The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: XOMA, ATP Oil & Gas, Sonic, DryShips, Qiao Xing Universal Resources, Melco Crown Entertainment, Star Scientific, Logitech International, Microvision, and Asia Entertainment & Resources.

XOMA Ltd. (XOMA) surged 14.15 percent to $6.05 in the pre-market trading. The company announced the signing of a regional agreement with France's privately-held pharmaceutical company Les Laboratoires Servier to jointly develop and commercialize XOMA 052, an anti-inflammatory drug candidate of XOMA, in multiple indications.

XOMA said it will receive about $35 million upfront payment, and may earn as much as $800 million more from Servier to share development of an experimental medicine for diabetes and other disorders. Servier will get worldwide rights to develop and market XOMA- 052 for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

XOMA will retain rights for use in Behcet’s uveitis, a rare condition that inflames blood vessels in the eye and can cause blindness, and other inflammatory and oncology uses in the U.S. and Japan. Xoma also has the option to buy back rights to the XOMA 052 drug. If those rights are bought back, the milestone payments could reach $470 million.

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (ATPG) jumped 4.61 percent to $17.70 in the pre-market session.

Sonic Corp. (SONC) advanced 4.17 percent to $10.50 in the pre-market trading. The company is set to release its first quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday. Analysts are expecting Sonic to earn 10 cents a share on revenue of $128.87 million for the first quarter.

DryShips, Inc. (DRYS) soared 3.85 percent to $5.39 in the pre-market session. The company said its unit Ocean Rig UDW Inc. signed two contracts worth US$237 million with Cairn Energy Plc (CNE.L) for drillships Leiv Eiriksson and Ocean Rig Corcovado for a period of about six months each.

DryShips said the total contract value for the Leiv Eiriksson is about $95 million, including mobilization. The total contract value of the Ocean Rig Corcovado is nearly $142 million including mobilization and winterization.

Qiao Xing Universal Resources, Inc. (XING) climbed 3.56 percent to $2.91 in the pre-market session.

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) improved 3.02 percent to $6.83 in the pre-market session.

Star Scientific, Inc. (CIGX) grew 3.02 percent to $2.05 in the pre-market trading. The company said it has developed a moist snuff tobacco product that has extremely low levels of cancer-causing chemicals 'carcinogens' -- much lower than any snuff products currently in the marketplace.

Star Scientific plans to submit an application to FDA for approval to market Stonewall Moist-BDL as a modified-risk tobacco product under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 during early first quarter 2011.

Logitech International SA (LOGI) gained 2.95 percent to $19.17 in the pre-market trading. The company said its flagship Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 is now Mac-compatible. The newest Logitech HD webcam is not only plug-and-play ready with iChat, Photo Booth and FaceTime, but with the latest Logitech software for Macs. At present, the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 is available in U.S., Europe and Asia for a suggested retail price of $99.99.

Microvision Inc. (MVIS) increased 2.53 percent to $2.02 in the pre-market session.

Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd. (AERL) rose 2.15 percent to $10 in the pre-market trading.

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