Oceanside medical alert company's shares see high volume

Nearly a month after Oceanside-based American Medical Alert Corp. announced that it was being bought by a British firm, interest in the company remains high -- for buyers and for sellers -- with its stock trading at four times its average volume.

By midafternoon Wednesday the Nasdaq reported 216,000 shares changing hands. That compares to 7,100 shares changing hands Tuesday, and to an average daily trade total of 91,000 during the past quarter.

With about 500 employees and $1.6 million net income on $42 million revenue in the past 12 months, American Medical is a provider of health care call centers and remote monitoring systems for elderly patients at home.

It will be acquired by Tunstall Healthcare Group Ltd. at $8.55 a share, a 50 percent premium over the stock's $5.69 closing price on Sept. 22. The transaction is expected to close before Dec. 31, the end of AMAC's fiscal fourth quarter.

Also Wednesday, there was an additional announcement by a law firm seeking AMAC shareholder clients to participate in its "investigation" of the AMAC sale terms. There are now ten such law firms, which say they are looking into whether the American Medical leadership could have gotten a better price.

Photo: One of American Medical Alert's home systems.