Posts Tagged ‘Technology Stocks’

PRAN makes hay, SIRI sells, KNDI hobbled

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Prana Biotechnology (NASDAQ : PRAN) vaulted 7.6% to $2.83, on volume of 2.5 million or 2 ½ times its daily average. This, after announcing that the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation will provide Prana with a mission-related investment of $700,000 over two years to conduct a clinical trial investigating the potential of PBT2 to reduce the accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Nasdaq: SIRI) beamed out 43.6 million shares Thursday, catching up on its daily average of 52.6 million. Prices subsided, though, 4.1%, to $1.64, amid word that its antitrust lawsuit has been approved for class-action status.

Kandi Technologies, Corp. (NASDAQ: KNDI) shares dipped 12.5% to $2.95. Volume for KNDI was 367,558, closing the gap with its daily average of around 380,000, after it reported 2010 revenues increased 26.8% to $42.9 million. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes certain warrants, options and convertible notes related charges, the Company reported 2010 adjusted net income of $5.0 million, up 76% from the prior year.

GEOI garners, MSFT mighty, ACXM misfires

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

GeoResources Inc. (Nasdaq: GEOI) shares gained 6.7% to $30.65. Volume was 539,190 shares, nosing out its daily average of 470,379, after Wells Fargo Securities initiated coverage of the exploration company with an outperform rating.

Microsoft Inc. (Nasdaq: MSFT) traded in 29.9 million shares, or about half of its daily average, sending its share prices to $25.60 or 0.4% higher than Tuesday’s close.

Acxiom Corp. (Nasdaq: ACXM) shares declined 22.7% to $13.49, on volume of 9.5 million shares, or 20 times its daily average, after the data-services provider said its CEO had resigned, effective two days ago, and that its CFO plans to step down.

PPG flies higher, MU active, ALGN ailing

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) shares rose 6.3% to $96.31, on volume of 3.5 million – triple its daily average — after the coatings manufacturer projected first-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) traded in 28.8 million shares, catching up on a daily average of 42.8 million shares. Prices for MU dragged 1.5% to $11.59.

Align Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN) shares fell 3.8% to $20.38, on volume of 2.3 million shares, triple its daily average, a day after the maker of a tooth-straightening product said it would pay $190 million for Cadent Holdings Inc.

QIHU makes its bow, CSCO buys, VVTV trips

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Qihoo 360 Technology Company Inc. (NYSE: QIHU) U.S.-listed shares climbed 18.5% to $31.96 a piece. Volume for the new stock was 19.3 million shares as the Chinese internet company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) traded in 37.4 million shares, or just barely half of its normal daily average. Share prices were off 0.2% to $17.41, amid word CSCO plans to buy newScale Inc., a provider of cloud-services software for IT organizations.

ValueVision Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VVTV) shares slid 7.3% to $6.36 Wednesday. Volume was 2.7 million shares, compared to daily averages of 382,452, after the direct marketer priced a secondary stock offering at $6.25 a share.

Google (GOOG) settles with FTC over Buzz

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) shares surged as much as .65 percent to $585.50 in morning trading Wednesday, after the internet giant announced it had settled privacy charges with the Federal Trade Commission over Google Buzz. Despite the news, volume for the company was a modest 727,237 after lunch Wednesday, compared to a daily average over 2.5 million.

Per the agreement reached, the Mountain View, California-based Google has agreed to establish a “comprehensive privacy program”, while not admitting to any wrong-doing. This settlement resolves allegations that last year’s launch of Google Buzz, a venture into social networking by the Web giant, initially shared more information than users reasonably expected. The privacy program established includes regular reports on its privacy practices prepared by an independent professional for the next 20 years.

On the Official Google blog, the company stated, “The launch of Google Buzz fell short of our usual standards for transparency and user control—letting our users and Google down. While we worked quickly to make improvements, regulators—including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission—unsurprisingly wanted more detail about what went wrong and how we could prevent it from happening again. Today, we’ve reached an agreement with the FTC to address their concerns. We’ll receive an independent review of our privacy procedures once every two years, and we’ll ask users to give us affirmative consent before we change how we share their personal information.”

The settlement, approved 5-0 by the commissioners, is subject to public comment and final approval.

Jon Leibowitz, the Democratic chairman of the FTC, commented, “When companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them. This is a tough settlement that ensures that Google will honor its commitments to consumers and build strong privacy protections into all of its operations.”