Stocks started slightly higher this morning following successful bond auctions in Europe, but quickly turned negative as jobs numbers were released. Unemployment claims jumped to a six week high at 399,000. This rise comes as companies let go of thousands of workers hired for the holiday season. As of 10:50 am EST the Dow is down 57 points, the Nasdaq is down 10 points and the S&P is down 5 points.
BioDelivery Sciences International (NASDAQ:BDSI) is up 15.51% at $2.16 this morning. BDSI is up on heavy volume today with 531 thousand shares traded. Yesterday, BDSI filed an 8-K and inside detailed an agreement with Arius Pharmaceuticals and Arius Two, Inc. The agreement will see BioDelivery Systems, Arius and Arius Two grant Endo Pharmaceuticals exclusive commercial world wide license to develop, manufacture, market and sell BioDelivery’s BEMA product. The company has a market cap of 65.63 million.
China New Borun Corporation (NYSE:BORN) is up 8.10% at $4.6701 in early trading. BORN has is up on large volume today with 638 thousand shares today, well above its daily average of 142 thousand shares. BORN shares are up the past two days after signing pre sales contracts worth around 90% of 2012 total production capacity. The company has a market cap of 120.72 million.
Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) is up 12.22% today at $3.0305. RDN has traded 5.9 million shares today, already higher than its daily average volume. RDN has rallied more than $0.60 a share this week. No recent news for RDN, but analysts have maintained a price target of $5 for the stock. The company has a market cap of 408.89 million.
Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN) is up 7.08% at $1.22. FBN has traded 333 thousand shares this morning and trades 515 thousand shares on average. Furniture Brands presented at the 14th Annual ICR XChange Conference in Miami, Florida yesterday. The company has a market cap of 67.71 million.
Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) is up 9.18% at $3.33 this morning. PACB has traded 356 thousand shares today, well above its daily average of 293 thousand shares. PACB gaped open this morning at $3.16 after closing yesterday at $3.16. The company has a market cap of 183.62 million.
Leap Wireless International (NASDAQ:LEAP) is up 4.62% at $9.97 in early trading. LEAP has traded 1.6 million shares today and averages around 2 million shares daily. LEAP has been rebounding the past week or so after announcing poor subscriber numbers at the first of the year. LEAP shares fell from $10 to $8.50 in the first few days of 2012 and have since recovered back to where it fell from. The company has a market cap of 788.69 million.