MARKET PULSE-J.C. Penney, Oncothyreon, Mako, Pacific Biosciences

Sept 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped in choppy trading on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 eyeing a fifth day of losses, as a lack of progress in budget negotiations in Washington puzzled investors. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.04 percent, to 15,329.13, the S&P 500 lost 0.07 percent, to 1,696.25 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.05 percent, to 3,766.296.

** J.C. PENNEY CO INC, $10.21, down 14 pct (11:01 a.m. ET)

The struggling retailer's shares tumbled to their lowest in nearly 13 years on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) said it expects sales at the troubled department store chain to improve more slowly than expected.

** ONCOTHYREON INC (NasdaqGS: ONTY - news) , $2.20, up 22 pct (9:58 a.m. ET)

German drugmaker Merck KGaA (Other OTC: MKGAY - news) will conduct new tests on an experimental lung cancer vaccine which failed a previous late-stage clinical trial, it said. The drug, licensed from U.S. biotech firm Oncothyreon, will be tested on patients with locally advanced Stage III non-small cell lung cancer, which cannot be surgically removed, unchanged from the previous trial called START, the firm said.

** PACIFIC BIOSCIENCES OF CALIFORNIA INC (NasdaqGS: PACB - news) , $4.95, up 43 pct (10:24 a.m. ET)

Pacific Biosciences of California Inc said it licensed its technology to develop DNA-sequencing products to Roche Diagnostics. The company will get an upfront payment of $35 million from Roche, and expects to get an additional $40 million in milestone payments.

** MAKO SURGICAL CORP (NasdaqGS: MAKO - news) , $29.54, up 82 pct (9:56 a.m. ET)

** STRYKER CORP, $69.69, down 1 pct

Medical device maker Stryker will buy the smaller peer for about $1.65 billion to gain access to Mako's technology for robot-assisted orthopedic surgery.

** UNIPIXEL INC, $18.14, up 13 pct (10:11 a.m. ET)

The LCD film maker's shares were up on reports that the company and Eastman Kodak Co have made significant progress in their joint effort to manufacture and market UniPixel's next-generation touch-screen sensor film, according to Benzinga. ()

** ASCENA RETAIL GROUP INC, $19.81, up 14 pct (9:52 a.m. ET)

The womens apparel retailer said its fourth-quarter profit more than tripled, comfortably beating Wall Street estimates, as e-commerce sales surged and gross margins improved with fewer markdowns.

** PACIRA PHARMACEUTICALS INC (NasdaqGS: PCRX - news) , $45.57, up 7 pct (10 a.m. ET)

Barclays Capital analysts raised their price target on the stock to $56 from $43, saying the specialty pharmaceutical company's post-surgical pain treatment, Exparel, and its broadening use, particularly in orthopedic surgery, have bolstered the drug's commercial expectations.

** GLU MOBILE INC (Xetra: A0MLUQ - news) , $2.63, up 10.7 pct (11:33 a.m. ET)

The mobile game maker said 'Deer Hunter 2014' released on Sept. 18 on Apple Inc (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) 's iOS and Mac platforms ranked seventh on U.S. App Store Top Grossing chart position for iPhone.

** CLOVIS ONCOLOGY (NasdaqGS: CLVS - news) , $62.91, down 14 pct (9:51 a.m. ET)

The developer of cancer drugs that had been looking for a potential buyer, is finding no takers, according to a report by Bloomberg, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

* NTELOS HOLDINGS CORP (NasdaqGS: NTLS - news) , $17.50, up 10 pct (9:50 a.m. ET)

The telecom services provider raised its full-year EBITDA forecast and said it settled disputes over services to Sprint Corp's customers in Virginia and West Virginia. NTelos raised its adjusted EBITDA forecast to $150 million-$155 million from $140 million-$145 million.

** SILVER SPRING NETWORKS INC (NYSE: SSNI - news) , $17.56, up 8 pct (10:29 a.m. ET)

The smartgrid company said it expanded a project with power supplier EDP Distribuição in Portugal, following a successful pilot project.

Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral", according to Streetinsider.com. ()

** LANDEC CORP (NasdaqGS: LNDC - news) , $12.26, down 9 pct (9:51 a.m. ET)

The polymer maker reported lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings as it changed the timing of income recognition from its Windset Farms. Landec said about 6 cents per share have been shifted from its first quarter to the remaining three quarters.

** COPART INC (NasdaqGS: CPRT - news) , $30.83, down 9.5 pct (9:56 a.m. ET)

The online auctioneer of vehicles said it will not convert into a real estate investment trust, more than a year after the company started evaluating such a move. Copart also reported a fourth-quarter profit that missed Wall Street expectations by 8 cents.

** RENESOLA LTD (NYSE: SOL - news) , $4.39, up 10 pct (11:35 a.m. ET)

** TRINA SOLAR LTD, $12.81, up 9 pct

** JA SOLAR HOLDINGS CO LTD, $9.47, up 8 pct

** YINGLI GREEN ENERGY HOLDING CO LTD, $5.97, up 7 pct

Shares of Chinese solar panel producers continued to rise for the second day after the U.S. trade group Solar Energy Industries Association proposed a deal on Monday that could lift United States' steep import duties on Chinese-made solar products, which have raised production costs for Chinese solar panel makers. ()

"I think this is a non-starter (as a political matter), but the headline seems to have gotten the bulls excited," said Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov.

** AAR CORP (NYSE: AIR - news) , $27.81, down 7 pct (9:54 a.m. ET)

The aerospace parts and systems maker reported a lower first-quarter profit as sales fell in its technology products business. The company reported sales of $514.5 million, below analysts' expectations of $542.1 million.

** SOLAZYME INC (NasdaqGS: SZYM - news) , $11.29, up 5 pct (9:56 a.m. ET)

The renewable oil producer said it would supply tailored algal oil to consumer goods supplier Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL - news) . The initial delivery of at least 10,000 metric tons is expected by early 2014.

** CARNIVAL CORP, $33.07, down 4 pct (9:51 a.m. ET)

The world's largest cruise operator warned on Tuesday it could report an adjusted loss for the current quarter, after posting a 30 percent fall in third-quarter profit due to a series of headline-grabbing mishaps on its cruise ships.

J.P.Morgan (Other OTC: MGHL - news) cut its price target on the stock to $32 from $34, while Susquehanna International Group cut its target to $40 from $43. Bofa Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the stock to "neutral," according to theflyonthewall.com.

** NOBLE CORP (NYSE: NE - news) , $38.80, up 2 pct (9:54 a.m. ET)

The offshore drilling contractor unveiled on Tuesday a long-planned spin-off of older rigs into a new company that may make an initial public offering next year, as Noble seeks a premium valuation for its best assets.

** MISONIX INC (NasdaqGM: MSON - news) , $4.50, down 6.1 pct (10:32 a.m. ET)

The surgical device maker reported a fourth-quarter loss of 22 cents per share on net sales of $3.8 million due to decreasing sales of its liposuction device, Lysonix, and a fall in royalty from its blood thickening device, AutoSonix.

** BRAVO BRIO RESTAURANT GROUP INC, $0.84, down 5.2 pct (10:37 a.m E.T)

Piper Jaffray downgraded the upscale casual dining chain's stock to "neutral" from "overweight", according to Theflyonthewall.com

** FIFTH & PACIFIC COS, $23.79, down 4.3 pct (10:55 a.m. ET)

The frontrunners to acquire the apparel and accessories maker's Lucky Brand and Juicy Couture have both dropped out, Women's Wear Daily said in a report citing sources. ()

IDG Capital dropped out of the bidding for Juicy last week, sources told WWD. Fifth & Pacific had been in exclusive talks with private equity firm Advent International for Lucky, but the deal fell apart late last month.

** DYNAVAX TECHNOLOGIES CORP, $1.24, up 3 pct (9:50 a.m. ET)

The Vaccine published a commentary from two doctors emphasizing that Dynavax's hepatitis B vaccine had an adjuvant, an agent to boost immune response, which can be important for immunization against hepatitis B. The journal also published late-stage trial results showing the safety and viral response of the vaccine, Heplisav.

** SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS INC (NasdaqGS: SWKS - news) , $25.09, down 3 pct (10:08 a.m. ET)

B. Riley cut its rating on the chipmaker's stock to "neutral" from "buy".

** EAGLE BULK SHIPPING INC (NasdaqGS: EGLE - news) , $7.84, up 5 pct (11:00 a.m. ET)

** DRYSHIPS INC (NasdaqGS: DRYS - news) , $3.76, up 5 pct

** BALTIC TRADING LTD, $5.32, up 6 pct

** PARAGON SHIPPING INC (NasdaqGM: PRGN - news) , $5.95, up 4 pct

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks the cost of shipping commodities such as iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertilzer, was up about 5 percent on Wednesday.

** INFINITY PHARMACEUTICALS INC (NasdaqGS: INFI - news) , $17.95, down 2 percent (9:53 a.m. ET)

Infinity Pharmaceuticals said its cancer drug failed to improve overall survival in a mid-stage study on patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had a history of smoking.