As part of your daily routine as an active trader or investor, it's important to track the stocks in the market that are making the biggest percentage gains and the biggest percentage losses.

Stocks that are making large moves to the upside are favorites among short-term traders who want to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside.

Anthera Pharmaceuticals



Tuesday's Range: $4.47-$5.03

52-Week Range: $1.50-$11.65

Tuesday's Volume: 579,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 580,655

Anthera Pharmaceuticals (ANTH) , a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing medicines for patients with unmet medical needs. This stock traded up 10.6% to $4.97 in Tuesday's trading session.

From a technical perspective, Anthera Pharmaceuticals spiked notably higher on Tuesday right above some near-term support at $4.40 a share and back above its 20-day moving average of $4.80 a share with decent upside volume flows. This jump to the upside is now quickly pushing shares of Anthera Pharmaceuticals within range of triggering a big breakout trade above some key near-term overhead resistance levels. That breakout will trigger if this stock manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $5.19 to its 50-day moving average of $5.37 a share with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in Anthera Pharmaceuticals as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $4.40 or at $4.25 a share and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 580,655 shares. If that breakout materializes soon, then this stock will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6.08 to its 200-day moving average of $6.58 a share.

Avalanche Biotechnologies

Tuesday's Range: $9.26-$9.75

52-Week Range: $7.40-$62.48

Tuesday's Volume: 284,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 355,516

Avalanche Biotechnologies (AAVL) , a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on discovering and developing novel gene therapies for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases based on its Ocular BioFactory platform. This stock traded up 4.8% to $9.71 in Tuesday's trading session.

From a technical perspective, Avalanche Biotechnologies jumped sharply to the upside on Tuesday right off its 20-day moving average of $9.23 a share with decent upside volume flows. This stock has been uptrending a bit over the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $8.29 to its recent high of $9.78 a share. During that uptrend, shares of Avalanche Biotechnologies have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This spike to the upside on Tuesday is now quickly pushing this stock within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will trigger if this stock manages to take out some key resistance at $9.78 a share with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in Avalanche Biotechnologies as long as it's trending above its 20-day moving average of $9.23 or above more support at $9.11 a share and then once it sustains a move or close above $9.78 a share with volume that registers near or above 355,516 shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then this stock will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $10.69 to around $11.50 a share.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals



Tuesday's Range: $9.35-$9.98

52-Week Range: $8.00-$15.00

Tuesday's Volume: 613,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 774,586

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) - Get Report , a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of products for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. This stock traded up 4.5% to $9.72 in Tuesday's trading session.

From a technical perspective, Vanda Pharmaceuticals ripped sharply higher on Tuesday right above its 20-day moving average of $9.14 a share with decent upside volume flows. This jump to the upside briefly pushed this stock back above its 50-day moving average of $9.76 a share, before it closed just below that level at $9.72 a share. Shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals are now quickly trending within range of triggering a major breakout trade above some key near-term overhead resistance levels. That trade will trigger if this stock manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10. to $10.08 a share with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in Vanda Pharmaceuticals as long as it's trending above its 20-day moving average of $9.14 a share and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 774,586 shares. If that breakout gets underway soon, then this stock will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day moving average of $10.93 to around $11.50 a share.

Disclosure: This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.