Morning Movers (JNGW, AEA, ITRI, PMFG, CAR)

The three major US equities indexes opened higher this morning following good news from both the employment and the housing fronts. Ratings reviews of several major banks had caused some concern in the futures market this morning, but a lower number of unemployment claims and another boost in housing starts have brought buyers back. In the first half hour of trading, the DJIA is up more than 51 points at around 12,832, the Nasdaq Composite is higher by about 6 points at around 2,922, and the S&P 500 is up about 1 point at around 1,344.

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include the Jingwei International Ltd. (NASDAQ: JNGW), Advance America, Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE: AEA), Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), PMFG Inc. (NASDAQ: PMFG), and Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR).

Jingwei is up nearly 43% at $2.07. Volume is already more than 25x the daily average of about 3,300 shares traded. The Chinese software company is being taken private.

Advance America is up more than 33% at $10.54 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.55. Volume is already about 40x the daily average of 495,000 shares traded. The cash advance provider is being acquired by Mexico’s Grupo Elektra for $10.50/share.

Itron is up more than 20% at $48.40. Volume is already about 3x the daily average of around 420,000 shares traded. The water and power meter maker is acquiring a smart-meter maker for about $100 million following a better-than-expected earnings report last night.

PMFG is down nearly -18% at $17.25. Volume is already about 20x the daily average of around 63,000 shares traded. The machinery maker has announced a secondary offering of 2.6 million shares at $16/share.

Avis is down more than -14% at $12.44. Volume is already nearly double the daily average of about 1.9 million shares traded. The car rental company posted an unexpected loss in the fourth quarter.

Paul Ausick