TOR Minerals, Spire: Early Volume Plays

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- TOR Minerals International (TORM) was among several stocks trading near $5 were poised to move on above-average volume Wednesday following first-quarter results.

TOR Minerals said late Tuesday that it swung to a first-quarter profit of 26 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of 15 cents a share. Revenue was up 20% from a year ago to $6.86 million. If trends continue, TOR Minerals said it expects to see continued improvement in financial results during 2010.

Shares of TOR Minerals were rallying by $2.15, or 36.8%, to $8 in the premarket session. The 50-day average daily volume for TOR Minerals is 14,000, according to the Nasdaq.

Spire (SPIR) was also set to trade higher, rising more than 11% to $3.90 in Tuesday's after-hours session after the solar equipment company said that it has been awarded a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract. This contract allows the Federal Government customers to complete contracts with Spire quickly and easily.

The 50-day average daily volume for Spire is 86,000.

CombiMatrix (CBMX) jumped by 32 cents, or 8.6%, to $4.05 in Tuesday's late session after the biotechnology company said it had first-quarter net income of $15.3 million, compared with a year-ago net loss of $6.1 million. Revenue rose to $1.3 million from $1.2 million in the year-ago quarter. The 50-day average daily volume for CombiMatrix is 27,000.

On the downside, United Western Bancorp (UWBK) slid by 25 cents, or 15%, to $1.42 during Tuesday's after-market session after the company said it had a first-quarter loss from continuing operations of 86 cents a share, compared with year-ago income from continuing operations of 48 cents a share. The 50-day average daily volume for United Western Bancorp is 660,000.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

Check out all of Wednesday's high-volume, under-$5 stocks at the Dollar Store. View the Dollar Store portfolio on StockPickr.

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

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