Volume Spike Investor

Friday is finally here.  We have some real duds this morning that are going to be glad to have this week behind them based upon their news moves.  We have provided the price move, the volume, and added color and relevant data around the news summaries for each.

AP Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: APPA) is getting crushed after the FDA complete response letters has denied approval of the AP Pharma prevention of both acute and delayed onset chemotherapy-induced nausea drug. At 8:45 AM EST we have shares down 55% at $0.92 on 1.1+ million shares.  Average volume is only about 569,000 shares and the 52-week range is $0.38 to $2.16.  Yesterday’s market cap was $81 million, so we are just under $40 million now.

Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) is looking uglier than a hat full of fingers.  The earnings miss was not helped at all by a revenue beat.  Shipments were up but sell-throughs are soft and the company is going to be short of estimates again.  At 8:45 AM EST we have shares down 18% at $4.62 and the pre-market volume is 4.3 million shares.  Call this one a 52-week low.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is up again ahead of what is expected to be a Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)  announcement Monday about the search engine’s plans for China.  Fox reported that this annnouncement will be an exit. The verdict is in… either way, Google has a severely damaged brand in China that will only lead to more business for Baidu.  Baidu is up 2.3% at $577.88 on just over 50,000 shares and Google is down 0.9% at $561.30 on about 35,000 shares (8:45 AM EST).

Netlist Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) is lower this morning on a capital raise.  The company is up exponentially from lows and announced the pricing of an underwritten public secondary offering of 3,995,000 shares at $3.85 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $15.38 million.  This is a higher share count than originally noted.  Shares closed at $4.23 Thursday and the stock is down almost 8% at $3.90 this morning at 8:45 but the volume is rather thin for the move and considering the cult stock status..

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) finally reported earnings.  The company’s profits fell and fell short of estimates and it restated previous earnings.  At 8:45 AM EST we have shares down 9.8% at $19.88 on 27,000 shares.

Addus HomeCare Corporation (NASDAQ: ADUS) posted lower-than-expected Q4 profits, and it was actually a loss due to the costs of the initial public offering.  This is still a thin volume stock of a company which provides a range of social and medical services to individuals in the home. At 8:46 AM EST shares are down almost 16% at $7.49 but only on about 3,200 shares versus a 32,000 share average per day.  The post-IPO range has been $7.52 to $9.72.

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JON C. OGG

These are this morning’s top day trader and active trader alerts. We have added the price moves and color on each stock as of approximately 8:40 AM EST unless stated otherwise, as well as historical data for a comparison.

Delta Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: DPTR) shares are surging by 20% at $1.64 on over 1 million shares pre-market.  The market cap as of yesterday was only $384 million, yet the company said it was going to sell part of the Piceance acreage for $400 million.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is lower despite having raised its guidance with earnings this morning after its profit more than doubled.  The new range for 2010 earnings is $3.60 to $3.80 EPS versus a prior target of $3.45 to $3.75 EPS.  The issue here is one of valuation as the stock was up about 150% from 2009 lows.  Shares are down almost 3% at $87.30 on about 500,000 shares.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is hitting new 52-week highs this morning after posting $1.01 EPS and $4.7 billion in revenue versus Thomson Reuters estimates of $0.89 EPS $4.6 billion in revenues.  Volume is still rather thin but the stock is up 4% at $73.75.  $71.33 is the old 52-week high.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: SASR) is one of the top drops today although this is thin volume usually.  Shares are down 10% at $13.40 after it priced a public secondary offering of 6.5 million shares at $13.50 per share  to raise approximately $87,750,000.00.  The market cap here was only $245 million yesterday and shares were at $14.91 on Wednesday’s close. The 52-week trading range was $8.19 to $17.92 and the stock’s average volume is only about 50,000 shares.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) closed yesterday at $59.94, but shares are up 4.15% at $62.43 on almost 1 million shares at 8:35 AM EST.  Teva reached an agreement for about $5 billion deal to buy German generic drug maker Ratiopharm.  Teva’s market cap was $53 billion before the effects of this deal.  The 52-week range is $42.77 to $62.17 and the average share volume is about 5.3 million shares.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is down almost 4% at $22.19 after a close of $23.08 yesterday and versus a 52-week range of $3.73 to $31.18.  After the close yesterday, Trina announced a follow-on public secondary offering of 7,900,000 ADRs via Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital.

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JON C. OGG

We have taken a look at the movers up and down today and pulled out the key names we have seen on news with exponential trading volume.  We have also included the news and relative color on the trading day and offered a link to each where applicable.  Share prices as of a 12:25 PM EST snapshot…

Akeena Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKNS) is up on the announcement that it will provide solar installation services for Lowe’s.  674K shares, up 8.6% at $1.13 on over 2X trading volume and versus 52-week range of $0.67 to $1.98.

Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) look like BlockKnocker actually.  Shares are down 32% at $0.27 on 22.4 million shares… about 4X volume already on the heels of a bankruptcy warning.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) is up over 7% at $1.13 on 40 million shares, about 166% normal volume already.  Fannie cut its mortgage forecast but sold $5 billion in new bills.

Fuqi International, Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) is down now over 36% at $12.05 on 12 million (plus) shares… that is now already over 12X volume.  52-Week range is $3.65 to $32.68.  These guys won the “Mr. Dumas Accounting Award” today.

LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI) is back if you have forgotten about the old semiconductor and chip company.  LSI raised its guidance on strong product sales and even announced a $250 million share buyback plan.  LSI is up 8% at $6.29 on 26 million shares versus ‘only’ about 9 million shares otherwise.

Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO) lowered its ficsal 2010 guidance: Net sales are now expected to be between $145 million and $153 million, compared to the previous guidance range of $160 million to $165 million. Diluted earnings per share is expected to be between $0.70 and $0.80, compared to the previous guidance range of $0.90 to $0.95.  Shares are down 15% at $20.17 on over 1.3 million shares.  That is 5X volume and the 52-week range is $14.79 to $26.20.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is still running on rumors of an Apax Partners acquisition.  Shares are up 9.85% at $33.45 on 11.8 million shares, about 10X volume.  The $33.44 high today market a two-year high.

Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV) is up after Jim Cramer touted this one as a potential homerun last night on CNBC Mad Money.  Shares are up 4.2% at $3.74 on 28.2 million shares, or about 2X volume already.  The 52-week range is $1.45 to $5.24.

VirnetX Holding Corp. (NYSE AMEX: VHC) won a $105.75 million patent ruling against Microsoft… This could be triple the amount under certain circumstance.  Shares are up 13.4% at $6.34 on 2.6 million shares.  The 52-week range is $1.05 to $7.99 but that $7.99 may be a false print because that is listed as today and the intraday chart does not show that.  Today’s move is over 5X volume.

Volterra Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: VLTR) is proof that stocks which hit new highs rarely do it once only.  Shares are up 5.7% at $24.90 on 700K shares, more than double its average volume.  The 52-week range is $8.03 to $25.05 and that $25.03 is today’s high.

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JON C. OGG

LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC) is down almost 3% at $10.97 on over 100,000 shares as of 8:35 AM EST.  The stock was downgraded at BofA/ML and at Goldman Sachs.  The 52-week range is $7.62 to $11.33 and the average volume is over 6 million shares.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is trading up despite a $1 billion loss.  Volume is thin as of 8:35 AM EST but the shares are actually up 3% at $37.38 versus a post-bankruptcy emergence trading range of $24.83 to $37.88.

Fuqi International Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) issued an earnings warning and miss, issued an accounting restatement for Q1 2009 to Q3 2009, and said margins were lower.  The company even partly blamed delays into Chinese New Year.  At 8:35 AM EST we have seen a 29% drop to $13.47 for the Chinese jeweler and we are close to 400,000 shares.

General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) is trading higher on late day reports that it may be getting a higher Simon Property buyout offer. There has yet to be a higher bid and what that bid would be is up for discussion. At 8:35 AM EST we have only about 20,000 shares traded but shares are up 2% at $15.40.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is running up to more than two-year highs in pre-market trading on reports that the company may go private in a deal with Apax Partners.  More buyout rumors, again.  Shares at 8:35 AM EST have already gone over 1 million shares versus a full day’s volume of about 1.4 million shares.  The stock is up 9% at $33.20 and the old 52-week high is $30.50.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was up all day yesterday on KKR buyout rumors. The stock is thin in pre-market volume today but the shares are up 0.7% at $28.55.  Shares hit an intra-day high of $28.35 yesterday.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is trading up again this morning.  At 8:38 AM EST we have seen close to 500K shares trade and the stock is up about 0.9% at $18.24.  Yesterday’s high was $18.14, which is also a 52-week high.

AMBAC Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is actually trading up after the troubled financial guaranty company delayed its earnings report.  The company is said to be in talks with counterparties and it has recently noted its NYSE listing requirements with its share price so low.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

The rumor mill is back.  It is also tiring.  Today we had two gainers seen in General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) and in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG).  Details on each are as follows, along with unofficial closing bell levels.

General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) just spiked at the end of the trading day on rumors that a higher bid was coming from Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG).  Shares turned in an unofficial closing bell of +2.64% at $15.14 on 3.8 million shares.  Average volume is 3.9 million shares but this one ripped up from $14.50 to over $15.00.  The official close will likely be slightly different.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was crazy today on KKR-led buyout rumors.  The ‘buyout rumor mill’ is back strong now that the market has become more enthusiastic.  This one is hard to imagine on the surface with a $6.6+ billion market cap before any buyout premium.  Its 52-week range is $10.86 to $30.00 and today’s high was $28.98.  We have an unofficial closing bell level of being up almost 7% at $28.34 on more than 18 million shares versus an average closer to 3.3 million shares per day.

JON C. OGG

General Electric Co. (GE) is seeing a break-out.  Yesterday it was Goldman Sachs, today JPMorgan helping with comments on the conglomerate.  The prior 52-week high was $17.52 that was hit back on September 19 2009 after it went ex-dividend.  This morning shares opened up at $17.49 after a $17.29 close on Monday.  Now shares are trading at $17.65 and we have seen a high print of $17.68 this morning.

What is most impressive is that GE’s share volume today is through  the roof… At 10:31 AM EST we have seen 63 million shares trade hands versus an average daily volume of 73 million shares.

Also impressive is the stock options volume today.  We have seen over 20,000 of the MARCH-2010 $17.50 CALLS trade versus an open interest of 174,000+ contracts.  Based on the last trade, those only have to hit $17.77 for the trade to be profitable (before commissions and fees).

We have also seen almost 30,000 contracts in various strikes trade of the APRIL-2010 CALLS….

Stay tuned.  If today will hold, this is probably a breakout.  You know the old mantra… “Stocks hitting 52-week highs tend to keep hitting 52-week highs.”

JON C. OGG

ICAgen Inc. (NASDAQ: ICGN) is soaring.  Shares closed at $0.54 on Monday and at 8:45 AM EST we have shares up 70% at $0.92 on about 85,000 shares.  Be advised that this micro-cap biotech was at $1.00 earlier this morning and that the 52-week trading range was $0.31 to $1.59.  The company reported positive results for its drug candidate in Phase IIa studies of its ICA-105665 for patients with photosensitive epilepsy.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) was down marginally after its earnings report but then fell much more sharply after its conference call after earnings last night.  Shares are indicated down 17% at $6.42 on over 700,000 shares as of 8:45 AM EST.  The company will not offer financial guidance and plans to raise capital.

Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ: MPEL) was raised to “Outperform” from Neutral at Credit Suisse  on the belief that China will only be slow the growth of Macau on a limited basis as far as those casinos which are already established.  At 8:45 AM EST we have shares up 5% at $4.70 on 175,000 shares.

athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) is trading up after the company met earnings expectations.  The company restated its results from the year 2005 through the first three quarters of 2009, but it had already warned of this and said that its internal review completed.  We saw a 4% rise last night and at 8:42 AM EST we have shares up 7.2% at $39.96 on almost 30,000 shares.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is trading up 1% this morninhg despite two analyst SELL calls.  This is after yesterday’s severe drop to $6.80 from $7.78 on over 240 million shares yesterday.  At 8:50 AM EST we have shares up 1% at $6.87 on almost 500,000 shares.  We would expect the volume to get substantially higher as the open nears.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is trading higher after modestly raising Q4 earnings to $0.42 EPS with an 8% revenue gain to roughly $270 million; Thomson Reuters was at $0.36 EPS and $264 million.  At 8:52 AM EST we have seen very light volume but the stock is up 3.1% at $28.70 versus a 52-week trading range of $19.66 to $29.56.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is trading up within striking distance of its 52-week highs.  Estimates were raised to above consensus at JPMorgan as losses are peaking after yesterday’s positive comments coming fro Goldman Sachs.  At 8:52 AM EST we have seen shares up 0.75% at $17.42 versus a 52-week trading range of $9.26 to $17.52.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) saw a rather large price and volume spike late in the afternoon.  Before 2:30 PM EST AIG shares went from being down around the lows of the day at $33.30+ and went all the way up to $36.37 in a very rapid fashion.  We have seen notes that Macquarie may bid for a $3.5 billion aircraft lease assets and then there are comments that Berkowitz owns more than 13 million shares now.  At 3:00 PM EST the stock is trading about 3% around $35.50 and we have seen 32 million shares trade hands versus an average of almost 14 million shares.

JON C. OGG

Is it ironic that Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) has another round of awful news out on one of its key products on the Ides of March? It gets harder and harder to imagine that this company is ever going to be able to manage a proper turnaround.

The troubled medical device maker announced today that it has stopped shipments and is now in the process of recalling (retrieving) field inventory of all of the company’s implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators after it has determined that some manufacturing process changes were not submitted for approval to the FDA.

Boston Scientific identified two instances of changes which were successfully validated but were not submitted to the FDA. It further plans to work with the FDA to resolve the situation as soon as possible and said that it has no indications that the manufacturing process changes pose any significant risks and is not recommending explantation or removal of the devices.

This one was active in pre-market trading but after 65 minutes since the open, we have a total of 89 million shares and a price drop of 12.7% at $6.79. The 52-week range is $6.33 to $11.77 and the average volume is ‘only’ 21 million shares.

4X-volume in an hour…. Be advised that this $6.33 low that is listed was put in this morning. We would note that the low close last year was $6.14 and the intraday low was $6.08 hit on two days. Today’s 52-week low would not be a low if you made it a 53-week low.

JON C. OGG

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is running on word that Google is now much more likely than not about to close its China website.  At 8:45 AM EST we have seen 77,000 shares trade and the stock is up 3.8% at $571.43.  The old 52-week high is $559.47.

Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is trading higher at new 52-week highs.  This might not be a monster move but yet another 52-week high after it announced a share buyback plan of $15 billion and the dividend was raised by 7% to $1.92 from $1.80 per year.  Shares are up 1.5% at $66.03 as of 8:41 AM EST on thin volume.  The old 52-week high was $65.25 and Friday’s close was $65.10.

MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is HALTED PENDING NEWS….. Stay tuned, this could be a big day of trading volume versus a 2.3 million share per day average.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is seeing a potential win today on news that regulators have been unable to reproduce the results from that recent runaway Prius and on word that the results are inconsistent with what had been described in the incident.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is trading up despite an FDA on its once per week Byetta approval as a Type II diabetes drug.  The FDA is ok with its safety issues, but wants expanded data for labeling.  At 8:42 AM EST we have seen 750,000 shares trade hands and shares are up about 8.35% at $21.95.  This is not an approval, but it leans much closer to an approval compared to other FDA delays.  Keep in mind that the 52-week high is $21.58.

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) is the technology behind the once per week absorption/delivery method for Amylin.  Its shares are up almost 11% at $13.55 on 125,000 shares as of 8:42 AM EST.

Beacon Power Corp. (NASDAQ: BCON) announced earnings and revenues this morning, but most important is that it said it needs to raise funds.  Unfortunately this is a penny stock. At 8:39 AM EST we have shares down 1.3% at $0.45 on 35,000 shares.

Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISPH) is trading lower after its eye drug failed a mid-stage trial endpoint.  Shares closed at $7.06 on Friday, but the stock is down over 16% at $5.90 on 28,700 shares as of $8:46 AM EST.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG