Midday Movers: Pump Up the Volume

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Several small-cap stocks were poised to move on above-average volume during Tuesday's session

Pier 1 Imports (PIR Quote) surged by 63 cents, or 9.5%, to $7.30 on volume topping 12 million shares after. The three-month average daily volume for Pier 1 is 2.1 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

DryShips (DRYS Quote) jumped by 49 cents, or 7.2%, to $7.26 on volume of 39 million after the stock was upgraded to a buy rating from hold at Lazard Capital. The 50-day average daily volume for Dryships is 22.6 million, according to Nasdaq.

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN Quote) rose by 54 cents, or 8.8%, to $6.68 with more than 2.7 million shares changing hands after FBR Capital Market analysts upgraded the apparel retailer to outperform. The 50-day average daily volume for is 821,000, according to Yahoo! Finance.

BioFuel Energy (BIOF Quote) spiked higher by 35 cents, or 34.7%, to $1.36 without any company-specific headlines. Volume of 470,000 was easily outpacing the 50-day average daily volume of 187,000, according to the Nasdaq. Bullish investor posts on Internet message boards said the stock was breaking out and could go to $2.

Ocean Power Technologies (OPTT Quote) rose by $1.31, or 24.6%, to $6.63 on volume topping 270,000 shares after the company and Lockheed Martin(LMT Quote) signed a commercial engineering services agreement to develop Ocean Power's wave energy systems for use in future utility-scale power generation projects. The 50-day average daily volume for Ocean Power is 115,000, according to the Nasdaq.

Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI Quote) was higher by 44 cents, or 11.8%, to $4.17 on volume topping 1.1 million shares after the company said it plans to offer $430 million of lien notes due 2017. Sinclair Television also plans to refinance parts of its bank credit facility. The 50-day average daily volume for Sinclair is 595,000, according to the Nasdaq.

McClatchy (MNI Quote) jumped by 27 cents, or 8%, to $3.63 on volume topping 3.2 million shares after. The three-month average daily volume for McClatchy is 2 million, according to Yahoo! Finance. Internet message boards cited rumors of a partnership with Google (GOOG Quote) for the surge in price and volume.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in New York.