Editor’s note: Related tickers: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD), Rite Aid Corporation(NYSE:RAD), Metalico, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:MEA).
The markets are relatively optimistic today, a fact which can observed looking at the slight advancements of the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices. However, among thousands of stocks, there are few which push the markets the most, I am talking about Volume leaders and top gainers on the markets. Currently the list of the leaders includes: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD). Let’s take a look deeper into these stocks and several others among them.
The most popular stock on Thursday is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) lost 4.84% to $28.82 in deals worth $117.2 million. We have discussed earlier today about the fact that IDC’s latest estimates revealed that the PC market has fallen the most in nearly two decades. IDC said that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s new OS Windows 8, has actually slowed the market due to the fact that the consumers are not very fond of the radical interface changes.
The second most traded today is Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). The stock has declined by 0.65% to $12.24 in turnover worth $83.2 million. Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is expected to release its first quarter results next week. Yesterday, Bloomberg, reported about Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)’s new hire, Luigi Rizzo, former Goldman Sachs banker. Rizzo will be Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)’s head of mergers and acquisition in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) holds the third position among volume leaders. The stock slumped 6.09% to $13.80 in deals worth $73.6 million. According to a Bloomberg report quoted by Insider Monkey, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), “fell the most in two weeks after analysts said sales of its new Z10 device are showing troubling signs.” Despite Research in Motion’s hopes for Z10, until now, the sales have been very disappointing. Trying to popularize the information about its new information system, does not bring any positive results for Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), as well.
Now, let’s switch to markets’ highest gainers on Thursday. The first position is held by ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD). The stock has jumped by impressive 67.50% to $13.35 in deals worth $39 million by. The increase in the share price came on the back of information released by ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) about U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreement that “the data from the pivotal Phase III -020 study, together with supportive data from other studies with pimavanserin, are sufficient to support the filing of a New Drug Application (NDA) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease psychosis (PDP).”
“We are very pleased with the outcome of our meeting with the FDA, which we expect will reduce substantially both the time and cost of our PDP development program, […] This represents another important step toward our goal of bringing pimavanserin to the market as an innovative therapy for Parkinson’s patients who suffer from the psychosis frequently associated with this disease,” ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) quoted its CEO Uli Hacksell, Ph.D. in a statement.
The next position is held by Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD). Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD), operator of a retail drugstore chain surged 18.72% to $2.13 in deals worth $63.2 million. USA Today reported today that Rite Aid Corporation(NYSE:RAD) has announced its first annual profit in six years.
On the third position as the highest gainer is situated Metalico, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:MEA), which closed 18.18% higher at $1.69. Metalico, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:MEA) is a company specialized in ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal recycling.
