Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is seeing a slight drop after yesterday’s monumental drop.  Shares are down 0.9% at $37.66.

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) moved again last night after the close and is holding with 6% gains at $1.01 based on continued hopes that the Bank-Mortgage fraud fears will help the insurers recovery lost money.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is only a penny stock but is up after it announced the completion of Phase IIa in a study of aerosolized KL4 surfactant in cystic fibrosis.  Shares were up as much as 20% and now ‘only’ 11% at $0.24 because of the penny increments.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is down 2.3% at $16.76 on active volume in the pre-market after its earnings were deemed to be short.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is soaring after it beat earnings expectations.  Shares are up close to 10% at $598.00 on active trading.  Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is following Google up this morning, and shares are indicated up over 3% at $101.25 in the pre-market.

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) is trading lower so far after earnings; shares are down over 6% at $22.39 on active volume for the stock before the open.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is indicated up after indications are out that the interbank may open up for Greek banks.  Shares were up as much as 6% per ADR here and the stock is now up 4% at $2.35 in the pre-market on active trading.

Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) is soaring on word that an indication of interest has been shown to the company in a possible go-private transaction.  Shares are up nearly 19% at $15.08 on very active trading.  Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) is its key US competitor and its shares are also up 8% at $32.00 in active pre-market trading.

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JON C. OGG

Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) said its loss deepened and it had increased bad debt items.  Shares are getting crushed by 8% to $2.50 on over 100,000 shares.  The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is getting shelled on the news as well with a 4% drop to $4.48 on almost 150,000 shares.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is surging now that it has put itself up for sale.  Shares are up 25% at $16.10 in early indications on over 30,000 shares. Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is being viewed as a secondary beneficiary on the news as shares are indicated up about 7% at $1.42.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is higher on a research call as it was reiterated Buy at Needham based upon plant buildouts and over hopes of additional product revenues.  Shares are up 5.5% at $35.70 on almost 100,000 shares.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is down sharply but off its lows after caution in its business outlook.  Shares are down a sharp 10% at $0.28 on 220,000 shares.  Shares were down over 15% in earlier indications; the 52-week range is $0.17 to $1.69.

ExpressJet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: XJT) is the biggest gainer after it was disclosed that SkyWest is acquiring it for a mere $133 million.  Shares are up 100% at $6.58 on over 100,000 shares.

Funtalk China Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FTLK) has decided to postpone its previously announced proposed public offering of approximately 12,000,000 ordinary shares by selling shareholders.  Shares are surging by 22% to $8.64 on about 50,000 shares.

priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) is surging this morning after beating earnings estimates and considerably raising guidance.  Shares are up 17% at $270.37 on about 50,000 shares. Keep in mind that the 52-week high is right at $273.93.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is trading up on active volume after the rating was raised to Buy at Soleil; shares are up 6.6% at $6.31 on over 100,000 shares in early trading.

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is one of the more active stocks with over 4 million shares traded after it reported above-estimates on revenues and raised targets for 2010.  Shares are up 4% at $1.05.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) beat earnings but despite the recovery it has some sales growth items as the numbers for growth were mostly in-line after the luxury grocer reported that earnings were up 88%.  This one has already run significantly higher.  Shares are down almost 6% at $37.25 and the 52-week range is $24.18 to $43.18.

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JON C. OGG

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is trading higher after Credit Suisse upgraded the solar player to Outperform from Neutral and gave it a $150 target price.  Shares are up 4.4% at $124.02 this morning.

Fannie & Freddie are at it again…. Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) is down another 14% at $0.48 on active volume and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) is trading down 13% at $0.65 on slightly less volume.  This is after large price drops yesterday based upon the FHFA requesting delisting from the NYSE.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) is trading up 4.3% at $5.60 after it and Boehringer announced a pact to develop diabetes drug that is a small molecule GPR119 agonist for the treatment of Type II diabetes and other indications.  That is after the Abbott deal yesterday.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is down 15% after a common stock and warrant offering was proposed a day after it received financing from Kingsbridge Capital.

Oncothyreon Inc (NASDAQ: ONTY) is up 20% at $4.35 after the company announced that Merck-Serono is resuming the Stimuvax clinical program in lung cancer.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is trading up after Jim Cramer gave the company a Buy signal last night on CNBC’s MAD MONEY.  Shares closed at $11.77 and are up about 3.1% at $12.14 this morning on more than 50,000 shares.

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JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 5 best investments for 2010 – The next nine months represent a bold new era for investors.

AllState Corp. (NYSE: ALL) is holding up better than we would have expected considering a Goldman Sachs downgrade to Sell.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) had unbelievable options trading yesterday, although it appears to be a dividend capture trade… over 1 million SEPT-2009 contracts were traded yesterday on that basis.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is holding up rather well considering the downgrade.  We have color on price channels and trading patterns on this one because of how sketchy this stock is.

American Axle (NYSE: AXL) is soaring by 17% on an upgrade, a rather tall task for a research call.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is up about 50% on an FDA review date.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) may not be anywhere close to the old highs, but an analyst upgrade is helping it get close to challenging 52-week highs.

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JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Blackbaud (BLKB) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Citrix Systems (CTXS) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Discovery Labs (DSCO) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Eaton Vance (EV) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Federated Investors (FII) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Southwest Air (LUV) Cut to Sell at Argus.

JON C. OGG

Citrix Systems (CTXS) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Discovery Labs (DSCO) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Eaton Vance (EV) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Federated Investors (FII) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
FPL Group (FPL) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Rackspace (RAX) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Discovery Laboratories (NASDAQ: DSCO) shares are on roller coaster ride as they anticipate the await approval for Surfaxin, a preventative medicine for respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants. Last Friday, the stock dropped 50% after the FDA wrote an Approvable Letter to Discovery requesting more information. Today it is up 33% after Discovery announced that additional clinical trials will not be necessary. Shares are trading at $1.87 on extremely high relative trading volume. The 52-week range is $1.29 to $3.75.

EPIX Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EPIX) announced the mid-stage human clinical trial launch of Alzheimer’s treatment, PRX-03140, making it eligible for a milestone payment of $7.5 million from GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). Shares are up over 8% to $1.80. The 52-week range is $1.28 to $6.70.

Pluristem Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSTI) shares are down over 13% today on no new relevant news. Shares are down $0.63 to $3.96. The 52-week range is $1.52 to $28.00.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA) shares are up almost 40% today after reporting narrower first quarter losses last Thursday, beating expectations. Also, Caris initiated coverage on the company with a “Buy” rating and a $22.00 price target, specifically citing the expectation that schizophrenia treatment Fanapta, will gain regulatory approval in July. Today, shares are up $1.68 to $5.89. The 52-week range is $2.70 to $22.49.

Rachel Lopez
May 5, 2008

• Barrier Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BTRX) ran way up after first quarter results reported yesterday showed a 207% increase in revenues from last year at $8.4 million, driven by growth in sales of Vusion and Xolegel. Shares closed up 18% at $2.29 on a 52-week range of $1.90 to $7.60.
• BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) showed a first quarter positive profit or $0.02 EPS on a net income of $1.7 million. Analysts expected losses of $0.05 EPS. Earnings were driven primarily by sales of enzyme replacement therapy Naglazyme. Shares closed up almost 8% at $36.46. The 52-week range is $15.99 to $41.00.
• Discovery Labs (NASDAQ: DSCO) trading up in anticipation of FDA approval for lung surfactant, Surfaxin, a treatment for premature infants suffering from respiratory distress. The company communicated confidence that any regulatory concerns have been ironed out and this third FDA result will be positive. Shares rose 17% to $2.87. The 52-week range is $1.75 to $3.75.
• Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP) settled a proxy battle with shareholder D.E. Shaw by nominating William Spangler to the board. They posted earnings today showing a net income of $59.53 and $0.44 EPS. Shares closed down 0.7% at $24.83. The 52-week range is $22.62 to $35.85.
• Mannkind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) up over 16% in anticipation of earnings release Monday. Shares up $0.37 at $2.60 at the close. The 52-week range is $1.86 to $14.71.
• Molecular Insight Pharma (NASDAQ: MIPI) up almost 7% today on no news, although some just may be the thin volume and wide bid/ask spread. The oncology molecular imaging pharmaceutical company is sitting at $7.83 on a 52-week range of $5.66 to $12.95.
• Questcor (AMEX: QSC) down despite posting strong first quarter results showing a positive net income of $6.5 million compared to a loss of $3.8 in first quarter 2007. The company also amended agreement Acthar distribution discount prices, positively impacting Questcor cash flows. Shares closed down 2.5% at $4.24. The 52-week range is $0.21 to $6.60.
• Techne Corp. (NASDAQ: TECH) up after third quarter profit jumped 24% to $29.6 million or $0.76 EPS, beating estimates. Shares closed at $72.52, up 1%, on a 52-week range of $54.49 to $72.00.

Rachel Lopez
April 30, 2008

Baxter International (NYSE: BAX)—contaminant in recalled Heparin identified by the FDA today. Shares rose slightly to $58.18 in response to board approved $2 billion stock buyback program. maybe it’s a major drug stock, but this has been a pending issue for some time.

Cytokinetics Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTK) up almost 10% to $3.38 today; annual report filed last week.

Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) up over 10% today to $2.38 on a late afternoon rise on no new news.

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) up 23% today to $6.06 on heavy late afternoon trading volume and no news. Halozyme dipped earlier this week due to downgrades.

ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) showed little response to upgrades in anticipation to cancer clinical trial data. Shares inched up $0.20 to $43.30.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) upgraded by RBC Capital Markets and noted for strong research platform. Up 4% to $8.70. The 52-week range is $7.20 to $3.44.

Rachel Lopez
March 19, 2008

Genta Incorporated (NASDAQ: GNTA) shares are down over 22% to $0.53 per share after news this morning that they have entered into an agreement to sell 6 million shares of common stock to institutional investors for $3.1 million in proceeds.

IDM Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDMI) shares are recovering today after last week’s plunge due to a delisting threat from the Nasdaq Stock Market. The company has until August 4, 2008 to close at over $1 for 10 consecutive days. Shares are up over 30% this morning to $2.20. The 52 week range is $0.57 to $10.75.

Labopharm Inc. (NASDAQ: DDSS) shares continue to rise after Friday’s announcement that late-stage clinical trials for Trazodone once-daily antidepressant showed improvement in patients’ quality of sleep. The drug has FDA approval for a twice-daily treatment and the company expects to apply for the FDA approval of the once-daily version later this year. Shares are up over 15% in early morning trading to $2.68.

Stockholder approval for Point Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: POTP) pending merger with DARA BioSciences, Inc. is expected this afternoon. Assuming the merger closes February 12 as expected, the new entity will trade under “DARA” on Nasdaq. Shares rose up over $0.06 in early morning trading but have slipped back down to opening price ranges to $0.14 in mid-day trading on relatively high trading volume.

Rachel Lopez
February 11, 2008