Tag - NASDAQGM:LTXC

As the week draws to a close, there's palpable relief among market watchers. Through Thursday, all the major indexes are up over 1%. Small-caps stocks continue to lead the broader market, supported in large part by an expected pick up in acquisitions. As deals are expected to play such a large role in the small-cap space, I thought now might be a good time to talk about Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A).

I know that for many, the term M&A conjures up images of corporate raiders and liquidation sales. From movies like Wall Street to Tommy Boy, Hollywood is rife with examples of M&A evildoers and the plucky, independent businessmen who foil them.

Yesterday I alerted you to this Friday's Russell Reconstitution, and mentioned the profit opportunity. If you missed yesterday’s issue, you can click here to get caught up. But to quickly recap: once a year the Russell indexes add and subtract companies, and the event is happening this Friday. So I’ve been doing my homework to find companies that might get listed on the Russell 2000 small cap index.

Now let’s get down to business and look at some of these potential Russell 2000 additions.

I sifted through company after company that met the criteria to be included in this year’s rebalance. And I've picked out a few that I’m excited about. These companies, in most cases, have never been listed on a major index - or even a minor index for that matter - so getting listed could have a substantial positive impact on their stock prices this Friday.

The company's I’ve picked have shown strong results recently and should hold up well even if they don’t get the coveted call from 'coach' Russell on Friday.

If they do get that call, their stocks could be looking at a very nice June indeed.