increased 7.4 percent after J.P. Morgan began coverage on it with a “Market Outperform” rating.

On the downside, Dell Inc.’s (NASDAQ:DELL) shares declined 5.3 percent. After the bell on Tuesday, the company cut its full-year earnings outlook and gave a down revenue outlook for its current quarter.

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Friday

Markets closed down on Wall Street today: Dow +0.77%, S&P +0.65%, Nasdaq +0.54%, Oil -0.16%, Gold +0.04%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) declined to $96.12 a barrel. Precious metals rose, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) increasing to $1,673 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 0.30% to settle at $30.76.

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to today’s top stock stories:

Samsung won a small victory against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in South Korea on Friday when a judge said the company didn’t copy the look and feel of Apple’s iPhone, but rather, the iPhone infringed on Samsung’s wireless technology. The panel ruled that Samsung violated the Apple technology behind the bounce-back feature when scrolling on touch screens, and ordered both sides to pay limited damages.

Madison Square Garden Co.’s (NASDAQ:MSG) shares rose 5 percent. Before the bell on Friday, the company announced its fourth-quarter earnings beat estimates. Helping Madison Square Garden’s numbers was the New York Rangers and the New York Knicks playoff games.

Supervalu’s (NYSE:SVU) shares increased 10 percent. Bloomberg reported that the company asked their suitors bidding on portions of the company to instead make offers for all of it.

On the downside, Autodesk Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ADSK) shares tanked 15 percent. The company reported that its second-quarter profit declined 9.3 percent. Its revenue missed expectations and the company cut its top-line forecast for the full fiscal 2012. On Thursday, Autodesk said it planned to cut employees through a restructuring effort as it concentrates on the shift to cloud and mobile computing.

Shoe Carnival Inc.’s (NASDAQ:SCVL) shares dropped 5 percent. The company reported a second quarter profit of 14 cents a share as compared to the previous year’s but it exceeded management’s earnings estimate. Sales increased 9 percent to $182.2 million and comparable-store sales rose 3 percent. Shoe Carnival issued a third quarter forecast with earnings in the 55 cents to 60 cents a share range, up from the prior year’s 52 cents a share.

BONUS: Get details about the verdict in the Apple versus Samsung case and learn What Apple’s Landmark Victory Means for Shareholders >>