Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) soared more than 20% on Thursday, a day after it announced that results from the two-year BLOOM (Behavioral modification and Lorcaserin for Overweight and Obesity Management) trial will be published in the July 15, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The data presented in the article show that lorcaserin used in conjunction with behavioral modification caused significantly greater weight loss and improved maintenance of weight loss compared to placebo. Lorcaserin also improved values for biomarkers that may be predictive of future cardiovascular events, including lipid levels, insulin resistance, levels of inflammatory markers and blood pressure.
Verenium Corporation (NASDAQ: VRNM) surged more than 56% on Thursday after it agreed to sell its cellulosic biofuels business to British energy giant BP Plc (NYSE: BP) for $98.3 million.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) jumped more than 25% on Thursday after it announced that it has reached an agreement with parties related to the so-called Humboldt County litigation to stay all proceedings and pursue settlement talks. Earlier this month, a California state jury ordered Skilled Healthcare Group Inc to pay $671 million in damages for not providing sufficient nursing care to patients.
Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) rose more than 2% on Thursday, a day after it agreed to acquire Ireland-based Bioniche Pharma Holdings Limited, a privately held, global injectable pharmaceutical company for $550 million in cash. The company said that the acquisition will provide Mylan an immediate entry into the North American injectables market and also a potential platform for future growth opportunities. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Mylan's earnings in year one, without accounting for any operational or other synergies.
Hydrogenics Corporation (NASDAQ: HYGS) rallied more than 4% after it announced that it has secured orders for electrolyzers with customers in Russia and the Middle East. In Russia, Hydrogenics will supply a large industrial company in the city of Tomsk with a HySTAT unit for the production of light bulbs. The other order, with Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) , is for an electrolyzer to be used at a seawater desalination and power plant being built in Saudi Arabia; this award, the first for Hydrogenics directly with Siemens, includes outdoor housing, a hydrogen purification device, and auxiliary systems. Both orders are expected to be shipped during the second half of 2010.
CryptoLogic Limited (NASDAQ: CRYP) shares sank more than 21% after it announced today that it expects second quarter 2010 total Revenue to show a slight decline over first quarter and that total Costs will be greater than expected. As a result, the operating loss in second quarter will be higher than first and the company's outlook for the year is much less encouraging than at the time of the Q1 results announcement.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks discussed here.
