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Byline: CRAIG SHAW
Techs eked out gains Thursday even as drug maker Merck's plunge dragged on blue chips. The Nasdaq rose 0.2% in heavier trade. For the month, the composite gained 3.2%. But it sank 7.4% for the quarter, its worst decline since 2002.
Stratasys jumped to a near 11-month high, climbing 1.66 to 31.56 on triple normal volume. The maker of rapid prototyping systems for designers and engineers was one of the top stocks of 2003, but corrected as much as 58% from its October peak. It's back within 18% of that 52-week high. Profit growth bounced back to 38% and 29% the past two quarters after two periods of year-over-year declines.
Celadon Group broke out of a three-month pattern. The long-haul trucker added 1.05 to 19.05 on twice typical trade. Profit growth ranged from 46% to 183% the past three quarters, revenue growth from 7% to 16%. Strength in trucking stocks has led the Transportation-Truck group to a 15% year-to-date gain.
Agilysys climbed 1.09 to a 4 1/2-year high of 17.29 on robust turnover. The distributor of enterprise computer systems posted up weeks on above-average volume five of the past six weeks as its up/down ...