Pre-market: Hoku Scientific signs $678 million contract
Shares of Hoku Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOKU) are surging following news after Wednesday’s close that the Kapolei, Hawaii-based clean energy technology company has signed a 10-year contract with Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) for up to $678 million to supply polysilicon. Shares are up $2.44, or 53%, to $7.02.
Woburn, Mass.-based biotechnology company ArQule, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQL) announced this morning that it will price an underwritten public offering of 7 million shares of its common stock at $7.75 per share. The stock is up $0.34, or 5%, to $7.91.
Shares of Rockville, Md.-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: VNDA) are lower despite news this morning that its insomnia drug demonstrated improvements in objective and subjective measures of sleep onset and maintenance during a Phase III clinical trial. Shares are down $0.19, or 1%, to $20.47.
Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPHI), which facilitates life settlement transfers, announced this morning that its net income for the quarter ended May 31 was $4.7 million, or $0.49 per share, compared with $0.5 million, or $0.05 per share, for first quarter of 2006. That’s above analysts’ projected earnings of $0.11 per share. Still, the stock is down $0.19, or 1%, to $26.03.
Shares of Princeton, N.J.-based Barrier Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BTRX) are down following news this morning that the company’s skin disorder drug Liarozole fell short of the goal during a clinical study. Shares are down $0.01, or 0.15%, to $6.56.
Targeted Genetics Corp. (Nasdaq: TGEN) said this morning that a Phase I/II clinical study of a treatment for inflammatory arthritis showed it to be safe and tolerable. Shares are down $0.15, or 5%, to $2.79.
