The stock market rose Thursday early in trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.12%, the Nasdaq up 0.46% and the S&P 500 up 0.27%. Trading volumes were light, and today’s only winner was a company that is buying a rival firm. Meanwhile, today’s loser is a pharmaceutical company that has consistently been on the winners and losers list this past week and is currently experiencing funding issues.

This is Thursday’s biggest winner and loser.

Biggest Winner

Shares of Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) are up 20.65% to $32.31 on trading volume of 4.1 million shares. The company agreed to purchase rival mattress maker Sealy Corp. (NYSE: ZZ) for $2.20 a share. The 52-week high is $87.43.

Biggest Loser

Shares of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PPHM) are down 25.31% to $1.24 on trading volume of 11.5 million shares. In a regulatory filing, the company said its lenders demanded payment of $15 million but the company has less than $19 million in cash on hand, according to Reuters. The 52-week low is 39 cents.

Samuel Weigley

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