Labopharm, Borders: Midday Volume Plays

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

Labopharm (DDSS) jumped by 23 cents, or 9.6%, to $2.63 after Canadian healthcare Web site BioTuesday.ca posted an interview with Labopharm CEO James Howard-Tripp, where he called the company's new antidepressant trazodone "a game-changer for us." The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve trazodone by Feb. 11. Volume topped 2.9 million shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 662,000, according to the Nasdaq.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp (VCBI) rallied by $1.48, or 35.2%, to $5.68 after the company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $2.9 million, or 11 cents a share, more than doubling earnings in the year-ago quarter. The bank said total nonperforming assets and loans fell to $98.1 million from $123.5 million in the third quarter. It was the third consecutive quarter where nonperforming assets fell. Volume topped 275,000 shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 18,000.

Borders (BGP) dropped by 10 cents, or 9.7%, to 98 cents after CEO Ron Marshall said he is leaving the company after spending less than a year at the retailer's helm. Volume topped 4.53 million shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 1.35 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

ION Geophysical (IO) fell by 56 cents, or 9.7%, to $5.23 on reports that President and COO James Hollis left the company for a new position. TTI Exploration issued a press release Tuesday that Hollis joined the company as its new president and CEO. Volume topped 1.73 million shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 2.26 million.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

Check out all of Tuesday's high-volume, under-$5 stocks at the Dollar Store

Follow Robert Holmes on Twitter and become a fan of TheStreet.com on Facebook.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints