Afternoon Movers: JetBlue, Delta Rise on United-US Air Rumors

With the Dow Industrials up 44 points at 10,941.88 despite today’s suprise jump in jobless numbers, here are a few of the stocks making headlines:

Shares of US Airways Group (LCC) are up 89 cents, or 13%, at $7.71 following last night’s New York Times piece describing the company as being “deep” in talks for a possible merger with United Air Lines parent UAL (UAUA). United stock is up $1.79, or 9.5%, at $20.74. The Wall Street Journal’s Dennis Berman, Doug Cameron, and Susan Carey this afternoon write that their own anonymous sources confirm the two are in talks, noting the deal seems likely to be a stock swap, though there’s as yet little agreement on the structure of the proposed combination.

Shares of JetBlue (JBLU) and other airline stocks are up on the speculation, with JBLU rising 4 cents, or 0.7%, to $5.77, Delta Air Lines (DAL) is up 33 cents, or 2.3%, at $14.50, and Southwest Airlines (LUV) is up 15 cents, or 1%, at $13.45.

Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY) is riding up on last night’s better-than-expected fiscal Q4 and bullish forecast. UBS Securities analyst William Truelove raised his price target on the stock to $55 from $48 after increasing his estimate for this year’s profit to $2.55 from $2.48, which is above the $2.50 the Street has been estimating.

Ladies apparel retailer The Talbots (TLB) is up 47 cents, or 3.6%, at $13.95 after the company announced last night it successfully completed its tender for warrants in stock of BPW (BPW), a blank cheque company. The move gives Talbots an infusion of much needed cash.

Shares of retailers are broadly higher after the group’s same-store sales increase in March came in at a record 9.1%, well above expectations. Shares of Hott Topic (HOTT), which recorded a much-smaller-than-expected decline in same-store sales, is up 81 cents, or 12%, at $7.87. Cato (CATO), the big surprise in today’s report, is up $1.96, or 9%, at $23.76. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), the big disappointment from this morning, is down $1.48, or 3%, at $46.06, having pared some losses from the morning.

Medical technology giant Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions (MDRX) is up 36 cents, or 1.8%, at $20.51, after the company last night beat fiscal Q3 revenue and EPS estimates and forecast the year above estimates. Caris & Co. and Brean Murray analysts raised their targets on the stock today to $24 and $22, respectively. But Auriga Securities analyst Gene Mannheimer this morning reiterated a “Hold” rating on the stock, saying that he expects the company going forward to make more sales from small physicians’ group practices, rather than large institutions, which could limit deal sizes and profits.