The Nasdaq Composite index gained 2.88% to report at 3,136.42 points this week. U.S. August non-farm payrolls data was worse-than-expected while the unemployment rate fell to 8.1%, and investors’ expectations on the introduction of QE3 are further warming. Some economists attributed the employment downturn to the lingering fears about the so-called “financial cliff” and the European debt problems. Despite the sluggish economic enviroment, there were still some players delivering robust gains on the Nasdaq. Have a look at these best performing stocks on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and find out why they made such achievements.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PPHM) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of first-in-class monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer and viral infections. PPHM stock price skyrocketed 77.16% this week compared to last Friday’s closing price of $2.54, the bellwether of the best stocks this week.
On Tuesday, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals said it would announce data from a mid-stage study of its cancer drug bavituximab at a medical meeting. There was a lot of speculation about the drug, leading to considerable volatility in the stock. The company also said it has secured a $30 million term loan from Oxford Finance. Then, the results from a phase II trial showed the bavituximab drug candidate had a statistically significant improvement for lung cancer patients, sending its share price to rise by more than 46%.
The latest PPHM stock price of $4.50 is well above its 50-day moving average of $1.86 and 200-day moving average of $1.02. PPHM stock price has a 52-week range between $0.39 and $5.08. On the basis of the latest PPHM stock price, the biopharmaceutical company has a market cap of $468.78 million.
BioFuel Energy Corp. (BIOF), through its two ethanol production facilities, produces and sells ethanol and distillers grain and corn oil. BIOF stock price totally gained 54.43% this week compared to last Friday’s closing price of $3.05, primarily driven by the news on Friday that David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital increased its holdings to over 36% of the company; and Daniel Loeb’s Third Point raised its investment to 19%.
The latest BIOF stock closing price of $4.71 is above the 50-day moving average of $3.07, but much lower than the 200-day moving average of $9.02. BIOF stock price has a 52-week range between $0.25 and $24.80. Based on the latest BIOF stock price, BioFuel Energy has a market cap of $29.39 million.
TrovaGene, Inc. (TROV) is a development stage molecular diagnostic company, focuses on developing and marketing urine-based nucleic acid tests. TROV stock price cumulatively rose 29.82% compared to last Friday’s closing price of $2.16. This might be due to Seeking Alpha article showed bullish on molecular diagnostics which should provide strong and steady returns, from a long term view.
The current ROV stock price of $2.83 is below the 50-day moving average of $2.85 and 200-day moving average of $3.77. On the basis of the latest TROV stock price, TrovaGene has a market cap of $40.12 million.
Internet Gold Golden Lines Ltd. (IGLD), together with its subsidiaries, provides communications services in Israel. The company saw a weekly gain of 26.34% in its share price, which was primarily driven by the bets that shares of Bezeq are underpriced. Internet Gold Golden Lines has a stake in Bezeq, which is the principal provider of communications services in Israel. The current IGLD stock price of $2.59 is above the 50-day moving average while much below the 200-day moving average, which are standing at $2.33 and $6.58, respectively. Calculating by the latest IGLD stock price, the communication company has a market cap of $49.74 million.
Innotrac Corporation (INOC) provides order processing, order fulfillment, and customer support contact center services to corporations that outsource these functions. INOC stock price moved up 26.67% this week by comparison to last Friday’s closing price of $1.50, making it one of the best stocks on the Nasdaq Sstock Exchange this week. But, there was no big news driving this robust performance of INOC. The current INOC stock price of $1.90 is above the 50-day moving average of $1.56 and 200-day moving average of $1.34. Based on the most recent INOC stock price, Innotrac Corporation has a market cap of $24.72 million.