Tag - NASDAQGS:ALGT

Small-cap stocks edged lower Tuesday, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) sinking 6.44, or 0.89%, to 718.93. Small caps had plenty of good news to embrace Tuesday, but a wave of sloppy earnings and cautious profit-taking from longs ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC announcement kept the buyers at bay. Small caps noticeably underperformed relative to the Dow and S&P 500, which is a caution signal for the market heading toward huge economic calendar event risk the rest of the week.

Losses were limited by a firm U.S. dollar, which pushed about 0.6% higher versus the euro, rising to the highest point in three weeks. The firm greenback played a role in a sharp retreat in crude oil prices, which tumbled 2.5% in the shadow of yesterday’s record high level. Retail, transportation and airline stocks received a boost from the pullback in energy prices. The commodity spectrum in general was lower Tuesday, with the Commodity Research Bureau Index of commodity prices down 1.8%, pulled lower by the slide in energy and also by a corrective dip in grains a day after corn prices hit record levels.

Within broad market sectors, food retail stocks were up 5%, airlines up 3% and education services were up almost 3%. Meanwhile, fertilizer shares were down 8%, metals and mining were down almost 5%, and agricultural products were down about 4%.

The stock market has been on an impressive upside push since March lows, with the Russell rising about 12%, the Dow up 9.5% and the S&P 500 up about 10%. Given the solid return generated for bulls lucky enough to have caught this brush higher, it’s . . .

Allegiant Travel Co. (Nasdaq:ALGT), TranS1 Inc. (Nasdaq:TSON) and Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (Nasdaq:SBCF) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

A.M. Castle & Co. (NYSE:CAS), AuthenTec, Inc. (Nasdaq:AUTH) and Mac-Gray Corp. (NYSE:TUC) are also among the top small-cap percentage gainers.

Here are Tuesday's biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Here are Tuesday’s biggest percentage gainers and losers in midday trading, along with top volume leaders, among companies with a market cap between $50 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Allegiant Travel Co. (Nasdaq:ALGT), up 25.4% to $26.08 after the leisure travel company reported first-quarter operating revenue of $133.1 million, up 58% from $84.3 million a year earlier.
• TranS1 Inc. (Nasdaq:TSON), up 19.9% to $12.79 after news that the FDA has cleared one of their minimally evasive surgery procedures for marketing.
• Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida (Nasdaq:SBCF), up 13.1% to $10.71 after the bank holding company announced first-quarter net income of $1.8 million, or $0.09 per share, compared with $2.8 million, or $0.14 per share, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts expected earnings of $0.10 per share.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Intevac, Inc. (Nasdaq:IVAC), down 23.4% to $12.63 after the maker hard drive equipment said it expects 2008 revenue in the range of $120 million to $150 million and earning of between a loss of $0.25 per share and a profit of $0.15 per share. Analysts expect revenue of $143.9 million and a profit of $0.09 per share.
 • Digi International Inc. (Nasdaq:DGII), down 20.8% to $8.12 after the Minnetonka, Minn.-based company reported early Tuesday that its second-quarter revenue totaled $43.1 million, which fell short of Wall Street’s expectation of $51.1 million.

Small-cap stocks opened lower after the opening bell, experienced a slight bump after the Consumer Confidence report was released at 10 a.m., but are continuing to slide in midday Tuesday trading. At 12:37 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 8.19, or 1.13%, to 717.18.

The Conference Board reported that April’s Consumer Confidence Index slumped to 62.3, the lowest level in five years, from a revised 65.9 in March. Economists expected the index, which has declined fourth months in a row, to decline to 61.

During a morning press conference, President Bush said Congress should allow more domestic energy production. Higher production would lower record-high gas prices, he said. Bush said gas prices have risen $1.40 per gallon since the Democrats won a majority in Congress, and pointed to stalled efforts to open drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which would “likely mean lower gas prices.” The president will consider proposals by Sen. John McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton to suspend the federal gas tax, but did not provide backing for the proposal. The President also noted that the economic stimulus package is in on the way.

Large-cap movers this morning included drug company Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK), which was down 8% on news that the FDA rejected a new cholesterol drug. From an overall stock market picture, the news had a somewhat muted impact, because it lifted Merck competitor Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) by 3%. In addition, Visa (NYSE:V) posted decent earnings ahead of the opening, and the financial firm is up 1% in midday trading after dipping in earlier action.

Within the small-cap spectrum, LCA Vision Inc. (Nasdaq:LCAV) is down 17%, gapping lower on weak earnings. Intevac Inc. (Nasdaq:IVAC) was down 23% as well, also on earnings news, and TheStreet.com Inc. (Nasdaq:TSCM) was off 13% on soft earnings. Digi International Inc. (Nasdaq:DGII) shares are slumping more than 19% after the Minnetonka, Minn.-based company reported early Tuesday that its second-quarter revenue totaled $43.1 million, which fell short of Wall Street’s expectation of $51.1 million.

Small-cap stocks opened lower, slightly trimmed losses after the Consumer Confidence report came out at 10:00 a.m. ET, but then retreated right back to pre-release levels. The report showed an upward revision to the March report, which provided a brief bid to the market, but it was not enough to catch hold (at least immediately). At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 1.84, or 0.25%, at 723.53.

The Consumer Confidence report was pegged at 62.3 in April, which was in line with the forecast of 62, but the March number was revised upward to 65.9 versus 64.5. Still, the April figure was the lowest in five years.

Next on line … President Bush is slated to hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. ET, where he is expected to talk about the economy.

The opening action was soft in line with overnight declines on a dip in European shares as Deutsche Bank posted its first quarterly loss in five years, and French tire company Michelin tumbled 9% on sloppy earnings.

Large-cap companies influencing trade this morning included drug company Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK), which was down 7% on news that the FDA rejected a new cholesterol drug. From an overall stock market picture, the news had a somewhat muted impact, because it lifted Merck competitor Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) by 4%. In addition, Visa (NYSE:V) posted decent earnings ahead of the opening, but the financial firm was down 3% in early action.

The S&P 500 stalled approaching the 1,400 level on the latest push upward, and that key figure resistance will be closely watched through the rest of the week’s major economic events. In the Russell 2000, the market yesterday climbed . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) and the Dow are trading in the red. At 3:11 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 1.45 points, or 0.20%, to 709.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 70.28 points, or 0.56%, to 12,584.08.

Small caps have surrendered their earlier gains and fallen into negative territory with less than an hour left in the session.

Airline companies are currently the worst-performing industry group. Among the losers is Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AAI), while shares of Allegiant Travel Co. (Nasdaq:ALGT) are bucking the trend, up about 1%.

On the other hand, gold and silver companies are currently the best-performing industry group. Among the winners is Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp. (AMEX:TRE), which is primarily engaged in gold properties in Tanzania.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices lost ground following news of Bush’s plan to invigorate the economy. At 1:33 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 4.92 points, or 0.72%, to 675.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had declined 47.63 points, or 0.39%, to 12,111.58.

“To keep our economy growing and creating jobs, Congress and the administration need to work to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible,” President Bush said during a press conference this afternoon.

Calls for a policy response to help the U.S. economy avoid recession have been mounting recently as politicians on both sides of the aisle have been scrambling to develop a stimulus package.

Bush continued that the growth package must about 1% of gross domestic product and has to focus on “broad-based tax relief.”

The White House wants to give one-time income tax rebates to taxpayers and eliminate the 10% income tax bracket for one year. Democrats generally agree, but want the aid to be more targeted toward the poor and unemployed.

Over the past several years, civil aviation has seen more than its fair share of turbulence. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, terrorism fears crippled the industry, leaving domestic air travel virtually grounded and sending most airlines into a tailspin. An economic downturn, coupled with Iraq uncertainties that caused a surge in oil prices, didn't help matters.

Quickly losing altitude, the nation's largest carriers scrambled to gain stability: United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) sought bankruptcy protection. Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) and American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) avoided Chapter 11 reorganization but raised fares, eliminated jobs and cut employee wages and benefits.
 
With the fear of flying having receded and the economy rebounding, the big boys are in their best shape in years. But now there is a new challenge to contend with: low-cost competition. Discount carriers like Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) and Midwest Express (AMEX: MEH) have siphoned away passengers from full-service airlines. 
 
One high-growth small cap, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company (Nasdaq: ALGT), is flying high, while carving out a cut-rate niche at underserved airports. Allegiant Air flies budget-conscious travelers from about 50 small U.S. cities to world-class leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Nev., Phoenix, Ariz., Orlando, Fla., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.

Allegiant is a low-fare outfit which has a fleet of MD-80 series jets (with comfortable seating and spacious overhead luggage bins), offers ticketless "open seating" and prides itself on providing superior customer service. The company also sells bundled hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel-related services through Allegiant's other subsidiary, Allegiant Vacations, to drive ancillary revenues.