NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Shares of a newly public technology firm continued to soar in its second day of trading Thursday while a satellite operator's stock plunged after the company announced a billion dollar default.
And Merrill Lynch, the nation's largest brokerage, gained on renewed merger rumors.
In one of the early session's biggest swings, Red Hat, the distributor of the popular Linux operating system software, proved that its stratospheric rise isn't over. After gaining 229 percent in its first day of trading Wednesday, shares of Red Hat (RHAT) rose 16-5/16, or 33 percent, to 69 early Thursday. Nearly six million shares changed hands, making it the second-most traded Nasdaq stock.
But Iridium LLC. (IRID) tanked a day after the satellite telecommunications company said it had defaulted on more than $1.5 billion in loans.
Shares of Washington, D.C.-based Iridium fell 1-1/4, or 21 percent, to 4-11/16.
And in an ongoing saga, Merrill Lynch (MER), the nation's largest brokerage, gained on merger rumors.
The Wall Street Journal said Thursday the brokerage may link with Chase (CMB) or American International Group (AIG), the big insurer.
Merrill shares climbed 4, or 6 percent, to 71. More than two million shares changed hands, making Merrill the third most active stock on the New York Stock Exchange.
But stock in Clorox (CLX), the household products maker best known for its bleach, tanked despite the company Thursday meeting fiscal fourth-quarter earnings expectations. Oakland, Calif.-based Clorox said diluted earnings per share rose 13 percent to $3.25 from $2.87. Sales, however, fell.
Clorox stock dropped 13-15/16, or 14 percent, to 89-5/16.
In contrast, shares of Alliance Gaming (ALLY) soared after the company said fiscal fourth- quarter earnings rose 165 percent to $1.6 million from over $600,00 in the year-ago period.
Stock of Las Vegas-based Alliance, which runs two Nevada casinos and manufactures slot machines, rose 1-5/16, or 28 percent, to 5-15/16.
And shares KeraVision, Inc (KERA) fell after the company Thursday offered 4 million shares of its common stock at $13.00 per share, raising $48.2 million.
Stock of Fremont, Calif.-based KeraVision, a developer of treatments for eye disorders, lost 1-7/8, or 11 percent, to 14-15/16.
Shares of United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a Dayville, Conn.-based natural food distributor, slipped after the company's chief financial officer, Robert T. Cirulnick, and director, Barclay McFadden III, both resigned.
United Natural stock fell 2-3/8, or 17 percent, to 11-1/2. 
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