Some San Diego stocks that have lagged...

Some San Diego stocks that have lagged behind the averages since the beginning of the year finally caught the momentum of the market last week, according to Irving Katz, director of research for San Diego Securities.

California savings and loans that have been bargains were strongly recommended by a First Boston analyst, according to Katz. The result: Home Federal Savings & Loan gained 3 to 29 5/8; Imperial Corp. of America was up 1 3/8 to 16 1/8 and Great American First Savings Bank was up 7/8 to 21.

Christiana Co. continued to move ahead, gaining more than 50% in price since last month’s announcement that an investment group had purchased 24% of its shares.

PS Group was up 1 1/2 to 37 5/8 following a favorable mention by an analyst in Barron’s, Katz said. The analyst valued PS Group at close to $50 per share, given the upcoming sale of its airline assets, the value of its other subsidiaries and PS Group’s over-funded pension plan.

Cipher Data Products was up 3 to 16 1/8 on a strong recommendation by a Shearson Lehman Brothers analyst who anticipates a substantial earnings increase in the fiscal year beginning July 1. Kaypro was up three-quarters to 2 13/16, as investors continued to look for undervalued computer stocks, Katz said.

GTI made a new high of 4 and closed at 4 after the company announced a private placement of 38% of its shares and the rejection of a $3.75-per-share tender offer for 51% of its stock.

Price Club was down a quarter to 38 after it filed a $200-million convertible debenture offer with the SEC, Katz observed.

Xytronyx was down three-quarters after moving up a like amount before last week’s announcement that it had signed an option for development of a periodontal disease detection kit.

Western Health Plans was down a half at 4 7/8, despite improving its second-quarter earnings to 6 cents from 2 cents a year ago.

Northview Corp. was up 3/4 to 13 1/2, recovering completely from its drop after the Ivan Boesky scandal, Katz observed.