Eurozone manufacturing index unexpectedly rose 0.6%; initial value of Michigan consumer sentiment index reached 83.1, beating the consensus estimates; the U.S. stocks moved higher in early trading, but in the afternoon session, financial stocks dropped, dragging the stock indexes to fall. As of the market close, the Dow Jones Industrial was up 0.02%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite index faded 0.17%. Below are the top performing stocks on Friday, have a look at these robust gaines and find the back stories behind them.
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) became number-one among the top stocks on Friday, with its stock price up almost $20.69, or 73.89% per share, to finish at $48.69.. Workday is a cloud computing company which provides solutions to manage employee processes and data. WDAY stock opened at $48.05 after pricing its IPO at $28 per share, higher than the ceiling of the anticipated offering price range between $21-$24. The intraday volume reached 18.14 million shares. Read more about Workday IPO.
Ninetowns Internet Technlgy Grp Co Ltd. (NINE) is a software company that enables enterprises and trade-related Chinese government agencies to streamline the import/export process in China. The company announced that it has received a $69 million privatization offer from its shareholders, including Chief Executive Shuang Wang. NINE stock surged 60.19%, or $0.65, to $1.73 with 418,457 shares traded, well above the average daily trading volume of 1,686 shares. The company currently has a market cap of $64.94 million.
Biopharmaceutical company NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NPSP) was also marked one of the top stocks on Friday with its shares jumping 18.97%, or $1.73, to $10.86, after the (FDA) U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted briefing materials for the October 16, 2012 Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee meeting to review Gattex. The intraday volume was 11.86 million shares, well above the daily average of 1.29 million shares. NPS Pharmaceuticals is primarily focused on the development of orphan products for patients with rare gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders and high unmet medical needs. The company currently has a market cap of $937.88 million.
Glu Mobile Inc. (GLUU) is a developer of games played by the users of smartphones and tablet devices. GLUU stock price hiked 16.61%, or $0.48, to $3.37, with 9.44 million shares traded, much heavier than the daily average of 3.27 million shares. Late Thursday, the mobile videogame maker said a member of Glu Mobile’s board, bought 3.2 million shares of GLUU between October 9-11. Glu Mobile currently has a market cap of $219.57 million.
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR) stock spiked 14.16%, or $1.98, to end at $15.96 after analysts at Capstone initiated coverage on shares of this stock with a buy rating and a price target of $21.0 per share on Friday. The intraday volume was 994,837 shares, far more than the average daily trading volume of 225,517 shares. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat lipid disorders with a market cap of $406.48 million shares.