Archive for the ‘Health Care Stocks’ Category

Afternoon Buzz: VRML, STRC more robust, Ford among volume leaders, CBAN ailing

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Vermillion Inc. (NasdaqGM: VRML) rocketed up 35.71 percent to $6.65 in mid-afternoon trading on Monday. The company traded in 478,809 shares, more than tripling its three-month daily average of 100, 048. The company, based in Fremont, Calif., and makes diagnostics tests that help physicians to diagnose and treat patients, has an earnings conference call set for Thursday morning.

SRI/Surgical Express Inc. (NasdaqGM: STRC) tacked on 25.81 percent to $3.90 Monday, on volume of 45,785, easily trumping its three-month average of 3,464 shares. The Tampa-based provider of reusable surgical device reprocessing services responded to a proposed takeover bid, by adopting a Shareholder Rights Plan and declaring a dividend of one right on each outstanding share of the Company’s common stock.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) was among the volume leaders mid-afternoon Monday with 106,306,518 shares traded. Normal daily volume for the carmaker is 65,873,900 shares. F shares prospered 0.99 percent to $16.37. Ford said Monday it is launching a 60-city tour to push its 2011 F-150 Roundup. Potential buyers can sign up for a Ford representative to bring the truck to the participant’s house or place of work for a 30-minute drive.

Colony Bankcorp Inc. (NasdaqGM: CBAN) dropped 16.98 percent in price Monday afternoon to $4.04. Volume for CBAN was a mere 553, compared to a three-month daily average of 1,838. The regional bank, based in Fitzgerald, Georgia, last reported earnings in late October, and it was not pretty. CBAN’s net loss was $1,384,000, or $(0.16) per diluted share for the third quarter of 2010, down from Q3 2009 net income of $18,000, or $0.00 per diluted share.

IIIIU, CARV end week in orbit, BAC big seller, CO sinks

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Information Services Group Inc. (NasdaqGM: IIIIU) rocketed up 91.45 percent in Friday trading to close at $8.73. Volume was 65,393 shares, although the stock’s three-month daily average was not available at press time. The Stamford, Connecticut-based information-based services company has announced the release of third-quarter financial results, slated for after the close of trading Tuesday, November 9.

Carver Bancorp., Inc. (NasdaqGM: CARV) jumped 64.37 percent to close Friday’s trading at $3.27, on volume of 22,988 shares, towering over its three-month volume average of 1,429.Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered stock savings bank, founded in 1948 to serve African-American communities. Friday, the Company reported a net loss of $23.4 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to a net loss of $300,000 for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 and a loss of $2.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was among the volume leaders Friday, selling in 404,415,995 shares, compared to its three-month average of 186,392,000 shares. BAC gained a respectable 1.9 percent on the day to close at $12.36. The share volume follows word that BAC and Citigroup Inc. are considering whether to let employees use the Apple Inc. phone as an alternative to Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry for corporate e-mail.

China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO) hurtled earthward 29.86 percent in price to close Friday at $3.97. Volume was 4,643,558 shares, around 100 times its normal daily volume average. The company, which operates a blood bank in China for umbilical cord blood, announced it was pricing a sale of 8.1 million shares at a steep discount.

BBDA vaults, MNGPY sells like hotcakes, ANTX tanks

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Bebida Beverage Co. (Pink Sheets: BBDA) experienced a 120-percent leap in afternoon trading to 2.2 cents, on 112,209 shares. Average volume was not available at press time. BBDAdevelops, manufactures and markets beverages such Koma Unwind “Chillaxation Drink™,” Koma Unwind Sugar-free “Chillaxation Drink™,” and Koma Unwind “Chillaxation Shot™,” among other drinks.

Man Group Plc (Pink Sheets: MNGPY) had a commanding position among small cap stocks, selling a brisk 1,710,699 shares Friday, even though those shares were flat at $4.80. Over the past 10 years, Man has built a significant managed accounts platform as an investor, in contrast to the flow driven business model of other providers which tend to focus less on the underlying investment management application.

AcuNetx, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ANTX) tumbled 95.96 percent in price, proving the Pink Sheets’ biggest losers, as Friday’s trading came to a close, to 0.0012. Volume was 60,500 shares. The Torrance, California company makes surgical and medical instruments.

WRLS, C climb, DXCM struggles

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Tellular Corpoartion (NasdaqGM: WRLS) roared out of the blocks Friday, gaining 47.41 percent in the first hour of trading to $5.97. Initial volume of 790,060 shares trampled its three-month daily average of 20,212 shares. Excitement followed in the wake of Thursday’s announcement of Q4 revenues and earnings. The Chicago-based wireless concern reported revenue of $12.0 million, up 17 percent year-over-year, and net income before non-cash items of $2 Million.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) led the volume parade in early trading Friday, trading in 274,020,554 shares in just the first hour. Normal volume for a day is around 448,837,000 shares. The banking conglomerate also gained 3.35 percent to $4.47. The news comes in spite of word this morning that several Citigroup, Inc. investors, including Charles Schwab Corp. and hedge fund Cambridge Place Investment Management have sued the bank over its mortgage underwriting processes.

DexCom Inc. (NasdaqGM: DXCM) took a thumping of 19.34 percent in early Friday trading to $11.22. Volume was 3,568,238 shares, dwarfing its three-month daily average of 337,547 shares. The company, which develops and markets continuous glucose monitoring systems for use by diabetics, reported total third-quarter revenue of $11.7 million, up 61 percent from the same quarter in 2009, but a net loss of $13.4 million, down from $13.5 million for the year-ago quarter.

UPI, SNCR, LINC Among Top Gainers at the Closing Bell

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

Shares of Uroplasty, Inc. (Nasdaq: UPI) closed 19 percent higher on Wednesday after the company announced on Tuesday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published, in the November, 2010 Federal Register, the anticipated Category I CPT code for Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS). The publication was noted by the company as an “important milestone” that will allow for a broader base of coverage for the procedure. “As we have previously announced and discussed, we are working diligently with medical directors of insurance companies to educate them on our strong clinical data, and we will now be able to present to them the specifics of the new CPT code and the associated [relative value units],” said Uroplasty’s president and CEO David Kaysen in a statement. Shares of Uroplasty are up more than 25 percent in the past three months.

Shares of Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNCR) closed 16 percent higher on Wednesday after the company announced third quarter profit of $2.1 million, or 5 cents per share, down 32 percent from $3.1 million, or 10 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding certain items, the wireless services provider said it earned 20 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast net income of 17 cents per share. The company’s third quarter revenue was up 34 percent to $44.5 million, from $33.1 million a year earlier. Adjusted revenue of $46.8 million topped analysts’ average estimate of $44.6 million. “With the influx of connected devices, we view Synchronoss’ online activation, provision, backup and transfer technologies as core to simplifying the process and lowering costs,” Wedbush analyst Scott Sutherland wrote. “Given the most material competition remains more costly in-store and call center alternatives, we believe Synchronoss will remain on a healthy growth curve.” Shares of Synchronoss Technologies are up about 35 percent over the past three months.

Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corp. (Nasdaq: LINC) closed 17 percent higher on Wednesday after the for-profit education company reported third quarter profit of 76 cents a share was ahead of analysts’ estimates for 62 cents a share. Lincoln reported third quarter revenue of $167.2 million, slightly under analysts’ estimates of $167.5 million. The company also raised its full-year EPS guidance to a range between $2.65 and $2.70, up from a range of $2.40 to $2.50. The company posted a big fall in third-quarter student starts and cut its 2010 revenue forecast to $635-$640 million from a prior view of $645-$650 million. For-profit education colleges like Lincoln are overhauling their enrollment practices to comply with new rules, after facing criticism for saddling students with big debts and not fully preparing them for jobs. The new enrollment rules are set to take effect in mid-2011. Shares of Lincoln Educational Services Corp. are down approximately 29 percent over the past three months.