Something very interesting is happening at Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR). Something that many of the company's supporters and detractors had all but given up hope on:

Impressive sales growth.

After a less-than-spectacular debut in 2011, many long investors remained optimistic that sales of the company's flagship product for the treatment of PBA, Nuedexta, would at long last begin to gain traction in its sophomore year. As it turned out, the once steadily increasing weekly sales slowed to a crawl in mid-2012, and even stalled out completely for weeks on end as the year came to a close.

With year two for Nuedexta giving investors little more than increasingly less-impressive growth rates and a share price to match them, there was little reason to think that 2013 would be much different.

So What's Happening?

In two weeks' time, Avanir grew weekly prescriptions by more than 28%. Prior to that, it

Last February, I wrote an article about Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR) predicting that its stock would do little more to please shareholders in 2012 than it had up to that point.

At the time, the company's stock was trading at $2.93, up more than 40% on the year. Shares went on to trade as high as $4.05, only to eventually plummet to the current 52-week low of $2.07. When the music stopped in 2012, the stock sat at $2.62, 11% lower than it was when the article was written. Looking back, I can say the prediction was both reasonable and accurate. You may review that article in its entirety here.

So here we are in 2013, and with the stock already up more than 12% year-to-date and Piper Jaffray having recently initiated coverage on Avanir, giving it a $6.00 price target, the question must be raised once more:

Is

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) reported today that its Chinese arm, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, has been awarded another sizable contract from the world's largest mobile telecommunications company, China Mobile (CHL). This time around, China Mobile has tapped the struggling century-old French company to assist in the creation of its new TD-LTE trial network. The new contract calls for the Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary to deliver about 3,000 base stations in the cities of Shanghai, Nanjing and Qingdao, which have a combined population in excess of 30 million.

ALU 2 Year Chart (click to enlarge)

Alcatel-Lucent's CEO, Ben Verwaayen, from the press release:

It is our honor to be selected by China Mobile for the world's largest TD-LTE network. With our industry leading LTE solutions and expertise in deploying LTE networks worldwide, we will help China Mobile dramatically reduce technical complexity, power consumption and operating costs in the face of sharp traffic growth.

Alcatel-Lucent recently

Below is a summary and brief of Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. (SINO), a thinly traded potential steal at these levels, considering the company's future potential. The stock seems to frequently have random days of unexplainable double digit percentage gains and the occasional double digit loss. The company seems to be suffering from lack of exposure, as a good number of investors and CFAs I speak with regularly have never heard of the name.

The Chinese shipping company has failed to turn a profit in several consecutive quarters, but given the right conditions, Sino-Global is as well positioned and ready to take advantage of any opportunities presented to generate revenues. The company's stock is trading just above its book value. With 2.90M shares out, it currently trades around $2.40, giving it a market cap of just over $700M. The reported short interest as of 04/30/12 was 29k shares, with little institutional

By Bert Wilkison

Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AVNR) will report financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 before market open on Tuesday May 8, 2012. The company will conduct a conference call and an audio webcast at 9:00 am Eastern Time (6:00 am Pacific Time) on the same day.

3 Month Chart

(click to enlarge)

Overview:

Avanir saw yet another increase in institutional presence in the months leading up to its 2012 fiscal second quarter while the overall short interest in the name has decreased (again). The consensus earnings per share estimates among the company's six analysts has increased by $0.01 over the last three months from ($0.13) to ($0.12) a share, which is exactly what the company reported in its 2012 FY Q1 earnings release three months ago.

The average analyst price target has held at $6.33 throughout this quarter. Five out of six sell-side analysts

By Bert Wilkison

Below is a list of 5 equities that have recently carved out new 52-week highs, including 5 different analysts' opinions (a different analyst for each ticker), and are well off of their 52-week lows. All of the below instruments share the benefit of liquidity, and are relatively high-profile and well-covered. Most of them carry arguably high P/Es and seem ripe to, at minimum, stall out if not pull-back more than a few notches in the near future.

There's likely at least one intriguing short candidate in the bunch and several to scout for better long entry-points from where they closed last week. Heck, they're all just one or two "euro crisis" and/or "foreign drama, global concern" days (really just "general market excuse to sell and lock in gains" and "retail shareholder panic" days) away from multiple-point percentage losses. All of them are on my short-term action watch

By Ian Hoffman

Below is a list of three stocks that hit new 52-week highs Thursday on double volume that may make for an interesting look next week for some savvy traders and investors. Each of the below listed companies' shares rose to fresh highs on Thursday for very different reasons and they all have some short-term, upward potential from their most recent closing prices.

1. Corrections Corp of America (CXW)

New 52-week high: $30.62

Volume: 13.65x its 30-day rolling average:

From the company:

CCA founded the private corrections management industry more than 25 years ago, establishing industry standards for future-focused, forward-thinking correctional solutions. A commitment to innovation, efficiency, cost effectiveness and achievement has made the company the private corrections management provider of choice for federal, state and local agencies since 1983.

The company's stock currently trades at $28.99 with 99.63M shares out, giving it a market cap of

By David Powers

Below is a list of ten steadily up-trending stocks with relatively high RSIs and ADXs that may continue to trade up in the near-term or quite possibly pull back to make for better buying opportunities. I have also included an up-trending stock that is technically overbought, which you may wish to avoid altogether.

1. Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) RSI: 73.43 ADX: 44.05

From the company:

At Cisco customers come first, and an integral part of our DNA is creating long-lasting customer partnerships and working with them to identify their needs and provide solutions that support their success. The concept of solutions being driven to address specific customer challenges has been with Cisco since its inception. Husband and wife Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, both working for Stanford University, wanted to email each other from their respective offices located in different buildings but were

By Lynn Saylor

High volume, high beta biotechs have been the plaything of hedge funds and day traders/program traders for years. Below is a list of the best performing, high beta biotechs on the year, thus far. We always keep an eye on these sorts of tickers, as they often provide for a way to make a quick and often substantial profit.

Below is a list of five stocks that match many of our criteria for good day trades and/or catalyst/event trades. It includes several key data that would allow one to begin to understand the larger picture with the companies and how their stock trades/behaves once a large and hopeful retail presence appears and, consequently, a handful of individuals and entities with large interests and simple agendas (usually to make as much money as mathematically possible within a predetermined, yet flexible timeframe) make a grab for them.

1. Keryx

By Ian Hoffman

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (KERX) will soon be releasing late-stage clinical trial data for Perifosine...

a novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits Akt activation in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, and also affects a number of other key signal transduction pathways, including the JNK pathway, all of which are pathways associated with programmed cell death, cell growth, cell differentiation and cell survival. KRX-0401 is currently in Phase 3 clinical development for both refractory advanced colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma, and in Phase 1 and 2 clinical development for several other tumor types.

…that, if positive, would likely give the company and the biotech company it licenses the product candidate from, AEterna Zentaris Inc. (AEZS), much needed (even if they are only short-lived) upward boosts in investor confidence, as well as their respective share prices.

Between the two companies, after its recent 33.21%% 1-day-run on 03/05/12, which was

By Lynn Saylor

I've compiled a list of the five biotechs that currently have the highest price-to-book ratios in the industry. The price-to-book ratio, or P/B ratio, is a financial ratio used to compare a company's book value to its current market price. The P/B ratios may also give some insight as to what would remain, were the company to declare bankruptcy tomorrow (not to say that any of the below listed stocks are in any danger of having to file for bankruptcy protection any time soon).

The higher this ratio is, the greater possibility that the stock is overvalued and may be in store for a pull-back or a potential candidate for shorting. It should be noted that the book value doesn't include intangible assets such as intellectual property.

Some may argue that P/B ratios are wholly irrelevant to the biotech industry, given the many intangibles and unknowns such

By Bert Wilkison

Below is a list of five stocks under $12 that have created new 52-week highs last Friday on much heavier than normal volume. All of the stocks are well worth watching next week, as they may continue to etch out new highs in the upcoming days or potentially find themselves in the cross-hairs of short sellers that haven't been able to catch much of a break recently.

1. Dynavax Technologies Corp (DVAX)

From the company:

Dynavax Technologies Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel products to prevent and treat infectious and inflammatory diseases. Our clinical-stage product candidates include:

• Phase 3 HEPLISAV ™ Hepatitis B Vaccine
• Phase 1 Universal Flu Vaccine
• Phase 1 TLR Inhibitor for Lupus
• Phase 1 Hepatitis B Therapy

We have programs partnered with pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline. Our European subsidiary Rhein Biotech manufactures hepatitis B surface

By Bert Wilkison

U.S. banks and the financial sector as a whole have been on an impressive run over recent weeks as concerns about the collapse of the EU have eased a bit as has the possibility of a Greek default "contagion" reaching America's shores and negatively impacting its banking system. Signs of a slow (most say sluggish) but steady U.S. economic recovery and improving investor confidence have also contributed to the sector's recent strength, among other items.

Often overlooked is the foreign banking industry, which has also seen marked improvement since the turn of the calendar. Of the 34 NYSE-listed foreign banks, I have identified the six that should have their investors most satisfied with each company's respective stock performances, as the worst of the bunch is still showing an 11.32% YTD increase in share price.

1. Barclays PLC (BCS): Last Price $15.80 USD

By Lynn Saylor

Below is a list of five Tech and Tech-related stocks that have absolutely been on fire this year. They are the best performing, heavily traded NASDAQ-exchanged Tech-tickers that have undoubtedly kept their owners very happy through the first quarter of 2012.

They all have plenty of room and potential to continue their current runs, and are worth keeping on your watch lists so as to possibly take advantage of any unwarranted pull-backs or seriously-oversold conditions that are likely to come to pass in the near-to-mid future.

(Click to enlarge)

Mitek Systems, Inc. (MITK)

Price change YTD: 67.03%

From the company:

Mitek Systems is an innovator in mobile-imaging solutions that use smartphone cameras for check deposits and bill payments. Our customers include 7 of the top 10 US banks and more than 160 other financial institutions. For more than 20 years, Mitek has provided FIs with advanced

By Lynn Saylor

Below is a list of this year's five best NYSE listed stocks in the Oil Exploration and Production space, based on share price percentage increase. Included is a brief company-provided description, pertinent stock information and some key fundamental metrics.

All of these companies are worth a look and may potentially be worth-while additions to your portfolios, as they all have tremedous long-term growth potential, and it appears as though the Street is catching on to them.

(Click to enlarge)

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. (BCEI) Price Change YTD: 55.2 %

From the company:

"We are a Denver-based independent exploration and production company focused on the safe and environmentally conscious extraction of America's onshore oil and natural gas resources. We have accumulated over 100,000 net acres in the Rocky Mountains and Mid-Continent. Our mission and strategy is to maximize shareholder value through organic growth and opportunistic acquisitions of

By Ian Hoffman

Below is a list of this year's best performing high risk/reward biotech stocks that are trading under $5.00 a share, have an average daily trading volume of at least 125k shares and can boast the best combined 1-week, 1-month, and YTD returns for their shareholders.

Agenus, Inc. (AGEN): Last Price: $4.40

From the company:

Co-founded in 1994 by Garo Armen and Pramod Srivastava as Antigenics, our company has outgrown its name but never its raison d'être: to develop and commercialize breakthrough immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Today we're reaching far beyond antigens and discovering new ways to speed our progress. Because we know the patient is waiting. At today's Agenus now more than ever before, we are inspired by the power of ideas, by the application of

By David Powers

Below is a list of 5 heavily traded stocks that have been trading up over the last month or so, and most have been steadily climbing since 12/30/11. They all have high RSIs, ADXs, bullish analyst sentiment and are certainly worth keeping an eye on next week and the weeks to follow.

1. Monster Worldwide, Inc. (MWW) RSI: 75.79 ADX: 56.9

Monster Worldwide describes itself as the parent company of Monster.com, the premier global online employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need great people. It has been doing this for over ten years, and has expanded from its roots as a "job board" to a global provider of a full array of job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management products and services.

(Click to enlarge images)

Its stock currently trades at $9.11 with 123.09M shares out, giving it a market cap

By Bert Wilkison

Below is a list of five steadily up-trending stocks with relatively high RSIs and ADXs that may continue to trade up or potentially pull-back in the near-term for better buying opportunities. I have also included an up-trending stock that is technically uber-overbought that you may wish to avoid or consider for a short-term short potential.

1. The Gap, Inc. (GPS) RSI: 71.15 ADX: 70.65

The Gap describes itself as a leading global specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies. With about 132k employees and about 3k company-operated stores and about 200 franchise stores, its presence is felt around the world.

(Click to enlarge images)

Its stock currently trades at $24.41 with 488.31M shares out, giving it a market cap of $11.92B. Institutional ownership stands at about 57% with the short interest as of 02/15/12 being 22.13M. Shares

By Ian Hoffman

With crude oil up about $10 a barrel on the year, and Brent Crude oil up nearly twice that, there has naturally been a plentitude of equities in the energy space that have benefitted greatly from the aforementioned increases, which has the U.S. national gas price at the pump up by roughly $0.30.

As long as there is global tension with Iran and the Middle East in general (these issues are not likely to be resolved in the near future), and the U.S. greenback remains in its perpetual state of weakness versus other global currencies, many oil and gas related companies stand to continue to benefit from rising prices.

One must also consider that summer is approaching, and with that comes even more pain at the pump. The situation has once again escalated to the point where the G-20 is discussing the rising oil and gas prices.

By Lynn Saylor

Below is a list of six stocks under $10 that have been on fire recently, with strong short-term upward trends and high RSIs that may continue their hot streaks or pull back in the near-term. It should be noted that there is very little in the way of institutional presence for many of (almost all) of them. Many of them are also trading near or above their average analyst price targets.

1. Alcatel Lucent SA (ALU)

Alcatel Lucent is described as a company that is primarily involved in fixed and mobile internet protocol, optics technologies, as well as applications and services thereof. It is a partner of service providers, enterprises, industries, and governments worldwide.

(Click to enlarge images)

Its stock currently trades at $2.59 with 2.27B shares out, giving it a market cap of $5.87B. Institutional ownership stands at about 14% with the short interest as