Molecular Insights, Empire Resorts: Early Volume Plays

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

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (MIPI) surged by $3, or 200%, to $4.50 in the premarket session after the company said late Monday that Phase II trial data showed its cancer drug, Onalta, improved symptoms associated with metastatic carcinoid tumors. The data were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The 50-day average daily volume for Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals is 388,000, according to the Nasdaq.

Empire Resorts (NYNY) dropped by 29 cents, or 12.8%, to $1.98 in the premarket session after the company said in a regulatory filing that a court has found that Empire Resorts was in default on $65 million in senior convertible notes issued to Bank of New York Mellon and The Depository Trust Company. The court ruled that Empire Resorts must now repurchase the senior convertible notes. The 50-day average daily volume for Empire Resorts is 131,000.

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners (CPRX) continued to rally, rising by 28 cents, or 14.8%, to $2.17 in the premarket session after climbing 136% on Monday. While there wasn't any company-specific headlines, traders posting on Internet message boards noted insider buying in February and March as well as the potential for the company's CPP-109 drug for treatment of drug addictions. The 50-day average daily volume for Catalyst Pharmaceutical is 360,000.

Elixir Gaming Technologies (EGT) was poised to rally Tuesday after the company said it has entered into a five-year Machine Participation Agreement with Grand Golden to place approximately 60 electronic gaming machine seats on a participation basis at its new Grand Golden casino in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia near the Vietnam border. In addition, Elixir Gaming said its Dolphin division recently secured a $340,000 order to supply RFID gaming plaques and chips for Melco Crown Entertainment's (MPEL) City of Dreams casino resort in Macau. The three-month average daily volume for Elixir Gaming is 237,000, according to Yahoo! Finance.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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