By
Rick Aristotle Munarriz
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More Articles
September 19, 2011
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What's better than momentum? Mo' momentum.
Let's take a closer look at five of this past week's biggest scorchers.
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Company
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Sept. 16
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Weekly Gain
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My Watchlist
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Transcept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TSPT )
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$5.65
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108%
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Add
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Global Industries (Nasdaq: GLBL )
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$7.85
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52%
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Add
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Marcus (NYSE: MCS )
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$11.25
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37%
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Add
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iSoftStone (NYSE: ISS )
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$10.76
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36%
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Add
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KiOR (Nasdaq: KIOR )
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$19.24
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28%
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Add
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Source: Barron's.
Transcept Pharmaceuticals was the market's hottest stock last week, more than doubling after revealing plans to resubmit its sleep drug Intermezzo for regulatory approval. The Food and Drug Administration had rejected the drug earlier this summer on safety concerns, but Transcept is confident the FDA should be able to complete a new review of Intermezzo within two months.
Global Industries got a boost when France's Technip agreed to buy the underwater oil services specialist. The buyout price is $8 a share, a 55% premium to where Global was trading before the announcement was made Sept. 12.
Marcus was the New York Stock Exchange's biggest winner after posting better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results Thursday. There was strength in both Marcus' hotel and movie theater operations, as net margins widened to deliver 25% bottom-line growth.
iSoftStone had shed more than a third of its value over the past month heading into last week, but the Chinese provider of IT services made back most of those losses last week. The market was generally kind to Chinese companies outside of solar energy stocks.
Finally, there's KiOR. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of the biofuel company with a buy rating. KiOR's proprietary process converts nonfood feedstock into oil. The analyst note was enough to send KiOR to a new high Friday, though now the $19.24 close isn't all that far away from Deutsche Bank's $20 price target.
It was a great week for these five stocks. Now let's see if they're up for an encore.
Which of these five stocks do you think will continue to move higher? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
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