Tuesday's Early Winners & Losers

Threshold Pharma (THLD Quote) lost nearly two-thirds of its value in after-hours trading Monday as the Redwood City, Calif., company announced the failure of an advanced-phase trial for glufosfamide. This drug was proposed to treat relapsed patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (in which the tumor has spread beyond the pancreas) who have already been treated with gemcitabine chemotherapy.

Patients who took the drug had an 18% higher survival rate than those who didn't, but this missed the statistically significant threshold by one percentage point. Therefore, the trial didn't meet its primary endpoint. Patients taking glufosfamide survived 105 days, on average, compared with 84 days for those who did not take it. Shares of Threshold were losing $1.37 to $2.21.

Rimage (RIMG Quote) shares were riding high on swelling fourth-quarter earnings. The Minneapolis-based maker of recordable CD and DVD drives had a profit of $3.6 million, or 34 cents a share, including a special charge of about $648,000 and stock option expenses. Last year, the company earned $2.3 million, or 22 cents a share. The analyst who follows the company was seeking 25 cents a share, according to Thomson Financial. Revenue climbed 26% from a year ago to $24.3 million -- about in line with expectations. Shares were rising $2.82, or 10.6%, to $29.50.

Applied Signal Technology (APSG Quote), developer of advanced signal processing systems, got a lift after sprinting past fourth-quarter estimates for both its top and bottom lines. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company made $1.9 million, or 15 cents a share, on $43.5 million in revenue. Income beats estimates by a nickel, and sales were about $9 million higher than the consensus. Last year, the company earned $1.3 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $33.6 million. Shares were gaining $1.40, or 9%, to $17.