Top Day Trader Alerts (AIB, IRE, APWR, ARQL, CATM, F, HON, MWE, OXGN)

These are this Wednesday’s top day trader and active trader alert stocks seen with news impacting the price of the stock:

Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) is actually indicated up marginally this morning. Irish banks are stabilizing on the Irish reforms presented last night and after it said it would sell a US bank stake.  This stock has lost roughly one-quarter of its value in the last two trading sessions this week.  We show shares only up 0.3% at $3.30 on 800K shares as of 8:45 AM EST but the early indications had shares up close to 5%.  To show the contrast, The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is up 7% at $8.46 on 244K shares.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Ltd. (NASDAQ: APWR) is getting clipped this morning after earnings.  Shares are down 8.2% at $11.05 on 235,000 shares as of 8:45 AM EST.

ArQule Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) is soaring on news that results of Phase II trial with ARQ 197 in NSCLC (lung cancer) showed promise.  At 8:47 AM EST we have already seen over 1.65 million shares and the stock is up 67% at $5.86.

Cardtronics Inc. (NASDAQ: CATM) is lower after its 7 million shares public secondary offering priced at $12.00 per share.  Shares closed at $12.62 yesterday and the 52-week range is $1.65 to $13.44.  At 8:45 AM EST shares are down 2.5% at $12.30 on about 170,000 shares.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is lower after announcing that the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust has priced a secondary public offering of 362,391,305 warrants to purchase Ford common stock.  The warrant offering priced at $5.00 via a modified Dutch auction; net proceeds to the UAW VEBA will be about $1.78 billion.  At 8:45 AM EST we have seen some 22 million shares trade hands already and the stock is down 3.5% at $12.82.

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) raised earnings guidance for the first quarter due to strong orders and strong sales; guidance is $0.45 to $0.49 EPS versus $0.44 consensus and versus $0.40 to $0.45 EPS prior guidance. Shares are off of highs after ADP’s disappointing jobs numbers.  At 8:45 AM EST we have shares up 1.7% at $45.72 on about 25,000 shares.

MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE) is down this morning after it has filed to sell 4 million common units in a public secondary offering.  At 8:45 AM ESt we have shares (units) down 4% at $30.32 on almost 100,000 shares (units).

Oxigene Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN) is soaring after the stock was started as “Buy” with a $4.00 target at Roth Capital.  This is versus a $1.00 close yesterday.  At 8:45 AM EST we have already seen well over a day’s volume and the market is not even open.  Shares are up 26% at $1.26 on 470,000 shares versus less than 200K shares per day.

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (AIB, GNVC, MYGN, PEIX, RIMM, AAPL, PALM, WEDC)

Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) is down again on fears of a broader nationalization move as the the Irish government is expected to announce plans for another round of bank recapitalizations and details on a previously disclosed program for troubled banks.  At 8:48 AM EST we have shares down almost 9% at $3.26 on 630,000 shares.

GenVec Inc. (NASDAQ: GNVC) is getting crushed this morning on its report that it has decided to discontinue its Phase III clinical trial of TNFerade in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer based on results of an interim analysis showing that it did not meet endpoints.  At 8:45 AM EST shares are down 70% at $0.84 on over 6.7 million shares.  The 52-week range is $0.40 to $3.35.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) is down after it announced that a Federal District Court ruled that isolated DNA claims are not patentable.  At 8:47 AM EST we have shares down 7.5% at $23.05 on almost 200,000 shares.

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is down a second day after Monday’s reorganization plan.  At 8:45 AM EST shares are down 3.5% at $1.13 on 85,000 shares.

Research-in-Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down over 2% around $74.00 on abouy 650,000 shares as of 8:45 AM EST after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is reportedly coming out with an iPhone this summer that will run a CDMA network via Verizon.  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is up 2% at $237.24 on about 335,000 shares as of 8:45 AM EST.  Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) is not going to be a winner if the iPhone goes over to Verizon either, and its shares are proof: at 8:45 AM EST we have shares down 2.5% at $3.80 on about 55,000 shares.

White Electronic Designs Corporation (NASDAQ: WEDC) is trading up over 27% at $6.96 on about 1 million shares as of 8:45 AM EST after Microsemi agreed to pay $100 million or $7.00 per share to acquire the company.

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (AIB, IRE, AIG, APOL, ABIO, BELM, CKXE, ORCT)

Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) is down sharply this morning but off the lows after it is in discussions with the Financial Regulator in order to agree its capital requirements.  Shares were down close over 15% in early ADR trading this morning and at 8:44 AM EST shares are down 14.6% at $3.80 on over 700,000 shares.  Average volume is 3.75 million and the 52-week range is $1.42 to $10.42.

Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) ADRs are down in sympathy with Allied Irish Banks.  Shares are down 6.3% at $6.97 on 70,000 shares.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is up 2% at $34.90 after Barron’s interviewed fund manager Berkowitz and he touted the reason why he has been accumulating shares.  At 8:50 we have seen roughly 75,000 shares trade hands.

Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is recovering after the online educator beat earnings this morning; it reported Q2 earnings of $0.84 EPS vs. $0.81 estimates; revenue rose over 20% to $1.1 billion, inline with estimates.  At 8:44 AM EST shares are up 5.5% at $64.70 on 42,000 shares.  That volume is surprisingly light.

Arca Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABIO) is seeing some profit taking after its 220% gain Friday.  The stock closed at $8.22 on Friday and shares are down almost 4% at $7.90 on 600,000 shares as of 8:47 AM EST.

Bell Microproducts Inc. (NASDAQ: BELM) is soaring on a $252 million buyout by Avnet.  The price represents $7.00 per share versus a $5.38 close Friday and a $5.55 52-week high.  At 8:44 AM EST we have seen some 6.9 million shares trade hands and the stock is up 28% at $6.90.

CKX, Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE) is trading higher after it confirmed that it is in talks to sell the company, which includes the rights to Elvis, Muhammed Ali, and American Idol.  Shares are up 4% at $6.20 on thin volume and the 52-week range is $3.87 to $8.24.

Orckit Communications, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ORCT) is trading lower after it announced a registered offering of approximately $10.6 million in ordinary shares and warrants. The market cap here was only about $79 million. At 8:47 AM EST we have seen triple a days volume already with 230,000 shares traded.  The stock is down 17% at $3.98 and the 52-week trading range is $2.04 to $5.81.

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (APP, CPWM, NBG, ORCT, PALM, TUTR, RIMM, SOMX, SMOD)

American Apparel, Inc. (AMEX: APP) is losing its edge.  After earnings, the company’s profit slid but was in-line.  It has deferred on offering a 2010 outlook.  Most importantly, it announced layoffs.  That doesn’t sound like a growth story anymore, does it… Shares are down 9.3% t $3.48 on 17,000 shares at 8:48 AM EST.

Cost Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) is one of the larger gainers this morning.  The company unexpectedly posted a Q4 earnings profit and expects to be profitable in Q1 after a long long losing streak. Shares are up 26% at $2.68 on 23,000 shares as of 8:48 AM EST.  The 52-week high is $3.40 and the average volume is just over 200,000 shares.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is trading up this morning as this is now the traders’ proxy for betting on Greece and after the aid package by the E.U….. Shares were up over 5% earlier but at 8:49 AM EST shares are up 4.65% at $4.28 on about 65,000 shares.

Orckit Communications, Limited (NASDAQ: ORCT) is one of the larger losers today. We’ll have to check overseas for news.  At 8:49 AM EST we have shares down 14% at $4.05 on over 100,000 shares.  This trades only about 66,000 shares per day.

Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) might not be able to help itself, but it got outside help.  JPMorgan raised its rating to Market Perform from Outperform after the selling onslaught.  Shares are up 3% at $3.82 on about 110,000 shares.

Plato Learning, Inc. (NASDAQ: TUTR) closed at $4.91 and its 52-week range was $1.50 to $5.00.  The company went into a $143 million merger agreement with Thoma Bravo, which is $5.60 per share in cash.  The PLATO Learning board of directors unanimously approved the agreement and will recommend that shareholders approve the transaction.  This is a thin volume stock but shares are indicated up around $5.55 to $5.65.

Research-in-Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up after its rating was raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; GMP also lifted its target today.  At 8:51 AM EST shares are up 2% at $74.90 on over 150,000 shares.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) priced an underwritten public offering of 6,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $8.25 per share.  This was originally supposed to be 4 million shares but he demand raised the size.  Shares closed at $9.51 Thursday and at 8:51 AM EST shares are down 3% at $9.22 on 1.15 million shares.

Smart Modular Technologies (NASDAQ: SMOD) is trading after its Q2 earnings beat expectations and on a strong Q3 outlook.  Shares are up over 16% at $8.37 on 78,000 shares as of 8:51 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

SIRIUS XM 200 Million Share Day

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has seen a lot of trading volume in recent days considering the lack of real company news.  It is almost daily that some subscriber or free newsletter is issuing an alert on the stock, but not noticing the elevated share volume is getting to be almost impossible.  Shares are not even up a penny today, yet at 3:30 PM EST we have already seen 200 million shares trade.

Here is the volume of the recent trading days with the closing bell prices:

• 24-Mar-10  162,572,800    $0.88
• 23-Mar-10  122,883,900    $0.87
• 22-Mar-10  237,239,300    $0.86
• 19-Mar-10  180,368,400    $0.83

This stock still is exhibiting a range-bound trading pattern, although we would caution against using any traditional trading analysis in any penny stock.  That is double the case if it is SIRIUS XM.

JON C. OGG

Top Day Trader Alerts (ABK, BBY, CAAS, C, MELA, GENZ, LULU, NIV, SLXP)

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is down on two bits of news.  The Wisconsin insurance commissioner filed a petition and plans rehabilitation for segregated account of Ambac Assurance; more importantly, there are headlines that it may seek bankruptcy protection (has been reported before).  Shares are down 22% at $0.62 on 3.4 million shares as of 9:06 AM EST.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is trading higher after beating earnings as net income rose to $779 million, or $1.82 EPS vs. $1.35 EPS a year ago and versus $1.78 EPS expected.  Sales rose 12% to $16.6 billion and comparable sales rose by 7%.  Shares are up 7.75% at $44.37 within striking distance of the $45.55 high of the last 52-weeks and we have seen 2.6 million shares as of 9:08 AM EST.

China Automotive Systems (NASDAQ: CAAS) beat earnings with Q4 EPS of $0.21 vs $0.17 estimates and Revenue was up over 100% to $83.8 million versus  $63.6 million expected. Shares at 9:06 are up 8.5% at $24.07 on 116,000 shares versus 1.2 million average shares per day and versus a 52-week range of $3.22 to $27.17.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is very active one news that it may be closer to having Uncle Sam off its neck.  The government reportedly has a time fram for selling its remaining stake to avoid accusations that sales are based on insider info.  At 9:05 AM EST we have shares up over 3% at $4.28 on 36 million shares.

Electro-Optical Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: MELA) received additional questions from the FDA over the pre-market approval application of the MelaFind device for early melanoma detection.  The FDA has said that its application is not currently approvable and the FDA has now extended the review by up to 180 days. Shares are down 25% at $6.83 on 52,000 shares as of 9:05.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is down again after yesterday’s FDA action on the Allston plant as shares this morning were Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.  SHares are down 2.9% at $53.70 on 48,000 shares as of 9″04 AM EST.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is continuing a run and at 52-week highs after the yoga-inspired retailer said that its profit and outlook were both above expectations.  Shares are up 9% at $38.94 on 73,000 shares and a new 52-week high above $36.89 (9:04 AM).

NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group, Inc. (AMEX: NIV) is a Chines electronics company that designs, manufactures and sells intelligent audio and visual products, and it is up on earnings.  Fiscal year 2009 net income of $23.5 million or $0.59 per diluted share on sales of $185.2 million; up from a year ago of $13.0 million net income or $0.41 EPS on sales of $143.6 million.  At 9:02 AM EST we have shares up 19% at $3.60 on 101,000 shares versus 241K on average and 52-week range of $2.03 to $4.58.

Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP) was awarded FDA approval for Xifaxan 550mg tablets for the risk reduction of overt hepatic encephalopathy recurrence in patients aged 18 and higher. At 9:03 shares are up 8.3% at $36.30 on 350,000 shares. Average volume is 1.4 million, but this is a new 52-week high above $34.38.

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

Price-Volume Alerts: Funtalk and L&L Energy (FTLK, LLEN)

We just saw a price and volume spike in two Chinese companies as Dave Gentry of the RedChip Companies reports touted two names on CNBC in a mid-afternoon interview.  Gentry touted Funtalk China Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FTLK) as retailer and distributor of wireless communications devices, accessories, and content in China.  He also touted L & L Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLEN) as a coal miner in China.

Funtalk China Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FTLK) shares are now up 21% at $7.03 on 201,000 shares.  The average volume is only about 20,000 shares and the 52-week range is $4.85 to $9.00.

L & L Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLEN) shares are up 3.5% at $10.00 on 430,000 shares.  The average volume is 292,000 shares and the 52-week range is $0.55 to $10.60.

2:50 PM EST

JON C. OGG

Top Day Trader Alerts (ADBE, GENZ, JBL, LEN, LINE, MEE, NVAX, SBUX)

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) beat earnings expectations and said that its business is improving.  Shares are up over 5% at $37.10 despite a red market this morning.  At 9:04 AM EST we have seen 295,000 shares trade hands and the 52-week range is $20.39 to $38.20.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is down after reports that the FDA took an enforcement action on its Allston plant which has been a trouble for the company.  At 9:05 AM EST we have seen shares drop over 4.5% to $56.39 on almost 500K shares.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) showed that its earnings beat expectation but on light revenues.  The company reported Q2 results of $0.29 EPS on $3 billion in revenue.  Thomson Reuters had estimates at $0.28 and $3.01 billion.  At 9:05 AM EST shares are down 7.35% at $17.01 on almost 60,000 shares.  The 52-week range here is $3.73 to $18.49.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) announced this morning that its Q1 loss narrowed as margins and orders rose.  The home builder has also said that it is on track to become profitable this year.  Shares are up 5.8% at $18.05 and hitting a new 52-week high above $17.88.  At 9:05 AM EST we have seen only 83,000 shares trade hands.

Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) is lower after it priced its 15 million unit secondary at $25.00, which is where it closed yesterday.  Shares are down 0.7% at $24.83 on 950,000 shares at 9:08 AM EST.

Massey Energy Co. (NYSE: MEE) priced its planned 8.5 million shares secondary offering.  The Secondary priced at $49.75 versus a $50.88 close yesterday.  At 9:07 AM EST we have seen 375K shares trade and the stock is down 1% at $50.35.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is up on positive swine flu data this morning.  At 9:08 AM EST we have shares up over 7% at $2.51 on 150K shares.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) as expected is declaring its first ever dividend of $0.10 per quarter and said it would allocated 35% to 40% of net income for future dividend policies.  The company also authorized 15 million shares for buyback.  At 9:09 AM EST we have seen 135K shares trade and the stock is up 2.13% at $25.95.  The prior 52-week range WAS $10.74 to $25.66.

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

PMI Spikes on Freddie Mac (PMI, FRE, FNM)

PMI Group Inc. (NYSE: PMI) is one of those companies which borrowers hate because they feel it is insurance on top of insurance.  Shares of PMI are soaring this morning on word that Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) approved the company as an Eligible Mortgage Insurer… PMAC will be able to write new mortgage insurance business in certain states in the event that PMI Mortgage Insurance is required to cease writing new mortgage insurance business in those states due to its inability to meet applicable regulatory capital requirements. FRE’s approval is subject to certain conditions and restrictions but this will remain in effect until December 31, 2011. Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) had already approved PMAC as a direct issuer of mortgage guaranty insurance.  In short, PMI gets to demand tough terms on borrowers and those getting new mortgages today are deemed the higher credit category.  PMI Group shares are up 16% at $3.66 on 3.3 million shares as of 9:55 AM EST.  The average vol ume is only 3.6 million shares and the 52-week trading range is $0.60 to $4.96.  Fannie Mae is up 2.75% at $1.12 and Freddie Mac is up 1.5% at $1.31 ahead of a testimony today.

JON C. OGG

Top Day Trader Alerts (AMSC, BIDU, CTIC, ISSI, JSDA, MEE, ONTY, SQNM, SOMX)

We have many stocks on the move this morning.  Some are secondary offerings and many are on news and analyst calls.  Below is a snapshot on each with the news, the move, relative price and average daily volume and other pertinent color where applicable.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) is launching after the company was raised to Buy at Jefferies.  At 8:40 there have only been about 26,000 shares traded, but the stock is up 6.6% at $27.88.  The 52-week range is $15.80 to $43.95 and the average volume is almost 1.2 million shares.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is rising yet again, this time on a very late upgrade from Kaufman Bros to Buy from Hold.  Shares closed at $579.72 and are up 2.5% at $594.53 on about 100,000 shares as of 8:40 AM EST.  We have the 52-week now at $628.50.

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is seeinga  surprise bounce this morning after yesterday’s news that an FDA Panel at the planned meeting rejected its Pixantrone to fight non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  There seemed to be a major sentiment change yesterday, but this morning at 8:41 AM EST we have seen already over 4 million shares trade hands and the stock is up 34% at $0.63.  Keep in mind that this was at $0.91 on Friday, and that was after a late day sell-off.  Shares closed at $0.471 yesterday.

Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISSI) closed at $7.49 and at 8:40 AM EST we have shares up about 15% at $8.65 on almost 25,000 shares.  This is after the company raised guidance and noted that it has experienced better than expected end market demand and pricing, primarily for its DRAM products.

Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA) is indicated higher this morning after it ended the exclusivity provision of its potential merger deal with Reed’s (REED) .  The company will now explore an unsolicited bid by a third party to avoid the silly take-under.  No volume has been seen but the stock is indicated at $0.60 after a $0.52 close Monday.

Massey Energy Company (NYSE: MEE) filed last night to sell 8.5 million shares of common stock in a public secondary offering to fund a portion of the cash consideration related to its recently announced $960 million combined cash and stock acquisition of Cumberland Resources Corporation and affiliated companies. At 8:42 AM EST we have seen only about 12,000 shares trade but the stock is down 3% at $49.29. The 52-week range is $9.80 to $54.09 and the average volume is 4.6 million shares.

Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) is getting whacked.  The company announced the temporary suspension of Stimuvax clinical trials by Merck Serono for Stimuvax as a result of a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction in a patient with multiple myeloma participating in an exploratory clinical trial.  Shares had been halted and they had been down over 40% after the resumption of trading.  At 8:42 AM EST shares are down 37% at $3.00 on 62,000 shares.  The average volume here is only about 160,00 shares and the 52-week range is $1.18 to $7.77.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is soaring after the stock was raised to Buy from Hold at Lazard.  At 8:43 AM EST we have seen some 500,000 shares trade hands and the stock is up 11% at $6.15.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) has been very active and is taking advantage of strength to raise capital, which is no surprise at all.   After the close it announced that it would sell up to 4,000,000 shares of its common stock a public secondary offering.  Traders seem to be endorsing this sale because the stock is up 3% at $8.55 on over 200,000 shares as of 8:44 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

Top Day Trader Alerts (NOVL, PALM, AIG, FNM, ETFC, FSLR, FUQI, TEVA)

Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) is trading up as one of the more active stocks this morning. As we expected the company would have to do, it rejected the Elliott private equity takeover bid as ‘Inadequate.’  But the company said it is now exploring strategic alternatives and assess its options including a potential sale.  At 8:50 AM EST we have shares up 4.8% at $5.91 on about 1 million shares pre-market.  Keep in mind that shares traded as high as $6.15 after this first deal was announced.

Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) keeps dropping.  No reports are in its favor and the bulk of reports from the weekend point to a miserable future.  At 8:50 AM EST we have seen almost 800,000 shares trade hands and the stock is down 5.8% at $3.77… a new 52-week low, again.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is trading lower on an SEC filing showing that AIG’s former CEO Hank Greenberg has sold $278 million worth of stock to UBS for an upfront payment in a forward delivery sales basis.  Volume is thin but at 8:50 AM EST we have shares down 2.6% at $33.89.

Federal National Mortgage Association (NASDAQ: FNM) is lower on fears or hope of financial reform but the market itself is probably adding to the woes in trading.  At 8:50 AM EST the volume is thin but shares are down 3.5% at $1.11.

E*TRADE Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) has hired a new CEO after having the position vacant for months.  It has named Steven Freiberg as CEO, person who had been with Citi for about 30 years; and the company is also proposing a 1 for 10 reverse stock split.  UPDATE AT 9:38 AM EST: Shares are down almost 7% at $1.46 on over 14 million shares. At 9:50 AM EST shares were effectively unchanged at $1.57 on only about 2 million shares.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is trading lower this moirning but not on news from the company.  The WSJ reported last night an article called “First Solar Flies Too Close to the Sun” and that has a damper on shares.  Volume is still thin but at 8:50 AM EST we have seen shares down 3% at $

Fuqi International, Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) is down 4.3% at $9.85 on close to 50,000 shares this morning.  A class action suit was filed against the company, but its warning of an earnings miss and a restatement for undercounting expenses last week was enough that the problems here are deep.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) is putting in yet newer 52-week highs again this morning.  This is after the $5 billion deal in Germany last week and the stock is not that active this morning but still impressive.  At 8:50 AM EST we have shares up 0.8% at $63.55 on close to 25,000 shares.

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (APPA, PALM, BIDU, GOOG, NLST, SPWRA, ADUS)

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (DPTR, FDX, NKE, SASR, TEVA, TSL)

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.

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

Exponential Volume Club (AKNS, BBI, FNM, FUQI, LSI, VIVO, PLCM, SNV, VHC, VLTR)

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.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about 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

Top Day Trader Alerts (ERIC, CIT, FUQI, GGP, PLCM, HOG, GE, ABK)

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

Rumors Drive Volume (GGP, SPG, HOG)

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

Stock/Option Explosion: The GE Breakout on 52-Week Highs (GE)

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

AIG Price-Volume Spike (AIG)

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

Boston Scientific’s Ides of March (BSX)

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (BIDU, PEP, MNKD, TM, AMLN, ALKS, BCON, ISPH)

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

Top Day Trader Alerts (AIG, DRYS, PSUN, RFMD, ZUMZ)

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) up 3.4% at $36.30 on 338,000 shares as of 8:40 AM EST.  Yesterday’s gap up was lost during the day, so let’s see what Friday has in store.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is trading up 2.75% at $6.35 on 320,000 shares as of 8:40 AM EST.

Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) is lower on a downgrade and after the company issued disappointing guidance.  Shares closed at $5.75 yesterday and now the stock at 8:40 AM is down over 14% at $4.93 on 277,000 shares.

RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) is trading up after Jim Cramer touted the stock.  Shares closed at $4.73 on Thursday and shares are up 5.7% at $5.00 on over 150,000 shares as of 8:43 AM EST.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is lower after the company posted a rise in profits yet guided for a soft quarter. This is unfortunate considering last week’s sales gains that were announced.  Shares are down almost 9% at $18.44 on only about 6,000 shares as of 8:42 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

Top Day Trader Alerts (AIG, BPAX, C, DVN, ICO, TEAR)

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is going for a DAY THREE…. Shares are up 5% at $38.18 and we have already seen 1 million shares as of 8:33 AM EST.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is up almost 17% at $2.00 on just over 1 million shares as of 8:27 AM EST.  The company announced positive Leukemia vaccine results.  Shares closed at $1.71 yesterday and the 52-week range is $1.13 to $2.70.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is up 0.76% at $3.99 on word that Vikram Pandit is potentially going to raise billions via continued asset sales.  The impressive figure is that at 8:33 AM EST we have seen over 28 million shares trade hands.  This has now gotten used to 1 billion shares due to its low share prices.

Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) announced $7.0 billion in property sales and oil sands joint ventures to BP…. It has entered into agreements to sell all of its assets in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Azerbaijan and Brazil.  Shares are up 2.4% at $73.44 on over 200,000 shares as of 8:33 AM EST.  For a size comparison, Devon’s market cap is $32 billion.

International Coal (NYSE: ICO) priced 22,371,365 shares of common stock in a secondary offering at $4.47 per share share.  Shares are actually up 2% at $4.57 on 350,000 shares as of 8:29 AM EST.

OccuLogix Inc. (NASDAQ: TEAR) announced that TLCVision Corporation will be incorporating the TearLab Osmolarity System in eight of its U.S. centers to study dry eye disease symptoms related to LASIK surgery.  Shares are up 45% at $4.05 on 40,000 shares as of 8:28 AM EST.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about 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

Top Day Trader Alerts (AEO, AIG, C, FACT, FNM, FRE, SOLR, ITMN)

These are this Wednesday’s top active stocks with moves on news or continued trends of yesterday.  We have offered price and volume data as well as added color where appropriate:

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is trading higher after it announced last night that it was closing down its MARTIN+OSA concept store brand.  Shares actually rose on the news. American Eagle’s profit rose this morning and the outlook is allowing shares to hold their own.  At 8:36 AM EST we have shares still up 4.6% at $17.95 on 314,000 shares.  The 52-week trading range is $8.79 to $19.86.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is managing to continue yesterday’s gains.  The stock at 8:38 AM EST is up 2.75% at $33.67 on almost 500,000 shares.  This is on the heels of yesterday’s gains to $32.77 versus the Monday close of $29.10.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is up on two bits of news.  Apollo is reportedly about to purchase Citi’s real estate unit called Property Investors, with about 65 real estate investments in 26 countries and the net asset value is said to be $3.5 billion. Its preferred 8.875% $2 billion offering was also oversubscribed.  At 8:40 AM EST we have shares up 2.9% at $3.93 and we have already seen a whopping 60 million shares trade hands with 50 minutes until the open.  Be advised, Citi traded over 1 billion shares yesterday and the stock closed at $3.82 versus a close of $3.56 on Monday.

Facet Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: FACT) is up about 66% at $26.96 after its $27/share cash buyout has been signed with Abbott.  At 8:35 AM EST we have seen 9 million shares trade hands.  The deal is approved by both companies, and it seems unlikely that a higher bid would come in even from Biogen Idec.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) are continuing yesterday’s run higher despite the notion that some of the financial rumors were all but shot down by analysts and market pundits.  Fannie Mae is up 3.7% at $1.11 on 1.2 million shares; Freddie Mac shares are up 1.5% at $1.30 on 900,000 shares (8:42 AM EST).

GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) priced a secondary offering of 25 million shares of common stock at $4.85 per share versus a $5.15 close on Tuesday.  The sale is being made by a selling stockholder rather than the firm raising capital.  Shares are down 2.3% at $5.03, but the 8:35 AM EST trading volume is 567,000 shares.  This one trades just over 1 million shares per day and the 52-week trading range is $3.63 to $9.04.

InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) is launching after the FDA panel backed its lung drug.  This is a 52-week high as the prior 52-week range was $10.48 to $25.37.  At 8:35 AM EST we have shares up 64% at $38.17 on right at 1 million shares in the pre-market.  We saw a similar move last night after the halt was taken off.

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

Russell 2000 Top Performers Since the Crash (ATSG, AXL, ARM, BZ, CKEC, CTIC, CNO, GPRE, HGSI, LZB, PIR, PWER, PMI, UIS, VNDA)

The bull market is officially one-year old now.  March 9, 2009 was the absolute low for the index levels.  VSInvestor.com has pulled many of biggest stock movers from the Russell 2000 Index.  Amazingly, we had to include stocks which up a whopping 800% just to get the list down to close to 40 stocks.  This shows many ten-baggers or 1,000% gains.

Some of the key stocks which showed gains in the ten-bagger category are Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATSG), American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AXL), ArvinMeritor Inc. (NYSE: ARM), Boise, Inc. (NYSE: BZ), Carmike Cinemas Inc. (NASDAQ: CKEC), Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC), Conseco Inc. (NYSE: CNO), Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE), Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI), La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB), Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR), Power-One Inc. (NASDAQ: PWER), PMI Group Inc. (NYSE: PMI), Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS), and Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA).

And those are just some….. Check out the gains off the table below from the Russell 2,000:

There were many others which could have been included.

JON C. OGG

Top Day Trader Alerts (CSCO, CNAM, NBG, FSLR, JSDA, DRYS, FEED, BWEN, FMD)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is trading up another 0.8% at $26.34 and challenging yesterday’s $26.36 52-week high.  At 8:26 AM EST we have seen over 900,000 shares trade hands ahead of the 11 AM announcement that will “forever change the internet.”

China Armco Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNAM) is down 4% at $9.05 on 15,000 shares as of 8:30 AM EST.  This stock has been all over the place since last week and has recently seen a high of $11.10.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) was not listed in our top ten analyst calls this morning but should have been.  Deutsche Bank has downgraded the Greek bank to Hold from Buy due to its finance woes due to the Greek situation.  At 8:25 AM EST we have shares down almost 3% at $4.22 on about 450,000 shares.  Average volume is now over 3 million shares versus what was not even a half-million as recently as November.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is still rather thin in volume but shares are down about 4% at $104.45 as of 8:25 AM EST.  The stock was downgraded to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA) didn’t catch someone peeing in the drink mix but you wouldn’t know it if you saw the stock.  At 8:28 the shares are down 40% at $0.50 on only about 24,000 shares after a $0.84 close yesterday.  The 52-week range is $0.40 to $1.53.  Reed’s and Jones Soda are merging or at least have a letter of intent to merge; JSDA shareholders will receive 0.17 of a share of REED and will receive cash of $0.10 per JSDA share.  Reed’s closed at $1.58 yesterday so the merger price there would be almost $0.37.  Jones’ CEO will depart the company.  This is actually a “takeunder’ if it is even allowed.

DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is trading down about 1% at $6.03 on 200,000 shares as of 8:32 AM EST.  This is after yesterday’s price/volume spike up on rumors which have all but been panned by market watchers as hearsay.

AgFeed Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEED) is trading up 17.5% at $5.30 on 281,773 shares as of 8:35 AM EST. The company posted record revenues and said production volumes increased by 66% in the company’s hog division and 56% in the animal nutrition division.  Total 2009 revenue was a record $173.2 million, an increase of over 20% from 2008.

Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) is up after JPMorgan started the stock with an Overweight rating and a $6.50 target.  Shares are up 3.7% at $5.30 on about 13,000 shares as of 8:35 AM EST.

First Marblehead Corp. (NYSE: FMD) is up 6% at $2.91 on about 15,000 shares as of 8:40 AM EST.  The OTS terminated a cease and desist order for its Union Federal unit which it is still evaluating alternatives.  This stock had originally indicated higher and above $3.00 after a $2.74 close.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about 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