PMC-Sierra, Quantum: Early Volume Plays

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Several stocks trading near $5 were poised to move on above-average volume during Friday's session.

PMC-Sierra (PMCS) shares should rise at the open Friday after the semiconductor company reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit of 17 cents a share, better than the Thomson Reuters average estimate of 15 cents a share. Sales of $139.5 million were up 6.6% from a year earlier and also exceeded Wall Street's estimates. The 50-day average daily volume for PMC-Sierra is 4.23 million, according to the Nasdaq. The stock closed Thursday at $7.76.

Giga-tronics (GIGA) shares were set to trade lower after the wireless equipment company reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of 7 cents a share, down from earnings of 8 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin in the quarter fell to 42.9% from 47.5% in the same quarter a year earlier. The 50-day average daily volume for Giga-tronics is 26,000 shares. Shares finished trading Thursday at $3.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) should gain ground Friday after the company said it has received a total $16 million from its Asian Partners Nippon Kayaku and Handok Pharmaceuticals related to collaboration agreements for its cancer drug apaziquone, which were originally announced in November 2009. The 50-day average daily volume for Spectrum is 1.07 million shares. The stock finished Thursday's session at $4.40.

Yucheng Technologies (YTEC) was indicated to trade sharply lower Friday after the Chinese information technology company swung to a fourth-quarter loss of 26 cents a share as revenue was cut nearly in half to $11.2 million. Yucheng Tech also disappointed with its 2010 earnings and revenue guidance. The 50-day average daily volume for Yucheng is 189,000. Shares finished at $6.74 Thursday.

Quantum (QTM) shares were poised to slide Friday after the data storage company notched a fiscal third-quarter adjusted profit of 7 cents a share, disappointing analysts who had expected earnings of 9 cents a share. The three-month average daily volume for Quantum is 2.99 million, according to Yahoo! Finance. Quantum finished trading Thursday at $3.06.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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

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

Tweet