The Los Angeles Business Journal’s index of largest local public companies closed down slightly for the week, as agreement on a euro stimulus plan in Europe took the edge off a U.S. stock selloff earlier in the week.
The weighted LABJ Stock Index closed down 0.27 percent to 127.27 for the week ended June 22. Gainers outpaced decliners 95 to 72, with eight companies unchanged.
Among the biggest gainers was CytRx Corp., jumping nearly 29 percent to $4.89. The West L.A. biotech is set to return to the Russell Microcap Index on Monday.
Response Genetics Inc. bounced back from a decline last week to close up 21 percent to $1.51 this week. The advance came on news that Pfizer Inc. reported positive results for its experimental cancer drug Xalkori. That’s important for Response Genetics because the Los Angeles diagnostic testing company plans to offer a test that will identify patients most likely to be helped by the treatment.
MannKind Inc. gained 16 percent to $2.12. Executives of the Valencia biotech made a well-received presentation at an investor conference on Tuesday.
RealD Inc. rose nearly 12 percent to $13.93. Investors in the Beverly Hills 3-D film projection company were buoyed by prospects for summer films that take advantage of the company’s technology.
Among the biggest decliners was Reed Inc. The Los Angeles specialty soda maker dropped 12 percent to $3.20, despite announcing a new agreement with a large South Carolina distributor that should expand its market in the southeastern United States. The company attributed the decline to profit-taking.
Dole Food Co. Inc. lost 8 percent to $8.51. Shares of the Westlake Village fresh food producer and distributor dropped on speculation over the decision by the company’s largest shareholder and chairman, David Murdock, to sell most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai to fellow billionaire Larry Ellison.
THQ Inc. fell nearly 8 percent to 59 cents. The Agoura video game developer said it would delay a planned expansion pack for its “Saints Row: The Third” series and instead incorporate it into a sequel.
