There was a bit of a move up in the market today, but there was very little news to push sentiment one way or the other. Traders are too tired from the beating they have taken since Memorial Day.

Short interest figures for stocks traded on both the NYSE and Nasdaq were released yesterday: Short sellers jumped out of both financials and big tech, signaling a possible turn up in those sectors.

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) continued to rally, extending hopes they will not have to be bailed out by the government and that common shareholder will not be crushed. Late in the day Freddie was up 17% and Fannie 12%.

Continue reading Closing bell: Modest gains for stocks; FRE, FNM rally, UAUA, NWA drop

Closing bell: Modest gains for stocks; FRE, FNM rally, UAUA, NWA drop originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Rodman & Renshaw is positive on GTX Inc's (NASDAQ: GTXI) opportunity for Acapodene in prostate cancer and Ostarine for muscle wasting. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $22 target.
  
• Akeena Solar (NASDAQ: AKNS) was initiated with a Buy rating at Merriman. The firm believes the company is positioned to generate a high margin recurring revenue stream through the licensing of its Andalay proprietary rack mounting system.
  
• Roth Capital expects NexMed's (NASDAQ: NEXM) Phase III data for its antifungal Lamisil, expected in mid-2008, to be positive. The firm, which started NexMed with a Buy rating and $2.50 target, said early clinical data demonstrated a roughly 7-8X improvement in fungal reductions versus the competitive topical formulation sold as Penlac. The analyst said Phase III trial will admittedly have a different end point, but this data makes them bullish.

• Lehman initiated Liberty Entertainment (NASDAQ: LMDIA) with an Overweight rating and $30 target.
  
• Canaccord Adams assumed Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) with a Hold rating and $120 target.
  
• Home Inns (NASDAQ: HMIN) was started at Morgan Stanley with an Overweight rating and $28 target.

Analyst initiations: PCLN, GTXI, AKNS and NEXM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.