Traders Are Buzzing About These Five Hot Stocks Today

CombiMatrix Shares Up on Strategic Update

CombiMatrix Corp (NASDAQ:CBMX) shares spiked out of the gate after the nano-cap issued a strategic update on its operations, before retreating to gains of 2.33% on the day. In the press release, the molecular diagnostics company’s CEO Mark McDonough went over some of the possible moves the company could look to make:

“Armed with a strengthened balance sheet as a result of our recent capital raise, we believe now is the appropriate time to consider alternatives aimed at advancing our business plan, while continuing to grow organically. We are pleased to be working with the highly experienced team at Torreya and to tap into their expertise in identifying and evaluating opportunities that fit with our business. Among the possible alternatives include acquiring a company or technology that we can tuck in to our growing portfolio or helping another entity enhance its offering by leveraging our expertise and infrastructure. Although there can be no assurance that the exploration of any alternatives will result in CombiMatrix entering into or consummating a transaction, we are committed to enhancing shareholder value in the diagnostics services markets we serve.”

No funds in our database were long CombiMatrix Corp (NASDAQ:CBMX) at the end of 2015. As with all nano-caps, investors should do their due-diligence before buying.

Raymond James Up 10% Due to Earnings

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) is 10% in the green today after beating analyst estimates. For its second quarter of fiscal year 2016, the investment bank earned $0.90 per share on revenue of $1.31 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.75 per share in earnings and $1.29 billion in revenue. The company ended March 31 with record client assets under administration of $513.7 billion and a record 6,765 private client group financial advisers.  Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management was among 14 savvy funds that we track that owned shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) at the end of 2015.

Arotech Soars on Contract Win

Arotech Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTX) has soared by 8% in morning trading after the company announced its U.S Power Systems Division recently received a $2.6 million contract from the Marine Corps to develop, design, and deliver four MEHPS systems. MEHPS portable systems combine battery technology with existing generator and solar solutions to power forward deployed units.

CEO Steven Esses discussed the contract in a press release:

“The Department of Defense continues to advance initiatives that will increase energy efficiency and enable our forces to perform missions, while acknowledging energy as a potential vulnerability. Demand for renewable and hybrid energy power generation systems continues to grow and Arotech is well positioned to capitalize on a significant opportunity. This contract award is a testament to our team and the performance of our product. We are excited about this opportunity and are optimistic that this award could lead to additional orders in the future.”

Two of the 786 funds that we track owned $677,000 worth of Arotech Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTX)’s shares at the end of 2015.

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