Trader’s Buzz: Receptos (RCPT), Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI), The Medicines Company (MDCO), Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF)

Receptos, Inc. (RCPT) is trading at unusually high volume Tuesday with 2.5 million shares changing hands. It is currently at more than 6x its average daily volume and trading up a staggering $30.16, or 44.52%, at $97.90 as of 11:56 a.m. ET. The spike is attributed to a company press release that said Phase 2 results for TOUCHSTONE Trial of RPC1063 in Ulcerative Colitis met primary efficacy and all secondary endpoints with statistical significance for patients on 1 mg dose after 8 weeks of induction.

Following the announcement, RCPT had its price target raised to $153 from $80 at Wedbush implying 54% expected return. Receptos was also raised to $125 from $72 at BMO Capital Markets. The firm maintains its ‘Outperform’ rating.

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (ASTI) ) is higher by approximately 30% this morning after the company announced the attainment of a key milestone for its China Joint Venture. In December of 2013, Ascent and the Suqian Municipality of Jiangsu Province agreed to create a Joint Venture to build a manufacturing facility in China, in which Suqian would provide a cash injection of $32.5 million dollars, as well as 5-years free usage of the newly built manufacturing facility along with a 5-year tax holiday and significant trade incentives.

ASTI shares recently gained $0.54 to $2.31. In the past 52 weeks, shares of Thornton, Colorado-based manufacturer of photovoltaic integrated consumer electronics have traded between a low of $1.41 and a high of $9.90. Shares are down 82.65% year-over-year, and 75.07% year-to-date.

The Medicines Company (MDCO) shares are up nearly 14% in early market trading on Tuesday after the company announced the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in The Medicines Company v. Mylan, Inc. entered judgment in favor of The Medicines Company on all issues concerning U.S. Patent No. 7,582,727. Following a June 2014 trial, Judge Amy St. Eve found all of the asserted claims are infringed by Mylan’s (MYL) Abbreviated New Drug Application. The same claims were also found to be valid and enforceable.

The Medicines Company recently gained $2.96 to $25.24. Approximately 1,9M shares have already changed hands, compared to the stock’s average daily volume of 643,209 shares.

On valuation-measures, shares of The Medicines Company have a forward P/E of 50.64. P/E to growth ratio is -1.98, while t-12 profit margin is -3.58%. EPS registers at ($0.40). The company has a market cap of $1.62B and a median Wall Street price target of $27.00 with a high target of $42.00.

On trading-measure, MDCO has a beta of 1.77 and a short float of 8.95%. In the past 52 weeks, shares of Parsippany, New Jersey-based firm have traded between a low of $19.92 and a high of $41.28 with the 50-day MA and 200-day MA located at $23.10 and $25.53 levels, respectively.

MDCO currently prints a one year loss of about 38.12% and a year-to-date loss of around 42.54%.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VNDA) shares are currently printing a large uptick, gaining 13% from the previous close. Not seeing any news or rumors to account for the move.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals yesterday announced earnings results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2014. The company said it recorded a Q3 net loss of $1.4 million compared to a net loss of $21.6 million for the second quarter of 2014. Diluted net loss per share for the third quarter of 2014 was $0.04, compared to a net loss per share of $0.64 during the second quarter of 2014 and $0.17 for the third quarter of 2013.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals, currently valued at $423.63M, has a median Wall Street price target of $27.50 with a high target of $30.00. Approximately 637,912 shares have already changed hands, compared to the stock’s average daily volume of 573,543.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of the biopharmaceutical company have traded between a low of $5.70 and a high of $19.25 with the 50-day MA and 200-day MA located at $10.83 and $12.62 levels, respectively. Additionally, shares of VNDA trade at a P/E ratio of -0.33 and have a Relative Strength Index (RSI) and MACD indicator of 66.06 and +1.42, respectively.

VNDA currently prints a one year return of about 51.47% and a year-to-date loss of around 0.20%.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) is a big mover this session with its shares rising nearly 16% on the day, following its bottom-line beat.

CLF is printing a higher than average trading volume with the issue trading 18,7M shares, compared to the average volume of 9,954,690. The stock began trading this morning at $9.50 to currently trade up $1.55, or 16.73%, from the prior days close of $9.24. On an intraday basis it has gotten as low as $8.87 and as high as $11.61.

CLF shares are currently priced at 33.29x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 9.40x earnings multiple. The company’s current year and next year EPS growth estimates are (127.00%) and (82.80%) compared to the industry growth rates of 31.70% and 51.50%, respectively. CLF has a t-12 price/sales ratio of 0.28. EPS for the same period registers at $0.32.

CLF’s shares have declined 15.54% in the last 4 weeks and declined 47.11% in the past three months. Over the past 5 trading sessions the stock has gained 3.36%.

The Cleveland, Ohio-based company, which is currently valued at $1.65B, has a median Wall Street price target of $8.00 with a high target of $17.00. CLF is down 61.90% year-over-year, and 58.41 year-to-date.

The chart below shows where the equity has traded over the last year, with the 50-day and 200-day moving averages included.

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