2:30PM NY, U.S. Market Movers

Biosite (BSTE: chart) soared 51.3% after Beckman Coulter (BEC: chart) said it will acquire the company.

DG FastChannel Inc. (DGIT: chart) shares climbed 13.1% after the provider of digital advertising services reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $1.99 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $1.03 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped to $21.7 million from $13 million. DG FastChannel forecast first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $5.8 million to $6 million.

Inovio Biomedical Corp. (INO: chart) shares jumped 10.2% after the company said the Journal of Virology published a positive study from development partner Wyeth regarding an investigational DNA vaccine for HIV. The vaccine uses the company''s electroportation technology. The study involved rhesus macaques, with results indicating that the technology appears safe and improves the delivery and effectiveness of the vaccine in non-human primates.

Mac-Gray Corp. (TUC: chart) said the New York Stock Exchange contacted the company and requested that it issue a public statement on whether there are any corporate developments that might explain the unusual activity in its stock. Shares of the company climbed 13.1%.

Novatel Wireless Inc. (NVTL: chart) shares climbed 11.8% after the company boosted its first-quarter outlook. The maker of wireless-access cards now sees adjusted earnings of 35 cents a share, up from a prior forecast of 16 cents. Novatel projects revenue of more than $100 million, compared with its previous guidance of $80 million.

Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR: chart) shares rose over 14.4% a day after the company reported positive results from a study involving its stem cell therapy for the treatment of heart disease.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMI: chart) surged 7.6% on news that it had hired investment banks Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank to find a strategic investor. The Financial Times reported on Monday that a successful suitor would likely need to spend up to $500 million for an expected 20% stake.

Tarrant Apparel (TAGS: chart), maker of private-label clothes, said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as sales rose 16% and margins improved. Net income totaled $1.7 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $1.5 million, or 5 cents per share. Revenue rose to $57.4 million, from $49.7 million, helped by higher sales of private-label clothes and the company''s American Rag brand. Shares of the company rose 17.4%.

Vonage Holdings Corp. (VG: chart) said the market had overreacted after a federal judge agreed to bar the Internet phone company from using technology patented by Verizon Communications Inc. Shares of the company jumped 14.7%.

Monro Muffler Brake (MNRO: chart), which operates a chain of automotive undercar repair and tire services stores, trimmed its quarterly and fiscal-year earnings expectations, due to underperformance at its ProCare stores and greater-than-expected workers compensation expenses. The company said it now expects a profit in the fourth quarter of between 25 cents per share and 27 cents per share, compared with previous guidance of 37 cents to 40 cents per share. Monro Muffler also reduced its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance to $1.54 to $1.56 per share on revenue of $415 million.

Progressive Gaming International (PGIC: chart) plummeted 17.4% after the maker of gambling equipment announced irregular trading volume in its stock Friday and after Interactive Systems Worldwide Inc. said the two companies have settled the patent infringement lawsuit filed by ISWI over Progressive''s Rapid Bet Live product.

Trex Co. (TWP: chart) said that its fourth-quarter loss widened as it incurred higher labor and packaging costs while also experiencing problems with new manufacturing processes. The fourth-quarter loss totaled $13.8 million, or 93 cents per share, compared with $10.9 million, or 73 cents per share, in the prior year. Sales dropped 27% to $32.1 million, from $44 million a year ago. Shares fell 6.3%.


1:00PM NY European markets closed down, dragged by U.S. housing data and weaker automotive sector.
European stocks finished lower on Monday, weighed down by unexpected drop in U.S. new-home sales, which added to recent economic growth concerns. Weakness in the automotive sector also generated negative mood, as Porsche made a below-market value move on Volkswagen. Volkswagen fell3.2% after luxury-car maker Porsche raised its stake to more than 30% and offered to buy the company at 100.92 euros for each share. It won’t pay a premium because VW shares have more than doubled since Porsche first acquired a stake. Porsche rose 0.6%. Other decliners included bank ING, consumer-products group Unilever and food retailer Carrefour. On the positive side, Endesa rose 3.6% after Germany''s E.On raised its offer for the third time to 42.36 billion euros ($56.4 billion), or 40 euros a share. The German DAX Xetra 30 dropped 1% at 6,828.82, the French CAC-40 slipped 1% at 5,576.30, and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 index lost 0.8% at 6,291.90.


11:30AM U.S. stocks turned sharply lower on disappointing home sales.
U.S. stocks tumbled, following the release of much weaker-than-anticipated housing data. Sales of new homes in February fell 3.9%, the lowest level seen in nearly seven years, and triggered further concern that economic growth is slowing more than expected. The data contributed to substantial weakness in the housing sector. Beazer Homes (BZH: chart) and Champion Enterprises (CHB: chart) turned in two of the sector''s worst performances, falling 2.2% and 15, respectively. The Dow Jones industrials showed losses of more than 100 points. The blue-chip average was led down by cyclical shares such as Alcoa Inc. (AA: chart) losing 1.3% , Boeing Co. (BA: chart), lower by 1%, General Motors Corp. (GM: chart), down 0.8% , Honeywell International Inc. (HON: chart), falling 1.6%, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: chart), down 1%, and Home Depot (HD: chart).

Among companies in focus, Citigroup (C: chart) fell nearly 1% on speculation it might reduce its workforce by about 5%. Computer giant Dell Inc. (DELL: chart) climbed 2.4% after an upgrade at Goldman Sachs. On earnings news front, Walgreen Co. (WAG: chart) reported better-than-expected Q2 profit as the drug store chain posted robust revenue from retail prescriptions. Tiffany & Co. (TIF: chart), luxury jewelry retailer, posted flat Q4 earnings on impairment charge but beat expectations. Revenue rose 15% to $986.4 million. The Dow Jones industrials showed losses of more than 100 points. In late morning trading, the benchmark index fell 102.78, or 0.82%, to 12,378.23. Broader stock indicators also sank. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 11.53, or 0.80%, at 1,424.58, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 18.64, or 0.76%, to 2,430.29. Bonds rallied, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.57% from 4.61% late Friday.

New home sales unexpectedly fell in February.
Monday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on new home sales in the month of February, showing that new home sales fell compared to economists'' expectations of an increase in sales. The report showed that new home sales fell 3.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000 units in February from a revised 882,000 unit rate in January. Economists had expected sales to increase to a 995,000 unit rate compared to the 937,000 originally reported for the previous month. With the decrease, new home sales were down 18.3 percent year-over-year, falling to their slowest pace since June of 2000. The unexpected decline was due in large part to significant decreases in sales in the Northeast and Midwest, which fell 26.8 percent and 20.0 percent respectively.

New home sales in the South fell 7.0 percent, while sales in the West rose 24.6 percent. The Commerce Department also said that the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 546,000. This represents a supply of 8.1 months at the current sales rate. The report also showed that the median sales price of new houses sold in February was $250,000, while the average sales price was $331,000. The weakness in the markets comes on the heels of the release of some disappointing new home sales data, which has renewed concerns about the strength of the housing market after last week''s strong existing home sales alleviated some of those concerns.