The bulls are back in town. Nothing like an earnings beat to shake off the pessimism. At least for the moment. Alcoa earnings beat shows that the world may finally be entering into a sustainable recovery. It should be noted that the volume is light today, so the rally lacks real conviction. More is needed to show that the market really wants to push higher.
Across the pond, investor sentiment was lifted when it was reported that the ECB could resume its bond purchasing program. Yields on Spanish and Italian debt declined helping to boot the overall market.
The Dow is current up 93 points, the Nasdaq 31 and the S&P 12.
OptimumBank Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:OPHC) is up 116.92% today at $2.9501. OPHC has traded 208 thousand shares so far today, well above its daily average of 45 thousand shares. The company has a market cap of 64.32 million.
NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:NEWL) is up 78.80% this morning at $4.4699. NEWL has traded 1.1 million shares so far today, way above its daily average of 43 thousand shares. NEWL shares have jumped more than 300% this week. The company has a market cap of 34.35 million.
Mattress Firm Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:MFRM) is up 16.91% today at $43.76. MFRM has traded 624 thousand shares so far today, 6 times its average volume. Mattress Firm announced today it will buy Mattress Giant for $47 million. The company has a market cap of 1.46 billion.
Powerwave Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PWAV) is up 17.84% today at $2.18. PWAV has traded 809 thousand shares this morning and traded 1 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 68.56 million.
MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE:WFR) is up 13.17% this morning at 3.78. WFR traded 6.6 million shares so far today and trades 7.4 million shares a day on average. On April 10, MEMC received 1,000 volt UL certification on solar modules. The company has a market cap of 873.58 million.
FriendFinder Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:FFN) is up 8.58% today at $1.1075. FFN has traded 346 thousand shares so far today and trades 828 thousand shares a day on average. FFN shares are bouncing back today after the stock fell about $0.30 a share in the past week. The company has a market cap of 34.76 million.
Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE:PCX) is up 7.03% in early trading at $5.94. PCX has traded 4 million shares so far today and trades 7.4 million shares a day on average. PCX shares were in a downtrend recently and fell about $0.60. a share in the past week. The company has a market cap of 535.57 million.
About Danny Fisher
