TriZetto Shares Inexplicably Soar

Its first day of trading last month may have been a lackluster debut for TriZetto Group Inc., but its stock has soared since then, gaining nearly 40% on Friday alone.

Executives at the Newport Beach provider of data processing services to the health care industry said Monday that they don’t know why the stock nearly doubled to $28.44 a share during Friday’s frenzied trading before settling down to $20.25. More than 1.8 million shares traded hands, far exceeding the average of 495,000 TriZetto shares traded daily on the Nasdaq exchange since Oct. 8.

The company’s chairman, Jeff Margolis, and its chief financial officer, Mike Sunderland, attended a DLJ Healthcare Conference on Thursday in Phoenix, where Margolis spoke to an audience of about 20 people. But no new announcements were made.

The company said it has previously disclosed that it will pursue acquisitions and is engaged and will be engaged in discussions with potential candidates in the ordinary course of business. It hasn’t disclosed, however, any further details.

TriZetto shares closed Monday at $20.88 a share, up 63 cents.