Taseko Mines, NeoStem: Midday Volume Plays

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Several stocks trading near $5 were moving on above-average volume during Tuesday's session.

Taseko Mines (TGB) continued to rally, rising by 42 cents, or 8.4%, to $5.43, bringing its two-day advance to 24%. On Friday, Taseko Mines surged after it said it has received the environmental assessment certificate approval for its proposed Prosperity Gold-Copper Project from the British Columbia Provincial Ministry of Environment. Volume topped 6.92 million shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 2.91 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Borders Group (BGP) tumbled by 14 cents, or 10.3%, to $1.22 after the retailer said same-store sales tumbled 14.6% for the 11-weeks holiday period ended Jan. 11. Total sales sank 13.7% to $846.8 million. Volume topped 1.54 million shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 1.21 million.

Intelli-Check Mobilisa (IDN) turned sharply higher at midday, climbing by 18 cents, or 5%, to $3.81, after the company said it has entered into a contract with Alliance Data (ADS) to pilot the IDCheck FastForm technology for potential applications in the delivery of its credit card programs provided to retailers. The IDCheck FastForm pilot is scheduled for the first half of 2010. Volume topped 263,000 shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 395,000.

NeoStem (NBS) jumped by 16 cents, or 9.2%, to $1.93 in the absence of any company-specific news. Investors posting on Internet message boards noted an article by BioMed Reports, a commentary Web site specializing in penny stocks. The report said that NeoStem stands to benefit from a technique where "master cells" are taken from umbilical cords could be used on any leukemia patient without rejection. BioMed Reports was expected to publish an interview with NeoStem Chairman and CEO Robin Smith later Tuesday. Volume topped 583,000 shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 31,000.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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