Among the biggest winners in Thursday's early trading are
Arena Pharma (Nasdaq: ARNA)
,
Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE)
and
West Marine
(Nasdaq: WMAR)
.
|
Top Percentage Gainers -- Thursday, July 15,
2010
|
|
Company Name (Ticker)
|
Intra-Day Price
|
Intra-Day
% Gain
|
52-Week High
|
52-Week Low
|
Arena Pharma
(Nasdaq: ARNA) |
$4.80 |
+12.2%
|
$5.93 |
$2.70 |
Clean Energy
(Nasdaq: CLNE) |
$16.36 |
+7.1%
|
$23.70 |
$8.28 |
West Marine
(Nasdaq: WMAR) |
$11.35 |
+5.9%
|
$13.63 |
$5.53 |
|
*Table includes companies with minimum market
capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading
volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns
are listed as of 10:30AM Eastern Standard Time . Click on
ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and
percentage gain data.
|
Arena's Bull Run
Shares of
Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA)
continue to ascend, rising another +12% on Thursday, good for a
+50% gain during the past three weeks.
We first told you
of Arena's promising anti-obesity drug in early July.
Today's gains are due to a rising perception that Arena's drug is
more promising than those of rivals
Oreixigen (Nasdaq: OREX)
and
VIVUS (Nasdaq: VVUS)
. And investors are starting to realize that if Arena can capture a
big part of this market, then it stands to reap massive sums of
money from marketing partner Eisai.
Action to Take -->
Even with the recent run, shares still trade for less than half of
the potential total value of the Eisai relationship -- and that's
just for the United States. If and when Arena inks a foreign
partner, shares could spike even higher.
------------------------------------
Clean Energy's Legislative Hopes
Shares of
Clean Energy (Nasdaq: CLNE)
are rising +12% on hopes that imminent Congressional legislation
will provide incentives to adopt natural gas as a transportation
fuel source. Clean Energy operates a network of natural gas fueling
stations, primarily to fleet operators.
Last week,
we opined
that Clean Energy would get a lift from any government-related
initiatives to jump-start the industry.
Senate Democrats reportedly plan to unveil the energy bill next
week. Senator Reid (D-NV) will attempt to begin debate on the bill
the week of July 26. But they've got a short window. The Senate is
scheduled to begin a month-long summer recess on Aug. 6.
Action to Take -->
Shares of Clean Energy have spiked and slumped as the prospects for
Federal legislation have waxed and waned. In the absence of any
support, Clean Energy may struggle to meet aggressive 2011 sales
and profit forecasts. As of now, analysts anticipate that the
industry will get government support, and that the company will be
in the black for the first time in its history in 2011. If
legislation is passed, shares would quickly move into the $20s.
------------------------------------
West Marine's Rebound
Any boat owner can tell you that this leisure industry has been
dead for several years. Boat sellers have found few buyers, and
many boaters have opted to simply keep their boats out of the water
to save money. But the industry is springing back to life recently
as boat sales rise and marina slips fill up once again. That notion
was underscored by surprisingly strong quarterly results from
West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR)
, which operates a nationwide chain of stores and an eponymous
catalog catering to boat owners.
West Marine announced an +8.4% jump in same-store sales in its
fiscal first quarter ended in April (though that's less than timely
as we are already near the end of the next quarter). After three
straight years of falling sales, analysts generally stopped
following this retailer, so it's unclear where these results were
relative to expectations. But fund managers and other investors
have certainly anticipated the rebound, pushing shares up nearly
threefold during the past 18 months. If West Marine can maintain
this sales momentum, it should be able to post solid profits thanks
to heavy cost cuts. In 2009, West Marine posted its first profit
since 2005, even though sales fell another -7%.
Action to Take -->
By my rough math, West Marine could earn $1 a share this year as
the company is now in its seasonally most profitable quarters.
Shares, despite today's +6% gain, could have further upside -- if
the U.S. economy can start to build a head of steam. This is a very
economically sensitive sector, and West Marine appears positioned
to thrive during the good times.
-- David Sterman
David Sterman has worked as an investment analyst for nearly two
decades. He started his career in equity research at Smith Barney,
culminating in a position as Senior Analyst covering European
banks. David has also served as Director of Research at Individual
Investor and has made numerous media appearances over the years,
primarily on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. David has a master's degree in
management from Georgia Tech. Read More...
Disclosure: Neither David Sterman nor StreetAuthority, LLC hold
positions in any securities mentioned in this article.
StreetAuthority