Wednesday's Winners & Losers: SanDisk

Shares of Yahoo!(YHOO) were up $1.35, or 6.7%, to $21.55 following renewed speculation that Microsoft(MSFT) is still interested in buying it. Microsoft has talked to other media companies such as News Corp.(NWS) and Time Warner(TWX) in a bid to create a partnership to acquire Yahoo!, said a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Shares of Microsoft lost 56 cents, or 2.1%, to $26.31.

SanDisk(SNDK) recovered from its 52-week low Tuesday and gained $1.51, or 8.6%, to $19.13 after an analyst at ThinkPanmure suggested NAND memory chip pricing could stabilize due in part from upcoming demand by Apple(AAPL).

Small-cap Titan Pharmaceuticals (TTP) said Wednesday that its initial analysis of a phase IIb trial show that there were no significant differences between patients with advanced Parkinson's disease who received Spheramine and those who underwent a so-called sham surgery, after 12 months of follow-up. The study met neither its primary nor secondary goals. Titan said it doesn't expect its partner Bayer Schering Pharma will continue development of the product. Shares dropped 58 cents, or 44.3%, at 73 cents.

Maxygen (MAXY) shares leapt after the company announced Bayer HealthCare is buying the company's hemophelia program assets, including a recombinant Factor VII protein, MAXY-VII, for $90 million upfront and a potential milestone payment of $30 million.

The lead therapeutic candidate in the program is expected to enter phase I testing in the third quarter. Maxygen shares climbed 99 cents, or 28.2%, to $4.50 on the news.

Among the winners, Seattle-based medical device company Northstar Neuroscience (NSTR) was up 22.7% to $1.84. On Wednesday, Tang Capital Partners announced a proposal to acquire Northstar for $2.25 per share.

Vehicle rental agency Avis Budget Group (CAR) was down 22% to $5.69. The company announced on Wednesday that is sees second-quarter and full-year numbers coming in lower than analyst expectations.

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