Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Bank of New York-Mellon (NYSE: BK) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) was Underperform and has been dropped from coverage by BofA/ML as fundamentals are not driving the shares.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Reiterated Buy with $85 target on Focus List at Argus.
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) reiterated strong buy as Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Gold Fields Limited (NYSE: GFI) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Hatteras Financial Corporation (NYSE: HTS) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
NetEase.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) Started as Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Rackspace Hosting, Inc (NYSE: RAX) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs, but reportedly Downgraded to Hold at a firm called Benchmark.

JON C. OGG

Central European Distribution Corp (NASDAQ: CEDC) is down 15% premarket to $19.48, relative to a 52-week range of $20.44-$39.95.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is up on heavy volume more than 31% premarket to $3.43, relative to a 52-week range of $1.94-%3.05. The pharmaceutical company received a $179 million contract from the government to develop influenza vaccines.

Sonus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONS) is up 28% premarket on moderate volume to $3.88, above the 52-week range of $2.12-$3.75. The firm projected higher-than expected annual revenue.

YRC Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is down 12.3% premarket to $2.35, relative to a 52-week range of $2.53-$20.00. The company has reached a deal with lenders and union workers to avoid bankruptcy.

Avago Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: AVGO) is trading up after a huge hit yesterday when insiders filed to sell shares.  The pre-market trading has nearly a 4% gain to $21.00 and we have seen about 30,000 shares trade hands.

CIENA Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) is trading lower with you know who… it also took a downgrade from Auriga.  Shares are down 3.4% at $12.51 on about 175,000 shares.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is lower after soft revenues and a dull outlook crushed the growth hopes.  Shares closed at $23.73 and are down 8.7% at $21.65 on more than 3.6 million shares (8:45 AM EST).

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) tanked yesterday on its guidance and shares are lower yet again this morning.  We have shares down over 2% at $58.51 on light volume.  This is setting itself up to challenge the July 1 low of $57.70, and the stock is already under the lowest closing bell prices around that time.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is up almost 2% around $21.70 on a down day after a Citi analyst upgrade.

Estee Lauder Inc. (NYSE: EL) missed its earnings estimates.  Shares are down 7.2% at $56.00 on about 75,000 shares.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is one of the few gainers after it reported positive results from a pre-clinical safety study of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine candidate.  Shares are up 5% at $2.28 but trading volume is light around 15,000 shares.

VirnetX Holding Corp (NYSE: VHC) is the mystery gainer.  It filed new patent suits against Apple, Cisco, Aastra, and NEC over its network communication patents.  This company has so far been successful in its patent cases against Microsoft. Shares are up almost 10% at $6.28 on over 15,000 shares.

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JON C. OGG

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is trading sharply lower after it agreed to sell $21 million in preferred stock and in warrants.  Due to the terms and added dilution, shares are down almost 23% at $0.347 on already double normal volume of almost 40 million shares.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is trading up ahead of its ASCO presentation of data from integrated analysis of three Phase 3 PROVENGE clinical trials of an autologous cellular immunotherapy in advanced prostate cancer.  Shares are trading up 7% at $44.62 on 3.6 million shares, although this may be an oversold bounce more than anticipation of new blockbuster data expected.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) was one of several company stocks called by Benrnstein as “trading below bargain basement prices” in a research note.  Shares were trading up 5% at $24.05 on what feels like normal trading volume of 2.5 million shares in mid-day trading.

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) may also be more of an oversold bounce more than raw news despite the notion that its 4.4% gain makes it one of the top ten gainers today.  This is one of the more speculative names in the BioHealth realm now and shares had slid from over $6.00 to under $5.00 in the last few trading sessions.  The 4.4% gain puts shares at $5.17, and it is worth noting that volume does not stand out as unusual.

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) has a surprise gain after it named a new new head of development and chief medical officer.  Mark Thornton, a former FDA officer is filling the position, and he has been a medical officer in the U.S. Navy and the FDA’s immunology and infectious diseases sections. Thornton has also served in positions in ZioPharm Oncology Inc., Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., and at GenVec Inc.  Shares are trading up 6% at $2.45 on thin volume of only about 400,000 shares.

Repligen Corp. (NASDAQ: RGEN) is up after the FDA granted the potential genetic disorder treatment RG2833 an orphan drug status.  RG2833 is aimed at treating Friedreich’s ataxia, a disorder with nerve degeneration controlling muscle movements in the arms, legs, and also with the spinal cord’s nerve tissue.  Shares had more of a “gap and crap” move this morning.  After the news, the stock went almost immediately up to as high as $3.70 but shares are now back to being down a penny at $3.20 on the day.  The volume was fast and rapid too: 275,000 shares mid-day versus average volume of closer to only 70,000 shares; its 52-week trading range is listed as $3.10 to $5.85.

Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is up after announcing in an SEC filing that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered an order preliminarily approving a proposed settlement of the shareholder derivative actions consolidated.  Shares are up just over 5% at $6.22 on normal trading volume.

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is up despite the notion that insider sales hit the tape late in the week ahead of FDA decisions.  Shares are up over 7% at $12.07 on almost 3 million shares today.  Average volume is 3.8 million shares and the 52-week range is $4.27 to $13.68.

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JON C. OGG

ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) targets raised at Nomura and at Goldman Sachs.
Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
DaVita, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was kept on the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs and the price target was raised to $16.00 from $15.00.
FormFactor Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMY) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo; Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) Started as Buy at Lazard.
US Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Reiterated Buy but target raised to $73 at Goldman Sachs.

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JON C. OGG

We have offered news summaries, as well as the price moves and any expectations if available, as well as offered color where applicable on each.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) is giving a little of this week’s gains back after its annual R&D day showed the top-line results from the first clinical study with placenta-derived cells that met the primary endpoint of safety goals and showed encouraging clinical benefit… including clinical remission.  There is not anything bad that was seen here, but a sell-the-news reaction is taking place.  There may be some disappointment that a stock split has yet to be seen.  Shares are down 0.35% at $63.02 on over 2.5 million shares.  Update for Close: shares closed down 0.2% at $63.12 on 4.2 million shares.

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) is up, but not booming volume.  William Blair initiated    analyst coverage with an Outperform.  Shares are up 5.17% at $8.54 on 362,000 shares.  Average volume is 554,000 shares and this is almost a 52-week considering its $5.07 to $8.67 trading range.  Update for Close: shares closed up 3.7% at $8.42 on over 600,000 shares.

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) may be anticipation or may be something else.  Tomorrow is the company’s special shareholder meeting.  We previously outlined what was expected to come up there, although you can imagine it will be a heated and passionate meeting.  Shares are up 5% at $0.6245 on about 12.9 million shares.  That is actually light trading volume. Update for Close: shares closed up 7% at $0.637 on 16.3 million shares.

EntreMed, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENMD) noted yesterday in a filing… “On April 2, 2010, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of EntreMed, Inc. (the “Company”) approved the dismissal of Ernst & Young LLP (“Ernst & Young”) as its independent registered public accounting firm….Except for an explanatory paragraph in the report of Ernst & Young regarding the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 which noted that there was substantial doubt as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, the reports of Ernst & Young on the company’s consolidated financial statements…. did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.”  The company recently got its NASDAQ listing extended, but that has already been seen.  Shares are up 4.6% at $0.73 on 335,000 shares (150% of normal volume).  Today’s move may be nothing more than ‘more buyers than sellers’ outside of the ongoing issues. Update for Close: shares closed up 5.7% at $0.74 on moe than 600,000 shares.

Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX) is down hard after an FDA panel rejected its Nycomed lung disease drug after that same FDA panel earlier commented that its benefits were marginal.  We have seen at least two analyst downgrades today from Lazard and from Piper Jaffray.  Shares had been around $30 before seeing a late-day rise on Wednesday before closing at $32.46.  Shares today are down 13% at $28.15 on over 15 million shares.  That is almost 5-times normal volume and the 52-week range is $20.93 to $33.10. Update for Close: shares closed down 13.7% at $27.99 on over 22 million shares.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is trading higher today and this may be nothing more than a delayed reaction to news out yesterday.  On Wednesday it announced that James F. Young, Ph.D. was joining its Board of Directors as an independent board member effective immediately.  He has 30 years of experience in molecular genetics, microbiology, immunology and pharmaceutical development and had previously been president of R&D at MedImmune where he was “instrumental in the development of FluMist and Synagis.”  Shares are up 4.2% at $2.44 on 1.7 million shares versus 1.56 million shares on average.  The 52-week range is $0.76 to $7.79. Update for Close: shares closed up 4.24% at $2.44 on 2.3 million shares.

Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Co. (NYSE: TCM) is up on a buyout, although not as much as seen in other medical related companies.  It received a proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of the company for the equivalent of $4.50 per ADS.  Shares are up 16% at $4.38 on over 535,000 shares.  The stock’s 52-week range is $2.90 to $5.10 and average daily trading volume is only about 14,000 shares. Update for Close: shares closed up 16.4% at $4.40 on 650,000 shares.

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JON C. OGG

We have provided the news, a relative analysis on price and volume compared to normal, and added in other color where appropriate.

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: AEN) did not comment yesterday on an unusual price move, and today’s move is equally unusual. Technically, today would be a 4 day rally if it holds and shares have doubled since last Wednesday.   The brief description is that the company is into subclinical zinc deficiency and chronic copper toxicity.  Shares are up 29% at $2.26 on over 6 million shares.

Encorium Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENCO) is one company most people will never heard of before today.  The company designs and manages clinical trials primarily in Europe.  Most comments around this one on message boards are “what the… ?” type of comments.  We’ll stay out of the rumor mill here.  Shares are up 91% at $4.05 today on over 4 million shares.

GenVec Inc. (NASDAQ: GNVC) is getting crushed after it decided to drop its Phase III clinical trial of TNFerade in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.  Its results of an interim analysis showed that it did not meet the goals.  Shares are down 71% at $0.795 on a whopping 62 million shares.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is down again on another day of the analyst yo-yo playing.  The company was downgraded at Barclays to “Equal-Weight” from “Overweight” and its price target was cut to $52 from $63.  Shares are down close to 2% at $52.01 on trading volume that looks far from robust at about 2.5 million shares.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) is down after it announced that a Federal District Court ruled that isolated DNA claims are not patentable.  Shares are down over 5% at $23.60 and trading volume is already twice-normal at 3.6 million shares.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) saw a CNBC spike yesterday after Mike Huckman on CNBC talked about a new health scare about swine flu (ergo, H1N1) seeing a rapid rise in the Southeastern United States.  This spiked up from $2.40 to almost $2.65 yesterday before settling back down at $2.48.  Now shares are all the way back to $2.40.  The false media hypes…. Shares are down 4% at $2.38 versus a 52-week range of $0.52 to $7.79.

Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ: NYMX) spiked earlier today after the company announced that a Phase 3 NX-1207 drug in development for multiple indications was successful in a series of blinded controlled multi-center U.S. clinical trials.  Positive results from animal studies have shown the potential for the use of high dosages for localized prostate cancer and of primary liver cancer.  Shares gapped up much higher but the stock is now down 1.1% at $3.52 on only about 120,000 shares.

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXA) is running higher today on an outside research call after Rodman & Renshaw started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $6 price target.  That implied 200% upside from yesterday’s close.  The quest for ten-baggers continues… Shares are up 17% at $2.25 and the 52-week trading range is $0.31 to $6.93.

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP) has decided it would be best to enter into an agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc. so that Astellas can review certain confidential information related to OSI.  This is one step closer to a merger, and we’d note that OSI still trades well above that $52 Astellas tender offer. Shares hit a new 52-week high of $59.97 today and the stock is up 1.1% at $59.95 on rather light trading volume.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is seeing a run today, and chatter seems to be driving it although we have not seen nor heard any new chatter that is different from any other days when the stock runs higher.  One  link that is being passed around is from BMC Cancer 2010 via biomedcentral.com, but we’d caution that this was “accepted and published” on March 16 and it even says “received on” August 12…. Shares are up over 7% at $6.59 and we have already hit 150% normal trading volume with over 8.5 million shares traded mid-day.

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JON C. OGG

Included today is the news, the share move, relative performance and valuation data, and added in additional market color where applicable.

UPDATED FOR CLOSING BELL PRICES

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is continuing to see traders buy up the stock after Monday’s FDA denial implosion.  Frankly, the moves higher here are becoming harder and harder to explain other than “trader sentiment” and the pesky minutes charts used by traders.  This still seems to be more like “sell therapeutics” based on the news, but the move has actually been one of recovering losses.   Shares have come well off the highs today but the stock is still up 8.7% at $0.697 on 53 million shares. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up only 1.6% at $0.647 on 72 million shares.

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYCC) reported last night that its Q4 net loss was $4.3 million or -$0.18 per share versus a net loss of $7.9 million or -$0.39 per share for Q4-2008.  Shares are down 4.4% at $2.40 on only about 1.3 million shares.  This one is too small for an earnings analysis. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed down 5.2% at $2.38 on 1.844 million shares.

China Biologic Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBPO), a Chinese player you may have never known, is one of the larger gainers in the sector today.   The plasma-based biopharma reported last night that Q4 revenues increased 185.6% year-over-year to $37.6 million, and excluding Dalin, revenues rose 46.7% year-over-year to $19.3 million or 51.4% of total revenue.  The company also showed that gross profit increased 208.6% year-over-year to $27.3 million.   This is up 15% at $10.44 on almost 400,000 shares.  The 52-week range is $1.69 to $13.70 and the average volume is only 135,000 shares for this $244 million market cap Chinese player. UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up 24% at $11.26 on 504,000 shares.

Gentium S.p.A (NASDAQ: GENT) is one of the biggest winners today of all sectors, not just biotech and biohealth.   In a presentation data, its Defibrotide was shown to generate a 40% drop in the incidence of hepatic veno-occlusive disease in what was called high-risk pediatric patients within 30 days after stem cell transplant.  Stem cells.   Shares are up a whopping 56% at $2.82 on 2.8 million shares.  Average volume is only about 50,000 shares and the 52-week range is $0.36 to $4.00 for the tiny $42 million market cap.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up a whopping 77.5% at $3.23 on over 3.6 million shares.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) effectively got the worst situation it could have for the troubled Allston plant.  This FDA enforcement action may need a third-party inspection and review of plant operations for an extended period and will require payments to the government.  The company believes that shipments out of the plant will continue on an uninterrupted basis, although it does not know the financial impact of the call yet.  Shares are down more than 6% or down by $3.80 at $55.30 on 11.5 million shares.  Unfortunately, its chart before today was starting to show something traders and investors might have thought was not this bad.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed down 6.4% at $55.33 on 14.5 million shares.

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDRA) is soaring on an analyst upgrade after the firm was raised to Market Outperform from Market Perform at Rodman & Renshaw.  The price target is $10.00.  That still implied as double, because this stock is up 9.25% at $5.54.  The 231,000 shares compares to average volume of 35,000 shares and the 52-week range is $4.48 to $8.50.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up 10% at $5.58 on 275,000 shares.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) loves swine flu, or so its stock says.  The stock is surging on positive results from a Phase I of its two-phase clinical study in Mexico for a H1N1 vaccine.  Shares are up 11.5% at $2.61 on almost 6 million shares.  Average volume is now back down to about 1.4 million shares per day.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed up 10.7% at $2.59 on over 6.7 million shares.

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PARD) is down today after the company suspended its effort seeking regulatory approval for picoplatin in small cell lung cancer.  The company announced that it has also hired the firm Leerink Swann to conduct a review of strategic alternatives, but many seem to doubt its value or worth after disappointments.  This one is down 17.5% at $1.29 on almost 9 million shares.  Shares hit $1.18 today, a 52-week low.  UPDATE FOR CLOSE: shares closed down 16.8% at $1.30 on 10.19 million shares.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) and Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX) have no news, but they are items you should consider today.  An unrelated dividend story showing Starbucks initiated its first dividend ever has investors looking for which others might be next in line. At BioHealthInvestor.com, we have previously outlined why these may become next in line for dividends.

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JON C. OGG

As of last night, the week’s offerings were literally a floodgate of secondary offerings. It is almost worrisome when you see this many shares being sold. We have included the appropriate color where applicable, as well as applicable price reactions, comparisons to market cap, the underwriting team on each, and more. The most difficult notion to fathom here is that these are just the decent-sized offerings to large offering from companies which did more than just an automatic shelf registrations. SIXTEEN deals here alone….

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) filed on Tuesday to sell up to $500 million in any combination of Common or Preferred Stock, Warrants, Debt and/or Depositary Shares. The stock held up fine with only a 6.3% drop to $7.85 on Tuesday versus a 52-week range of $5.97 to $10.95. No underwriters were named for the REIT’s securities sale for ‘general corporate purposes’ and the market cap as of Tuesday was $783 million.

Dice Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DHX) registered to sell up to $50 million in common stock for holders, although the prospectus noted common and preferred stock. It also said that any proceeds to the company would be for for ‘general corporate purposes,’ which was inclusive of debt repayment, working capital and/or capital expenditures. Dice shares were down 1.1% to $7.61 n Tuesday and the market cap was about $475 million.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) received approval to pay back its TARP obligations. After earnings last night the credit card issuer said it would be selling $350 million in subordinated debt to repay the TARP. Shares were down 1.5% at $15.07 on early look but that is after earnings and may be only a lesser event in the grand scheme of things.

Entertainment Properties Trust (NYSE: EPR) listed almost 6.3 million shares for sale for a value of close to $250 million in common shares. The difference here is that the offering is said to be dividend reinvestment component and a direct share purchase component shares, so these may actually not be sold… ” 8,500,000 common shares to be offered for purchase under the Plan, including 2,202,093 common shares that were previously registered but not sold.”

Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) filed on Monday to sell 7.2 million shares of common stock. Tuesday brought about a drop down 3.4% to $14.30 on above-average share volume. This one is after a significant recovery because its 52-week trading range is $2.56 to $14.90 and its new market cap was $931 million as of Tuesday’s close. Morgan Stanley and Jefferies & Company are joint book-running managers; Piper Jaffray and Morgan Keegan are co-managers.

Diedrich Coffee Inc. (NASDAQ: DDRX) is up again as the buyout wars continue from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) and Peet’s Coffee & Tea (NASDAQ: PEET).

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOMX) is active again, and up over 5%, ahead of an FDA decision.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is up over 7% on positive swine flu study news in Mexico.

Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ: DYAX) surging over 25% on an FDA approval of Kalbitor for the treatment of genetic hereditary angioedema.

RF Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) is up almost 4% on an analyst upgrade after a 10% gain yesterday.

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (AMEX: HEB) is down by about half after an FDA denial.

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Jon C. Ogg