Krispy Kreme, Lions Gate: Early Volume Plays

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) will likely be among stocks trading near $5 with a sharp increase in share volume Friday after the company said it expects a net profit in its next fiscal year after nearly breaking even in the previous year.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts posted a fourth-quarter profit of a penny a share, swinging from a year-ago loss, while sales slipped 5.6% to $86.8 million. The company said same-store sales rose 1.1% in the quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly increase.

For the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, Krispy Kreme posted a net loss of $157,000, or less than a penny on a per-share basis, compared with a year-ago loss of $4.1 million, or 6 cents a share. Looking ahead to the 2011 fiscal year, Krispy Kreme said consolidated revenues will stabilize and that it expects to report a net profit for the year.

After closing at $4.96 Thursday, Krispy Kreme shares fell 7.1% in the after-hours session to $4.61 following the earnings release. The three-month average daily volume for Krispy Kreme is 459,000, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Elsewhere, Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) will see action after Carl Icahn increased his hostile bid for Lions Gate to $7 per share from $6. Lions Gate shares were up 9.9% in the premarket session to $7. The three-month average daily volume for Lions Gate is 1.01 million.

Lodgian (LGN) may also see increased trading activity after the company's stockholders agreed to a merger proposal made by an affiliate of Lone Star Funds. The merger, originally proposed in January, will see Lodgian stockholders receive $2.50 in cash for each share of common stock. Shares of Lodgian closed Thursday at $2.51. The three-month average daily volume for Lodgian is 87,000.

Boston Scientific (BSX) was poised to trade higher after the company said it will immediately resume distribution of its COGNIS cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators and TELIGEN implantable cardioverter defibrillators after receiving clearance from the Food and Drug Administration. Boston Scientific shares were jumping by 5.7% to $7.55 in early trading. The three-month average daily volume for Boston Scientific is 35.89 million.

Silicon Motion Technology (SIMO) was also among Friday's early winners after the chipmaker upped its first-quarter revenue guidance, citing rapidly changing market conditions and customer requirements. Silicon Motion said it now expects a sequential revenue increase of 15% to 16%, compared with guidance it provided in February that revenue would come in between down 5% and up 5% sequentially. The 50-day average daily volume for Silicon Motion is 349,000, according to the Nasdaq.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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