MBIA, Helicos: Early Volume Plays

(Updated with correct premarket moves)

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

JA Solar Holdings (JASO Quote) jumped by 32 cents, or 7.8%, to $4.44 in the premarket session after the company said it had third-quarter earnings of 10 cents a share, well ahead of the Thomson Reuters average estimate of 3 cents a share. Revenue surged nearly 120% from a year ago to $193.3 million, also blowing past consensus targets. JA Solar said gross margin improved to 16.7% in the quarter from 11.4% in the second quarter. The three-month average daily volume for JA Solar is 5.6 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Beazer Homes (BZH Quote) jumped by 46 cents, or 9.8%, to $5.15 in the premarket session after the company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 87 cents a share and revenue of $376.3 million. On average, analysts were looking for a loss of $1.24 a share on revenue of $338.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters. Beazer said the cancellation rate for the fourth quarter improved to 34.7%, compared to 46.3% a year ago. The three-month average daily volume for Beazer is 2.6 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

MBIA (MBI Quote) dropped by 62 cents, or 12.9%, to $4.18 in the premarket session after the company late Monday reported a third-quarter net loss of $727.8 million, or $3.50 a share, as a result of increased unrealized losses on credit derivatives. Deutsche Bank said its own calculations puts MBIA's operating loss at $1.24 a share, which would be worse than the Thomson Reuters average estimate of $1.05 a share. The three-month average daily volume for MBIA is 8.4 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Capstone Turbine (CPST Quote) fell by 7 cents, or 5.9%, to $1.12 in the premarket session after the company late Monday posted a second-quarter loss of 17 cents a share, worse than the consensus for a loss of 9 cents a share. Northland Securities downgraded the stock to market perform after the report. The three-month average daily volume for Capstone is 3.9 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners (CPRX Quote) rose by 8 cents, or 11.9%, to 75 cents in the premarket session after the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $1.2 million grant for the company to conduct an animal study on the use of vigabatrin to reduce the addictive liability of opiates while still effectively managing pain. The three-month average daily volume for Catalyst is 314,000, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Helicos BioSciences (HLCS Quote) dropped by 14 cents, or 6.9%, to $1.90 in the premarket session after the company late Monday said it has decided to disengage from discussions involving a potential sale of the company, based on its improving standalone prospects and its current market valuation. On Tuesday, Helicos announced a $50 million common stock and warrants shelf offering, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The three-month average daily volume for Helicos is 2.6 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in New York.

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