Stocks in the News: Sybase, Cisco, Kohl's

The following is a round-up of news likely to affect stock prices today:

SAP (SAP) on Wednesday announced it has agreed to pay $5.8 billion for Sybase (SY). The all-cash deal is for $65 per SY share, a 56% premium to Tuesday's closing price. Already Wednesday SY shares closed 35% higher at $56.14. In premarket trading SY shares continued to climb, rising another 15% to $64.50.

Cisco (CSCO) said Wednesday that its net income for the latest quarter rose 63% to $2.2 billion, or 37 cents per share, from last year and revenue rose 27% to $10.4 billion, topping analysts' estimates. Shares fell 1.8% in premarket trading.

Deutsche Bank (DB), Citigroup (C), UBS (UBS) and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) are now joining Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) as subjects of a preliminary criminal probe into mortgage bond deals and whether the banks misled investors, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Kohl's Corp. (KSS) said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit increased 45% to $199 million, or 64 cents a share, as sales rose 11% to $4.04 billion, beating analysts' estimates. Kohl's raised its full-year outlook. Shares were 2% lower before the bell.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) said Thursday that its first-quarter net income jumped 72%, but beat estimates only by a penny. Revenues increased 25% on sales strength across its brands. Same-store sales rose 11%.

Transocean Ltd. (RIG) will file a request in U.S. District Court in Houston to limit its liability to just under $27 million in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig accident, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Thursday. Shares rose 1.6% ahead of the bell.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI) said stronger sales helped more than double its second-quarter net income to $67.5 million, or 39 cents per share. Revenue rose more than 13% to $2.1 billion. Results beat Wall Street's projections. The company also raised its full-year guidance on Wednesday. Shares jumped some 6.5% in premarket trading.

Sony Corp. (SNE) reported a narrower fiscal loss of 40.8 billion yen ($439 million) loss, and predicted a return to profit as restructuring and an aggressive 3-D rollout bear fruit.

Telefonica SA (TEF) said Thursday its first quarter net profit rose 2% to €1.65 billion ($2.09 billion) as revenue increased 1.7% to €13.93 billion, thanks to growth in Europe and Latin America. Shares fell 2.2%.

Google Inc. (GOOG) is holding its annual shareholder meeting Thursday afternoon.

BT Group PLC (BT) said Thursday it made a better-than-expected profit of £208 million ($310 million) during the last quarter even as revenue was down 2% because of the company's sharp cuts in capital spending and underlying costs. Shares soared 9.2% ahead of the bell.

eBay (EBAY) CEO John Donahoe wants to expand PayPal's payment service and is eying more opportunities offline. Shares were 2.8% higher in premarket action.