Early Movers: Pump Up the Volume

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

Repros Therapeutics (RPRX) surged by $1.31, or 147.2%, to $2.20 in the premarket session after the company late Tuesday said its Androxal drug restores normal sperm counts while increasing testosterone levels in hypogonadal men. The three-month average daily volume for Repros is 1.4 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Merix (MERX) jumped by 24 cents, or 8.7%, to $3 in the premarket session after the company late Tuesday said it would merge its business with Viasystems to create the largest publicly traded printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer by revenue in the U.S. Each Merix share will be converted into approximately 0.11 newly issued shares of Viasystems, subject to adjustment, which will be publicly traded on the Nasdaq upon completion of the transaction. The three-month average daily volume for Merix is 85,000 shares, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Vical (VICL) rose by 19 cents, or 4.8%, to $4.15 in the premarket session after the company said its TransVax cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine elicited long-term immune responses in a Phase 2 trial. T-cell responses are very important in protecting recovering transplant recipients against CMV disease, the company said in a release. The three-month average daily volume for Vical is 1.3 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR) surged 22 cents, or 10.3%, to $2.35 in the premarket session after the company said it has received a "Notice of Allowance" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announcing that it intends to grant Avanir a new patent, extending the period of commercial exclusivity for its lead drug candidate Zenvia well into 2025. When issued, the patent will provide Avanir with patent protection for low-dose quinidine formulations of Zenvia used to treat pseudobulbar affect. The three-month average daily volume for Avanir is 1.8 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Vonage (VG) was up 8 cents, or 5.6%, to $1.52 in the premarket session after Citigroup increased its stock price target for the company to $1.50 from 50 cents. The firm maintained its hold rating, but said Vonage's decision to bring its product to smartphones like the Apple (AAPL) iPhone and Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry may provide a new revenue source. The three-month average daily volume for Vonage is 9 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in New York.

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