Tag - NASDAQGS:SBCF

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 . . .

Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (Nasdaq: SBCF) have hit a new 52-week low on news before the opening of a $8.4 million loan loss provision in the third quarter.

Seacoast National Bank, a subsidiary of the Stuart, Fla.-based holding company, announced that it expects a loan loss provision of $8.4 million due to the softening of the real estate market in South Florida.

“Sales activity for new residential real estate products continued to soften over the summer months in Florida after improving somewhat earlier in the year,” said chairman and CEO Dennis Hudson III in a statement. “While residential conditions may not improve in the near term, our deep customer franchise remains solid and will continue to produce quality growth in the months ahead.”

The bank also reported that nonperforming loans will increase to 2.4% of all loans at quarter-end. The nonperforming loans will primarily consist of residential development loans secured with single family homes, lots and land.

Complete quarter-end results will be released after the close on Oct. 23.

At 3:27 p.m. ET Seacost Banking Corporation of Florida (SBCF) shares had retreated $1.46, or 9%, to $14.54. The previous 52-week low of $15.56 was set on Aug. 1. The 52-week high of 29.97 was touched on Oct. 18.

Triad Guaranty Inc. (Nasdaq: TGIC), WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD) and ACA Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ACA) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are higher and the small-cap index will probably open in the green on news of strong earnings.

The bulls are poised this morning following news of better-than-expected earnings from the tech sector.

Search engine Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) got the ball rolling after the close on Tuesday when the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company reported third-quarter net income that outpaced Wall Street’s projections.

This morning Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) also beat analysts’ third-quarter forecasts, while United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) announced that its net income increased 20% due to strong demand across the board and revenue rose 14%. Wall Street was expecting more modest gains.

However, holding the bulls down is news that September U.S. housing starts fell to the lowest rate in 14 years.

The Census Bureau reported that builders broke ground on 1.191 million units at an annualized pace in September, well below the 1.285 million units expected by economists. Housing starts were an upwardly revised 1.327 million in August.

In other economic news, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the consumer price index, the main measure of inflation, grew 0.3% in September, following a fall of 0.1% in August. Economists were expecting a slightly lower reading of 0.2%. Core inflation, which excludes the cost of food and energy, was 0.2%, in line with economists’ forecast.