Morning Movers 10/13: TCHC, STAR, CGEN, RAMS, PIR, VASC Higher; CIT, TLVT, GAP, PPO, INTT, DPZ Lower

October 13, 2009 10:23 AM EDT

21st Century Holding Company (Nasdaq: TCHC) 18.6% HIGHER; Homeowners Choice, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCII) today announced that it has delivered a letter to the board of directors of 21st Century expressing its interest in a potential business combination between the two companies. Homeowners Choice Board Member Paresh Patel wrote a letter to Bruce Simberg, board chairman of 21st Century, offering $1.00 in cash and 0.5 share of Homeowners Choice common stock for each share of 21st Century common stock. The proposed offer values 21st Century stock at $5.30 per share, approximately a 36% premium over the October 9 closing price of $3.89.

Starent Networks (Nasdaq: STAR) 18.1% HIGHER; Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) announced an agreement today to acquire Starent for $35 per share, or about $2.9 billion. Click here for the full report.

Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN) 16.5% HIGHER; announced today that they have signed a collaboration agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany covering the further evaluation of a Compugen discovered tumor target and its splice variants. Here is the full report.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) 13.9% LOWER; today announced that Jeffrey Peek has informed the Board of Directors that he plans to resign as Chairman and CEO from CIT effective December 31, 2009. The Board is forming a Search Committee to oversee the recruitment process and ensure a smooth leadership transition at the Company. Also hearing reports that the company's debt exchange offer is seeing little interest from bondholders, making bankruptcy increasingly likely

Aries Maritime (Nasdaq: RAMS) 13.6% HIGHER; trading above the $1 level for the first time since the end of 2008. Traders may be buying the stock amid the DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) upgrade at Lazard.

Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) 13.2% HIGHER; previously announced that it is hosting an event for shareholders and members of the buy- and sell-side analyst community on October 13, 2009, during which members of the management team will provide a general update on the Company's business. In anticipation of this event, the Company has provided the following update on the third quarter ending November 28, 2009. Comparable store sales for month of September increased 9.9% versus a decline of 11.7% in September of last year. Third quarter merchandise margins continue to improve on a year-over-year basis as a result of significantly reduced markdown and clearance activity and strong input margins. Inventory levels are expected to peak at the end of the quarter at approximately $350 million.

Vascular Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: VASC) 12.2% HIGHER; and Zerusa Limited today announced that they have received 510(k) clearance with the FDA for the sale of the Guardian II Next Generation hemostasis valve in the United States. Vascular will distribute in the US, and Zerusa Limited will distribute in Europe, the Middle East and other markets.

Telvent (Nasdaq: TLVT) 11.9% LOWER; sees Q3 EPS in the range EUR 0.29 to EUR 0.32, compared to EUR 0.21 in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the quarter sees a range of EUR 190 million to EUR 194 million, versus a range of EUR 157 million to EUR 160 million in Q308. Telvent now expects to achieve non-GAAP diluted EPS for 2009 of EUR 1.52 to EUR 1.55, down from their previously estimated range of EUR 1.54 to EUR 1.58.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co (NYSE: GAP) 9.1% LOWER; downgraded to Sell at Pali.

Polypore International (NYSE: PPO) 9.1% LOWER; Baird downgrades the stock from Outperform to Neutral. Price target $14.

inTEST (Nasdaq: INTT) 9% LOWER; correcting today following a 25% move higher on Friday and a 49% move higher yesterday.

Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) 8.1% LOWER; reports Q3 EPS of $0.17 ex items, 2 cents better than the analyst estimate of $0.15. Revenue for the quarter was $302.7 million, which compares to the estimate of $308.92 million. Domestic same-store sales unchanged.

China Information Security Technology, Inc., (NASDAQ: CPBY) 8% HIGHER; today announced that its newly signed contracts in the third quarter of 2009 were valued at approximately $30.05 million. Click here for the full report. The stock was started at Outperform at Rodman & Renshaw.

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