Volume Spike Investor

Nanometrics Inc. (NASDAQ: NANO) is one of the biggest movers on a relative basis today.  We have already cossed almost three-times normal trading volume.  This was among the top 10 analyst upgrades noted this morning at 24/7 Wall Street.  But to dig deeper than NANO STARTED AS OVERWEIGHT AT PIPER JAFFRAY… The firm believes that Nanometrics is poised to significantly outperform semiconductor equipment peers with its broadening product portfolio.  It aslo noted a gain in market share and restructuring activities paying off. Piper also noted that NANO will be either the first or among the first of the first small-cap equipment stocks to return to profitability out of the downturn. The ‘overweight’ comes with a $9.50 price target.  What is interesting is that this call took shares to 52-week highs of $7.45 on the news.  Currently shares at 12:23 PM EST are up 9% at $7.40 on 297,000 shares, while average volume is just under 100,000 shares.  The prior 52-week range was $0.80 to $7.39 and the market cap at the current level is right around $138 million. No stock options exist on this one.  -JON OGG