Northern,WI  2/5/2013 (BasicsMedia) – Two for Tuesday “in our case we’ll make three gainers” or is it taco Tuesday? Which ever you choose to participate in we hope you take a look at our morning upward movers.

      Our first mover is shaking off a nasty decline as hope springs eternal for Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (OPXA) which is up over 200% today.

The company’s shares nearly quadrupled in early morning trading because the company signed a small option deal for its multiple sclerosis drug Tcelna with German drug maker Merck KGaA.

Tcelna is the same multiple sclerosis T-cell vaccine that used to be called Tovaxin, which Opexa has been developing unsuccessfully for almost a decade. A large, randomized phase II study failed in 2008. Opexa has been torturing the negative Tovaxin phase II data ever since, desperate to find a glimmer of hope that would keep the multiple sclerosis drug alive. German Merck seems to realize acknowledge Tcelna’s ugly past choosing to invest a tiny $5 million in exchange for an upfront option to license the drug later, if another phase II study which only recently started and is not yet fully paid for yields positive results which then could put them in the black.

Our second gainer of the morning is Virgin Media, Inc. (VMED). The stock is up over 16% in morning trading because of rumored buyout noise.

If John Malone’s Liberty Global (LBTYA) clinches a deal to acquire U.K.-based Virgin Media (VMED), it would leapfrog Comcast (CMCSA) to become the biggest cable TV provider globally.

With 4.9 million customers, Virgin Media is No. 2 in the U.K. pay-TV market, behind Rupert Murdoch-owned satellite broadcaster BSkyB. Liberty Global has 19.5 million subscribers in 13 countries, mainly in Europe. Comcast has 22 million video subscribers, all in the U.S. There has been speculation Comcast could look overseas for growth, too. Liberty Global and Virgin Media on Tuesday confirmed they are in talks for Liberty to possibly acquire Virgin.

 Also jumping in value due to reports of a buyout is Protalix Bio Therapeutics, Inc. (PLX) which is also up over 16% so far today.

Shares of Israeli pharmaceutical company Protalix (PLX) are soaring after Israeli website Calcalist reported that the company is in talks to be acquired for $1B. Pfizer has expressed interest in buying Protalix, but at a valuation below the amount that Protalix is seeking, the website added. Protalix’s board has selected Citigroup (C) to manage the selling process, according to Calcalist.

Disclaimer:  We have no position in any stock mentioned here.