Every public company loves to put out good news and see the reflection in its stock price. The following three companies released positive news of some kind today or late yesterday and then watched as their stock prices closed very strong.Augusta Resource Corp. (Amex: AZC) shares rose 21 percent, or 49 cents today, settling at $2.89 on volume of 466,300 this afternoon. The company announced the negotiation of a non-brokered private placement in which Sumitomo Corp. of America will acquire 8.7 percent of Augusta for $37.5 million financing. The company stated that the arrangement will allow it to meet project requirements for long-lead capital equipment. The deal is subject to shareholder approval.
XELR8 Holdings’ (Amex: BZI) shares closed up 21 cents, or 13 percent, at $1.90 per share on volume of 144,500, possibly still reeling from Monday’s distribution news. Earlier this week the company announced the number of participants in its direct selling network rose 15 percent to 5,474, up from 4,751 as of April 30, 2007, and 2,671 as of Dec. 31, 2006. The company utilizes the growing efficiency of distribution marketing to distribute its nutritional supplements and beverages.
Shares of Luna Innovations (Nasdaq: LUNA) closed up 91 cents, or 24 percent, at $4.66 per share on volume of 2,702,519 this afternoon. The company announced today it entered into an IP licensing, development and supply agreement with Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG). Per the agreement, Luna will develop and supply its fiber optic-based shape sensing and position tracking system for integration into Intuitive’s surgical products.
