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Sept 17 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks on the move on Tuesday:
WALL STREET EDGES UP AS FED MEETING LOOMS
Stocks edged up at the open on Tuesday ahead of the start ofa highly anticipated Federal Reserve two-day meeting, whileinflation data supported the case for the Fed to start to reduceits stimulus measures. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 28.8 points or 0.19 percent, to 15,523.58, the S&P 500 gained 2.51 points or 0.15 percent, to 1,700.11 and theNasdaq Composite added 8.193 points or 0.22 percent, to3,726.038.
** KYTHERA BIOPHARMACEUTICALS INC, $42.00, up 25pct (9:36 a.m. ET)
The maker of aesthetic medicines said on Monday its ATX-101experimental injectable drug met the main and secondary goals ofa clinical study testing the product's safety and efficacy inreducing double chin. Over 1,000 patients from the United Statesand Canada were enrolled in two late-stage studies forevaluating the drug against a placebo, Kythera said.
** REPROS THERAPEUTICS INC, $26.75, up 26 pct(09:48 a.m. ET)
The company said its drug Androxal met the main goals of apivotal study in men with secondary hypogonadism, a condition inwhich men don't produce enough testosterone.
** REGADO BIOSCIENCES INC, $9.11, up 20 pct (9:50a.m. ET)
The drugmaker enrolled the first patient for itsexperimental heart drug currently in late-stage clinical trials.
The study, REGULATE-PCI, is expected to enroll 13,200patients in about 500 sites worldwide. The company expects thefirst of the three interim analyses of the drug in the secondquarter of 2014.
** AGENUS INC $3.46, up 26 pct (9:37 a.m. ET)
The biotechnology company said a mid-stage study of itsexperimental brain cancer vaccine used in combination withstandard treatments showed a 160 percent increase in progressionfree survival, compared to the standard treatment alone, inpatients with an aggressive brain tumor.
** COMPUGEN LTD, $9.53, up 5 pct (09:46 a.m. ET)
The company said data on its experimental cancer therapyshowed the drug can affect the activities of certain cells thatplay critical roles in the immune system's response against atumor.
Data showed that the drug, CGEN-15049, has the potential tobe developed for the treatment of various cancers, the companysaid.
** SAFEWAY INC, $30.85, up 10 pct (09:50 a.m. ET)
The supermarket operator said it has adopted a one-yearshareholder rights plan after it became aware of an accumulationof a significant amount of common stock of the company.
The company set the trigger of the rights plan at 10 percentat which time the board will be entitled to redeem the rights at$0.01 per right.
** HUNTSMAN CORP, $20.21, up 6 pct (9:37 a.m. ET)
Huntsman said it would combine its pigment business withRockwood's as part of a $1.1 billion deal and eventually takethe business public.
** US AIRWAYS INC, $18.65, up 3.2 pct (9:45 a.m ET)
** DELTA AIR LINES INC, $23.42, up 1 pct
** UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS INC, $32.86, up 0.55pct
** SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO, $14.23, up 1 pct
J.P. Morgan Securities raised its price target on some ofthe airline stocks, saying firm Revenue Per Available Seat Mile(RASM), a measure of unit revenue for airlines, and retreatingoil prices bode well for their third-quarter 2013 earnings. Thebrokerage upgraded the stock of US Airways to "overweight" from"neutral" and raised its price target to $26 from $18, sayingthe company's "stand-alone prospects" are better than implied bythe market. The brokerage also upgraded the stock of Delta AirLines to "overweight" from "neutral", while raising the pricetarget to $26 from $22.
** OUTERWALL INC, $46.97, down 16 pct (9:38a.m. ET)
The operator of the Redbox video rental kiosks slashed itsthird-quarter and full-year earnings forecast as averagetransaction size fell below its expectations due to higherdiscounts, sending its shares down 20 percent.
** LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC, $4.77, down 3.4 pct(09:38 ET)
** BARCLAYS PLC, $18.87, down 2.73 pct (10:00 ET)
Britain could have sold the 6 percent stake in the bankinggroup it placed with investment institutions nearly three timesover, sources said, raising the prospect it could sell all itsshares before the 2015 General Election.
** MOSAIC CO, $45.59, down 1 pct (10:01 a.m. ET)
** POTASH CORP, $33, down 1 pct (10:02 a.m. ET)
** AGRIUM INC, $91.86, down 1 pct (10:01 a.m. ET)
Mosaic, a U.S. fertilizer company, cut its third-quarteroutlook for the price and sales volume of potash and phosphateon Monday, saying crop nutrient markets had softened in the wakeof the breakup of the Belarusian Potash Company.
Brokerage Canaccord Genuity cut price target on Mosaic andPotash stocks on Tuesday saying they expect volatility infertilizer volumes to continue through the fourth quarter.
The breakup of BPC in July and the decision by the mainplayer Uralkali OAO to pursue a volume-first strategyweakened potash prices and caused some buyers to delay newpurchases because of uncertainty. BPC was one of the world's twobiggest potash trading companies, along with North America'sCanpotex Ltd - owned by Mosaic, Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc and Agrium Inc.
** SWIFT TRANSPORTATION CO, $19.61, down 3 pct(10:04 ET)
The truckload carrier said it expects adjusted earnings forthe third quarter to be 27 to 30 cents per share. Analysts onaverage were expecting earnings of 31 cents per share, accordingto Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
** CHICO'S FAS INC, $17.29, up 5 pct (09:36 a.m. ET)
KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded its rating on the women'sapparel retailer's stock to "buy" from "hold," according toTheflyonthewall.com.
** EZCHIP SEMICONDUCTOR LTD , Monday close$22.24, up 5 pct premarket
Cisco Systems Inc intends to continue using EZchipprocessors in all its routers that currently use its technology,the company clarified in a statement after reports on Thursdaysuggested that Cisco may replace EZchip processors in itsrouters with a new programmable network processor chip.
** DENDREON CORP, $3.98, up 9 pct (9:39 a.m. ET)
The biotechnology company said the the European Commission granted marketing approval to its prostate cancer vaccine,Provenge.
The company said the vaccine is approved in all 28 countriesof the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland andLiechtenstein.
** MICROSOFT CORP, $33.18, up 1 pct (9:36 a.m. ET)
The software maker said it would buy back up to $40 billionof its shares and raise its quarterly dividend by 22 percent.The new share repurchase program, which has no expiration date,replaces a $40 billion buyback program that was set to expire onSept. 30.
** NEOSTEM INC, $8.87, up 6 pct (9:32 a.m. ET)
The specialty pharmaceutical company said an independentData Safety Monitoring Board recommended that the companycontinue with a mid-stage trial of its heart drug after a thirdreview.
The drug, AMR-001, is being tested to preserve heartfunction after a severe heart attack.
** PERION NETWORK LTD, $12.29, up 5 pct (9:42 a.m.ET)
Benchmark Co raised its price target on the Israeli consumerinternet company's stock to $19 from $16, a day after Perionsaid it would merge with privately held Conduit's "clientconnect" business in an all-stock deal.
The brokerage said the deal was a "significant positive" forPerion. "Perion will continue to gain scale and efficiencies inthe near-term, although Perion must continually invest incustomer acquisition to maintain its user base and drive furtherrevenue growth," analyst Daniel Kurnos said in a note.
** WERNER ENTERPRISES, $23.09, down 5 pct (9:43a.m. ET)
The transportation company forecast a third-quarter profitbelow analysts' expectations, citing lower gains on equipmentsales and higher driver and maintenance costs. RBC CapitalMarkets downgraded the stock to "sector perform" from"outperform" and KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded it to "hold"from "buy", according to theflyonthewall.com.
** BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORP, $16.50, down 3 pct(9:43 a.m. ET)
Brokerage Piper Jaffray cut its rating on the sports goodsretailer's stock to "neutral" from "overweight," theflyonthewallreported.
** AEROPOSTALE INC, $10.11, up 17 pct (9:44 a.m. ET)
Sycamore Partners reported a 7.96 percent holding in theteen apparel retailer as of Sept. 9. (http://r.reuters.com/far23v)
** NUCOR CORP, $49.96, up 2 pct (09:55 a.m. ET)
Steelmaker Nucor Corp said third-quarter earningsmay rise from a year earlier, helped in part by some improvementin demand, as well as supply disruptions experienced by itscompetitors. The company said it expects third-quarter earningsof between 35 and 40 cents a share, compared with earnings of 35cents per share a year ago. (Compiled by Varun Aggarwal)