Tuesday’s Unusual Volume Activity

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January 19, 2010

Rallying is one thing, but rallying on high volume is altogether different - and much more bullish. That’s what makes Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM), American Medical Systems Holding Co. (Nasdaq:AMMD), IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc. (Nasdaq:IPCM), Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq:AMED), and Vivo Participacoes S.A. (NYSE:VIV) are Tuesday’s standouts…. big gains, on massive volume. The reason for the heavy accumulation should be explored.

Here are the details:

Humana Inc.: Up 7.0% on a 298% increase in average trade.
American Medical Systems Holding Co.: Higher by 4.3% on 175% more volume than normal.
IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc.: Gained 2.8% on a 134% increase in activity.
Amedisys Inc.: Up 8.5% on a 126% volume bump.
Vivo Participacoes S.A.: Higher by 2.5% on 115% more trading activity than usual.

Conversely, losers were few and far between on Tuesday, so to see a loser falling on heavy volume is particularly concerning. Not that it was the proverbial nail in the coffin for any of these names, but Fastenal Company (Nasdaq:FAST), Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH), Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq:BBBB), Delphi Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:DFG), and Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq:BIDU) were the day’s high-volume losers.

Here are the vital stats.