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Mid-day Movers (ASTM, JVA, QSFT, GMCR, ZGNX)

Shortly before noon ET today, all three major US stock indexes have posted gains, with the DJIA up about 41 points at around12,949, the Nasdaq up about 20 points at 2,991, and the S&P 500 up more than 7 points…

By Paul Ausick
Published March 9, 2012, 12:03pm ET · 2 min read

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Shortly before noon ET today, all three major US stock indexes have posted gains, with the DJIA up about 41 points at around12,949, the Nasdaq up about 20 points at 2,991, and the S&P 500 up more than 7 points to around 1,373. This morning’s report on US non-farm payroll gains. In Europe, the Greek debt swap deal went off smoothly, but it will be interesting to see what happens if the deal triggers a “credit event,” as many expect. The dollar is up sharply today, with the dollar index up 1.10% at 80.013. The stronger economic news is pushing up crude prices, with Brent up more than 0.50% and WTI up around 1.3%.

Among the major movers at around noon today are Aastrom Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM), Coffee Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: JVA), Quest Software Inc. (NASDAQ: QSFT), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), and Zogenix Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGNX).

Aastrom is up more than 30% at $2.37. Volume is already about 6x the daily average of about 205,000 shares traded. The biotechnology company has completed a private placement of $40 million in Series B convertible preferred stock.

Coffee Holding Co. is up more than 26% at $9.92. Volume is already nearly 10x the daily average of about 276,000 shares traded. The integrated coffee roaster and distributor posted better-than-expected quarterly results this morning.

Quest Software is up more than 23% at $23.90. Volume is already about 16x the daily average of around 500,000 shares traded. The firm has agreed to be acquired at $23/share. More coverage here.

Green Mountain Coffee is down more than -16% at $52.21. Volume is already approaching triple the daily average of around 5.5 million shares traded. The company is being hit hard by yesterday’s announcement from Starbucks Inc. (NASDAQ: SBUX) that it will launch a single-cup espresso and coffee machine to compete with the Keurig products from Green Mountain. More coverage here.

Zogenix is down nearly -14% at $2.15. Volume is already more than double the daily average of around 555,000 shares traded. The drug maker posted a wider than expected loss after the markets closed yesterday.

Paul Ausick

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Paul Ausick

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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