8 Stocks Rising on Monster Volume

WINDERMERE, Fla. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders who run mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Many times when above-average volume moves into equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

>>Related: 7 Hot Stocks on Traders' Radar

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

Let's take a look at a number of stocks rising on unusual volume today. They are all recording volume in midday trading that is already at least 50% above their average trading volume for a full day.

PetMed Express (PETS)

This company and its subsidiaries, doing business as 1-800-PetMeds, is a pet pharmacy. The stock is trading up 13.4% at $12.82 in recent trading.

Today's Volume: 1,113,000
Average Volume: 222,400
Volume % Change: 1203%

Shares of PETS are ripping today after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly profits due to strong online sales for animal medicine.

From a technical standpoint, PETS has started to break out today above some past overhead resistance at $12.18 on monster volume. Market players should now watch for PETS to close near its daily highs and above $12.18, to $13 a share, to signal it wants to trend much higher.

If we get that action, traders should look for long-biased trades back toward the next significant overhead resistance levels at $14 to $16. Keep in mind that the relative strength index is now 86, an extremely overbought reading.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next › Last »