Story Stocks: Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Smith & Wesson Holding (NASDAQ:SWHC)

Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL) shares shot up 8% to $47.07 in opening trades Friday, making it the top gainer on the S&P 500 Index. The gains came after Apollo, parent of the University of Phoenix, posted a fiscal third-quarter profit that outran Wall Street’s target. Apollo late Thursday reported a profit of $1.45 a share, excluding special items. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted $1.33 a share. -MarketWatch Bankrupt Canadian telecom group Nortel Networks Corp. on Friday said it is selling all of its remaining patents and patent applications to a consortium including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Research In Motion and Sony for $4.5 billion in cash. Ontario-based Nortel has been selling its operations piece by piece . . . → Read More: Story Stocks: Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Smith & Wesson Holding (NASDAQ:SWHC)