Today's Market Winners and Losers (6/26/2012)

Today has been a relatively calm day, with the Dow down just slightly and the Nasdaq up a smidgen on midday trading. Unlike the past several days, no pharmaceutical companies have made today’s winners and losers. Rather, we have two education companies (one part of a much larger media conglomerate) who made the list. Meanwhile, the coal sector continues to struggle, with one company crowned as today’s biggest loser once again.

Here are today’s midday market winners and losers:

Biggest Winners

Shares of Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) are up 8.41% to $35.20 based on trading volume of 3.5 million shares. While the company’s reported third quarter earnings fell 37% to $1.13, the parent company of the University of Phoenix still beat Wall St. estimates of 97 cents. The company has struggled as of late due to federal regulations and public scrutiny of the for-profit education industry.

Shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) are up 7.59% to $21.63 based on trading volume of  18.9 million shares. The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that the company is looking to break off into two. One company would hold News Corp.’s publishing assets while another would run the  entertainment portion. News Corp. stock is at its highest level since it acquired Dow Jones in 2007.

Biggest Loser

Shares of Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX)  are down 8.47% to $1.08 on trading volume of 2.6 million shares. The stock price is currently at its 52-week low and down nearly 97% from its 52-week high of $24.99.  Patriot, along with other coal companies, have struggled as of late due to lower natural gas prices.

Samuel Weigley