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Sage Therapeutics Inc. shares soared more than 74% in premarket trade Thursday, after the company reported positive results in a midstage trial of a depression treatment. Sage said the Phase 2 trial of Sage-217 involving 89 adult patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder met its primary and secondary endpoints. These very encouraging data suggest the potential of SAGE-217 in the treatment of MDD as well as other mood-related disorders that we may pursue,” Sage Chief Executive Jeff Jonas M.D. said in a statement. There has been little innovation in depression treatments in the last two decades, he said. Shares have gained 80% in 2017 through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Shares of Digital Power Corp. rocketed 34% on heavy volume Thursday, boosted by the surge in bitcoin through the $15,000 milestone. Volume was 1.9 million shares about 30 minutes before the open, enough to make the stock the most actively traded in the premarket. Digital Power’s stock has been on a tear recently after the power-supplies company announced products aimed at the cryptocurrency and digital mining markets. At Wednesday’s closing price of $2.74, the stock had soared more than four-fold in two weeks. Late Wednesday, the company denied rumors that it had inked a deal with Amazon.com Inc. for $450 million worth of cyrptocurrency hardware. Digital Power’s stock has rallied 318% year to date through Wednesday, while bitcoin has run up 1,481% and the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Yelp Inc. shares dropped 3.5% in premarket trade Thursday after Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral and expressed concern about competition from Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. . “We believe Yelp’s strategic value is declining alongside the relative importance of long-form reviews as consumers increasingly depend on short-form information from social, search and maps for local businesses,” Piper Jaffray’s Sam Kemp wrote. He added that Facebook and Google have both made improving their local products a priority. Kemp questions Yelp’s decision to “impair” the mobile web experience in order to draw more people to the Yelp app and sees “no signs of improving sales productivity.” He lowered his price target from $38 to $37. Yelp shares have gained 9.8% so far in 2017, compared with a 17.4% gain for the S&P 500 Index .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Lululemon Athletica Inc. shares were up 9.1% in Thursday premarket trading after the athletic company reported same-store sales that exceeded estimates. More than a half dozen analysts raised Lululemon’s price target after the earnings announcement. Lululemon’s same-store sales increased 8% in the third quarter, beating the 5.3% increase FactSet forecast. “Lululemon is firing on all cylinders,” wrote Susquehanna Financial Group analysts led by Sam Poser. “Improvements up and down the supply chain, strengthening customer engagement, and a burgeoning digital presence are driving solid results across geographies.” Lululemon shares are up 13.1% for the last year while the S&P 500 index is up 17.3% for the period.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Sony Corp. said its PlayStation 4 (PS4) gaming and entertainment system has cumulatively sold more than 70.6 million units worldwide as of Dec. 3, while more than 617.8 million copies of PS4 games have been sold, both through retail stores and digital downloads. PlayStation VR, the virtual reality systems, has cumulatively sold through more than two million units, with more than 12.2 million copies of PS VR games sold. Sony Interactive Entertainment said there are currently more than 130 games and other entertainment content in development for PS VR, which are scheduled to launch by the end of 2018. The U.S.-listed shares of the Japan-based consumer electronics giant, which were still inactive in premarket trade, have soared 60% year to date, while the iShares MSCI Japan ETF has climbed 21% and the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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American Tower Corp. said Thursday its board has approved a stock buyback program of up to $2 billion. The company has about $345 million remaining under its current authorization approved in March 2011. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 34% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Online lender Curo Group Holdings Corp. said Thursday it has priced its initial public offering at $14 a share. The company sold 6.7 million shares to raise $93.8 million. Proceeds will be used to pay down debt. Credit Suisse, Jefferies and Stephens Inc. were lead underwriters, with William Blair acting as co-manager. The stock will start trading later Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CURO”.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Sage Therapeutics Inc. shares soared more than 65% in premarket trade Thursday, after the company reported positive results in a midstage trial of a depression treatment. Sage said the Phase 2 trial of Sage-217 involving 89 adult patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder met its primary and secondary endpoints. These very encouraging data suggest the potential of SAGE-217 in the treatment of MDD as well as other mood-related disorders that we may pursue,” Sage Chief Executive Jeff Jonas M.D. said in a statement. There has been little innovation in depression treatments in the last two decades, he said. Shares have gained 80% in 2017 through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it has named Scott Braunstein as chief operation officer and Richard Scranton as chief scientific officer. Scranton will head research, while leading communications and market access for Exparel, the company’s non-opioid treatment for managing post-surgical pain. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 34% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Edwards Lifesciences Corp. said Thursday it authorized a new $1 billion stock repurchase program. At Wednesday’s stock closing price of $113.36, the program could represent about 4.2% of the shares outstanding. Separately, the heart disease treatment company said it entered into a $150 million accelerated stock buyback deal in November. The company also affirmed its 2017 financial guidance, and projected 2018 adjusted earnings per share of $4.10 to $4.30, compared with the FactSet consensus of $4.14. Revenue is expected to be $3.5 billion to $3.9 billion in 2018, representing underlying growth of 9% to 10%, and surrounding the FactSet consensus of $3.7 billion. “Our global growth is being driven by our transcatheter aortic valve therapies, and continued advancement in each of our market-leading product lines,” said Chief Executive Michael A. Mussallem. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 21% year to date, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has climbed 19% and the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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