MARKET PULSE-Gordman's Stores, Trina Solar, Astrotech, Resonant

(For more market insights, including options activity, click on ; for the Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, http://link.reuters.com/nex49s) U.S. stocks rose on Thursday and the benchmark S&P 500 index scaled new peaks as traders bet on strong growth in the second quarter even as data showed the world's largest economy contracted in the first quarter. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.09 percent at 16,648.56, the S&P 500 was up 0.28 percent at 1,915.08 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 11.80 points or 0.28 percent at 4,236.87.

** QUALITY SYSTEMS INC (NasdaqGS: QSII - news) , $17.05, -0.53 pct

The healthcare IT services company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales, helped by growth in its revenue cycle management business.

** SAFE BULKERS INC (NYSE: SB - news) , $8.07, -4.72 pct

The drybulk shipper posted a lower first-quarter profit due to a fall in time charter rates. The company also operated lesser number of vessels in the quarter, compared to last year, while its operating expenses rose.

** SOLAZYME INC (NasdaqGS: SZYM - news) , $10.51, +7.91 pct

The renewable oil and bioproducts producer said the Solazyme (Frankfurt: S7Y.F - news) Bunge Renewable Oils plant in Brazil, a joint venture with a unit of Bunge Ltd, began commercial production. The company said production at the plant is expected to reach nameplate capacity within the next 12 to 18 months.

** SOLARCITY (Berlin: 0SC.BE - news) , $54.86, +5.54 pct

The solar cell maker signed an agreement with GroupOn (NasdaqGS: GRPN - news) on Wednesday to offer deals to customers on the GroupOn site.

Under terms of the deal, customers can pay $1 for $400 off home solar power.

** TRINA SOLAR LTD, $14.36, +8.46 pct

The Chinese solar company said the Tambo Real II Project in Vicuna, Chile had reached completion. The company said the 2 megawatt ground-mounted project, developed by Kaltemp Energia Solar (Copenhagen: SOLAR-B.CO - news) , used more than 8,500 solar panels.

** GORDMAN'S STORES INC, $4.3382, -13.06 pct

The apparel and home decor retailer on Wednesday reported a surprise loss for the first quarter, hurt by a 2.7 percent decline in comparable store sales and higher promotions.

The company also forecast a larger-than-expected loss for the current quarter.

** MICHAEL KORS HOLDINGS LTD, $92.14, -5.02 pct

Avondale Partners cut its rating on the handbag retailer's stock to "market perform", according to Benzinga.com.

** MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP, $89.04, +1.91 pct

The petroleum products refiner is seeking permission from Louisiana environmental regulators to install temporary cooling towers at its partially shut 522,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Garyville, Louisiana refinery, a spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said on Thursday.

** CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC (NYSE: CLF - news) , $16.35, +1.81 pct

An activist investor trying to win control of the miner's board said on Thursday it may take the mining company to court over a "proxy put" that could trigger a liquidity crisis.

** SMITH & NEPHEW PLC (LSE: SN.L - news) $86.49, +4.14 pct

The London-based medical device maker said it had completed the acquisition of its rival, Arthrocare Corporation (NasdaqGS: ARTC - news) , for $1.5 billion in cash, to strengthen its sports medicine portfolio.

** RESONANT INC, $9.49, +58.17 pct

The company, which provides filter designs for radio frequency front-ends in the mobile device industry, went public on Thursday at $10 per share, above the offer price of $6 per share.

** MERCADOLIBRE INC (NasdaqGS: MELI - news) , $87.648, +6.76 pct

JP Morgan (Other OTC: JPYYL - news) raised its rating on the stock of the Latin American e-commerce technology company to "overweight" from "neutral", saying it sees substantial growth for Mercadolibre in the future due to increasing broadband affordability and growth in mobile internet.

** ASTROTECH (NasdaqCM: ASTC - news) , $3.76, +67.86 pct

The company, which provides global satellite processing services, said it would sell its space operations business to Lockheed Martin Corp for $61 million.

** ANDATEE CHINA MARINE FUEL SERVICES CORP, $2.0854, +5.86 pct

The marine fuel oil producer said its unit, Dalian Xifa Petrochemical Co, bought Qingdao Grand New Energy Co Ltd for 476,800 yuan ($76,200)in cash.

Qingdao Frand, which essentially deals in production and sale of air-driven products, was founded in 2012. ($1 = 6.2556 Chinese Yuan)

** SUNEDISON INC (NYSE: SUNE - news) , $20.88, +7.24 pct

TerraForm Power Inc, a unit that solar company SunEdison Inc SUNE.N created to own and operate some of its solar power plants, filed for an initial public offering to raise up to $50 million.

** SANTANDER CONSUMER USA HOLDINGS INC, $19.72, -4.83 pct

The auto financier said it does not expect to pay any more dividend this year as its parent, Santander Holdings USA Inc, said in a filing that it doesn't plan to submit a revised capital plan to the Federal Reserve until January 2015.

** A10 NETWORKS INC, $11.42, +3.91 pct

The network equipment maker's Chief Executive Chen Lee bought 3,000 shares in the company, it said in a regulatory filing. (http://link.reuters.com/tuz69v)

** UBIQUITI NETWORKS INC (NasdaqGS: UBNT - news) , $35.4, +3.57 pct

The wireless networking equipment provider announced a share repurchase plan of up to $75 million worth of its common stock which will commence on June 2.

** CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CORP (NasdaqGS: CLNE - news) , $10.9999, +7.11 pct

Analysts at Morgan Stanley (Berlin: DWD.BE - news) initiated coverage on the natural gas fuel supplier with an "overweight" rating.

** MAGNUM HUNTER RESOURCES CORP (NYSE: MHR - news) , $7.8, -0.89 pct

Analysts at MLV and Co Investment Research cut their price target on the oil and gas producer to $10 from $11 after the company said on Wednesday it would sell 21.4 million shares of the company's common stock at $7 each in a private offering.

** STEMCELLS INC (NasdaqCM: STEM - news) $1.4601, +5.04 pct

The biotechnology company said initial data from its neural stem cell transplantation test showed evidence of return of function to the spinal cord below site of the injury.

** CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE (NYSE: CM - news) $89.92, -1.30 pct

Quarterly profit at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell by nearly two-thirds due to a charge taken by its Caribbean unit, the bank said on Thursday, but the result topped analysts' estimates and CIBC's chief executive signaled a willingness to pay more for acquisitions.

** RCS CAPITAL CORP, $28.04, -5.72 pct

The investment firm said it will sell 15 million Class A common stock and RCAP Holdings LLC, the holding company, will sell another 5 million shares of RCAP's Class A common stock. BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) , JMP Securities and JP Morgan (Other OTC: MGHL - news) are the joint bookrunners for the offering.

** HOMEAWAY INC (NasdaqGS: AWAY - news) , $30.99, -0.67 pct

JP Morgan downgraded the vacation rentals company's stock to "neutral" from "overweight", citing increased likelihood of greater marketing spend and outlook cut during the upcoming second quarter conference call. It also cut the target price to $38 from $49.

** TWITTER INC (NYSE: TWTR - news) , $34.23, +1.36 pct

Cantor Fitzgerald raised its rating on the microblogging site's shares to "buy" from "hold", citing a substantial growth and monetization opportunity and dwindling impact of the expiration of the shares' six-month lock-up period in May.

Twitter's shares had sunk 18 percent to a new low in frenzied trading earlier this month, as early investors sold stock in the messaging service for the first time after a six-month "lock-up" expired, indicating negative investor sentiment.

** VIGGLE INC (Other OTC: VGGL - news) , $5.23, +0.73 pct

The company, which lets television viewers to "check in" to programs they watch, on Wednesday launched its Viggle Music discovery service, which enables users to earn reward points for every song they match or buy.

** XG TECHNOLOGY INC (NasdaqCM: XGTI - news) , $2.2, +29.41 pct

The company, which develops radio tehcnology for wireless communication, said it won a new patent for interference mitigation techniques, its second patent grant this week.

** RENESOLA LTD (NYSE: SOL - news) , $2.64, -2.22 pct

The Chinese solar products maker said it will ship less following pricing pressure in the United States due to anti-dumping investigation and lack of approved projects in China.

The company forecast second-quarter shipments of 480-500 megawatts (MW), down from 521.1 MW in the first quarter.

** SPRINT CORP, $9.42, +2.39 pct

** T-MOBILE US INC, $34.72, +0.93 pct

Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG (Xetra: DTE.DE - news) is willing to keep a minority stake in a deal to sell T-Mobile US Inc to Japan's Softbank Corp (Xetra: SFT.DE - news) , but other details such as price and financing remain to be worked out, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Softbank owns a majority of Sprint Corp, the third largest U.S. wireless carrier.

** TYSON FOODS INC (NYSE: TSN - news) , $43.3, +6.26 pct

** HILLSHIRE BRANDS CO, $52.76, +17.73 pct

** PILGRIM'S PRIDE CORP, $24.95, -1.69 pct

Meat processor Tyson Foods offered to buy Hillshire Brands (Frankfurt: LEE1.F - news) for $6.13 billion, trumping a bid from Pilgrim's Pride, as it looks to expand into the fast-growing market for branded breakfast foods.

** TILLY'S INC, $8.79, -16.92 pct

The teen apparel retailer forecast current-quarter earnings below analysts' estimates on Wednesday due to weak traffic trends and heavy discounting.

** CELGENE CORP (Berlin: CG3.BE - news) , $152.675, -1.05 pct

JP Morgan analysts cut their rating on the biotechnology company's stock to "neutral" from "overweight", saying that there was limited upside to its forecast in 2017, as growth drivers were assumed in analysts' models. The analysts also said that the partnered drugs in the Celgene's pipeline were unlikely to meaningfully benefit the company's earnings over the next few years and lowered their price target on the stock by $10 to $170.

** BIOGEN IDEC INC (NasdaqGS: BIIB - news) , $318.88, +3.26 pct

JP Morgan analysts raised their rating on the biotechnology company's stock to "overweight" from "neutral", saying their survey showed that doctors were increasing their use of Biogen's multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera. The analysts said the company had a strong pipeline of drugs in mid-stage studies and shares could see a significant upside, even if one or two of the drugs move to late-stage studies. They raised their target price on Biogen's stock by $75 to $375.

** ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO (NYSE: ANF - news) , $36.91, +5.10 pct

The teen apparel retailer's quarterly sales fell less than expected for the first time in six quarters as efforts to revitalize its women's clothing business began to pay off, sending the company's shares up as much as 7.5 percent.

** SANDERSON FARMS INC (NasdaqGS: SAFM - news) , $90.01, +2.68 pct

The third-largest U.S. poultry producer reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a rise in demand for its products and lower grain costs.

** REXNORD CORP, $25.33, -3.25 pct

The maker of gear drives and gear sets for industries priced a public offering of 15 million shares at $25.50 each, a discount of 2.6 percent to its stock's Wednesday close.

** AMSURG CORP (NasdaqGS: AMSG - news) , $46.3, +8.18 pct

Ambulatory surgery center operator said it would buy Sheridan Healthcare Inc from private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC for about $2.35 billion in cash and stock to enter the outsourced physician services market.

** PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC (NYSE: PANW - news) , $74.56, +7.27 pct

** JUNIPER NETWORKS INC (NYSE: JNPR - news) , $25.56, +1.31 pct

Cyber security software maker Palo Alto Networks reported a better-than-expected 49 percent jump in quarterly revenue as it added more customers, and said it settled patent litigation with network gear maker Juniper Networks.

** INTERCEPT PHARMACEUTICALS INC (NasdaqGS: ICPT - news) , $242.69, +3.70 pct

The company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted fast-track status to its experimental drug to treat primary biliary cirrhosis, a disease that damages the bile ducts in the liver. Fast-track status is granted by the FDA to expedite the development and review of drugs that are intended to treat a serious condition and fill an unmet medical need.

Intercept said it expects to complete its marketing approval application for the drug, obeticholic acid, in the first half of 2015.

** FABRINET (NYSE: FN - news) , $18.61, -4.91 pct

The optical packaging provider reported a secondary offering of 3.2 million shares by a selling stockholder.

** BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON HOLDING CORP, $22.15, -6.26 pct

The U.S. technology consulting firm announced the sale of 10 million shares by an affiliate of the Carlyle Group. On completion of the offering, Carlyle will own about 45.8 percent of Class A common stock of Booz Allen. (Compiled by Ankit Ajmera in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)