Stocks to Watch – ATVI, AAPL, BP, ITMN, GS

Following yesterday’s woeful session of trading, here are 5 companies that you might want to keep an eye on today: Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), BP Inc (NYSE: BP), InterMune Inc (NASDAQ:ITMN), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), BP Inc (NYSE: BP), InterMune Inc (NASDAQ:ITMN), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS)

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) – Activision Blizzard, the world’s largest video games publisher is set to announce its first quarter results tomorrow. The stock has seen much attention in past couple of weeks, first with the trouble surrounding game studio Infinity Ward followed by a surprising 10 year deal with Bungie.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – Apple came back from the brink to become a global icon – a remarkable come-back story led by Steve Jobs that saw it pass Microsoft in recent weeks in terms of market value. But are the days of Apple as a media and consumer darling nearing an end? The closed ecosystem of the iPad, tight control of its Apps store and monetization policies, its harsh criticism of Adobe, and its latest treatment of a Gizmodo reporter has drawn unprecedented press for the company that not too long ago was seen as the underdog compared against the likes of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), HP (NASDAQ: HPQ), and Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG). Does the anti-trust probe mark the beginning of a new era for Apple?

BP Inc (NYSE: BP) – BP shares were one of the few to see a positive climb (up 2%) in what analysts call the worst trading session of the year. After a near 20% drop in stock price since April 20th and over $30 billion lost in market value – some investors perhaps thought there might be an over-reaction to the rig explosioin. The oil slick has still not been fully controlled and hence further news surrouding the catastrophe is expected to lead to further volatility in BP’s stock price.

InterMune Inc (NASDAQ:ITMN) – InterMune saw a drop in its stock price of 80% in after hours on Tuesday following news that the FDA had rejected the company’s application for a terminal lung disease called Estriet.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) – CNNMoney reports that Goldman Sachs has so far not lost a large number of clients despite the negative press surrounding the New York based investment bank and added that it was a part of the recent merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines as well as a being a couselor to Palm prior to the HP deal. However many authoritative bodies could soon pull out of doing business with Goldman, not due to doubting their abilities but related to the negative reputation it could bring to be associated with a company of Goldman’s nature. This will open up many doors for rivals, including Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and Citigroup (NYSE: C) just to name a few. Coincidentally enough, Goldman Sachs were the only one out of the big names not to lose market value during the market slump experienced on Tuesday.

Stay tuned for futher news and followups for Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), BP Inc (NYSE: BP), InterMune Inc (NASDAQ:ITMN), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).