The three major US equities indexes opened lower this morning on continued worries about the still-pending Greek debt swap. The DJIA is about 43 points at about 12,819, the Nasdaq Composite is down nearly 15 points at about 2,891, and the S&P 500 is down more than 6 points at about 1,339.
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW), BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX), Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD), Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), and Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAC).
After the first half hour of trading this morning, SureWest is up nearly 43% at $22.27 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69. Volume is about 3x the daily average of about 46,000 shares traded. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.
BioLineRx is up about 38% at $5.69. Volume is about 9x the daily average of 158,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm has signed a worldwide licensing agreement for its oral hepatitis C drug.
Threshold is up more than 25% at $3.75 after posting a new 52-week high of $3.96 earlier. Volume is nearly 20x the daily average of about 348,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm has announced a global development deal with Germany’s Merck last week, and the stock continues to soar after more than doubling last Friday.
Sohu.com is down about -15% at $53.58. Volume is more than double the daily average of about 1.25 million shares traded. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.
Anacor is down more than -8% at $6.80. Volume is already above the daily average of about 287,000 shares traded. The company manufactures materials used in solar PV modules, and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.
Intermec is down more than -11% at $7.77. Volume is already more than double the daily average of about 68,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm’s shares were halted this morning, before news that GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) had halted a trial of Anacor’s drug to treat urinary tract infection.
Paul Ausick
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