Tag - NASDAQGS:STRL

Mannkind Corp (Nasdaq:MNKD), Sterling Construction Co Inc (Nasdaq:STRL), Virnetx Holding Corp (Nasdaq:VHC) and Cytori Therapeutics (Nasdaq:CYTX) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

It’s been a sharp upward assent for the Russell 2000 thus far this session. The small cap index remains at its high intraday, as a sparse docket of economic data pushed investors to focus on oil’s descent.

At 1:04 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) had surged 15.90, or 2.17% to 750.20, while the Dow has turned green and is up 68.63, or 0.58% to 11,802.95.

Today’s rally comes on the heels of a robust performance on Friday. It’s good news to see that small caps haven’t plunged back into the red coming off that strong resurgence last week, but rather are adding to that. 

After flickering between the green and the red for a good portion of the session, oil has given back roughly $2 touching a low for the session of $113 and change per barrel. The commodity remains roughly 22% below record levels of nearly $148 a barrel reached in July.

An increasing consensus for slower growth in the second half that would in turn par energy consumption has taken the forefront as the catalyst for oil, driving the commodity lower.

However, traders continue to follow the latest moves surrounding the showdown between Russia and Georgia over the province of South Ossetia. Commodities traders are focusing on whether the fighting will further damage any oil infrastructure in Georgia that would in turn thwart the transportation of oil to central Asia and Europe. Reports already show that Russian bombers struck an oil pipeline in Georgia. It is stunning that oil hasn’t reacted with a violent upswing to the damaged infrastructure, as has been the typical historical behavior recently to a possible supply disruption.

Sterling Construction Co. Inc. (Nasdaq: STRL) hit a new 52-week-low today after the company lowered its guidance for 2008 before the opening bell this morning.

The Houston-based firm said it now expects to earn $15.2 million to $18.7 million, or $1.11 to $1.36 per share, for the year compared with previous expectations of $19.9 million to $21.8 million, or $1.43 to $1.57 per share.

Sterling cited increased commodity prices and disappointing results on Texas highway projects for a disappointing performance so far this year as factors behind the decision.

For the three months ended June 30, the company earned $5.1 million, or $0.37 per share, compared with $3.8 million, or $0.32 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call on average were expecting earnings of $0.43 per share.

In morning trading, Sterling is down $3.82 at $16.17 from Fridayʼs close, after reaching a new 52-week-low of $14.80 earlier in the day. In the past year, shares had ranged between $15.87 and $26.98.

For detailed price information and recent news stories about Sterling Construction, click STRL.

Small-cap stocks hovered near steady levels in choppy morning action, with support from last week’s impressive rally countered by profit-taking and unease toward the crude oil market. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 1.43, or 0.20% at 735.73.

Crude oil prices backed off the overnight highs into the stock market open, but remain in positive territory as traders were concerned that the military conflict between Russia and Georgia could disrupt oil transport through the Caspian region. Still, a mild upside push in crude oil this morning hardly takes the shine off last week’s collapse in energy prices, which highlighted a welcome pullback on the commodity inflation front.

A big part of last week’s bullish story revolved around a stunning appreciation in the U.S. dollar, which exploded against both the euro and the yen, reaching multi-month highs against worldwide currency products in the process. This morning, the greenback was tame, basically flat vs. the euro, and down about 0.3% against the yen.

Without any major economic data on the docket today, stock market investors should be free to focus on company news, macro trends and gyrations in commodities.

Small-cap stocks opened sharply lower, pressured by a renewal of the credit crisis fears and reeling from a dramatic surge in crude oil that could crimp consumer spending habits and weigh on sentiment. At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 4.43, or 0.62%, at 715.12.

Financial shares sparked a wave of overnight selling after American International Group (NYSE:AIG) released earnings that disappointed investors and renewed concerns about debt write-downs among financial institutions. AIG tumbled 5% on the regular opening (which was better than the overnight showing), and the largest bank Citigroup (NYSE:C) was basically flat — also not as bad as overnight action — as the CEO spoke at an investor meeting.

There also was talk of asset allocation plays being back in vogue this morning, with investors shifting money away from equities and into treasury products. The old stock market adage “sell in May and go away” appeared to have a life this first full week of May trading.

In a Goldman Sachs research report released overnight, analysts say that the underlying shock of mortgage credit defaults is large and “still has a ways to go.” Although they say that some of the markets that have been beaten down will normalize and create positive spillover on sentiment in the broader economy, they said that excess housing supply, acceleration of home price declines and over leverage in the U.S. housing market will not go away anytime soon.
 
“We believe that such losses (from over leverage) imply further adverse surprises for balance sheets in parts of the financial sector, with correspondingly adverse effects on lending and economic activity. The focus of the pain is likely to shift away from subprime mortgages, where the markets are already discounting very large losses, to other residential mortgage debt, including prime mortgages. This is one reason why we are expecting a renewed slowdown in economic activity after the stimulus-fueled bounce in mid- to late 2008. In turn, it makes us fairly confident that . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are falling following news of the emergency sale of Bear Stearns. At 1:55 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had dropped 13.52 points, or 2.04%, to 649.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was off 84.75 points, or 0.71%, to 11,866.34.

Wall Street is in a very bearish mood on news that investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has purchased Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) for just $2 per share, according to an announcement on Sunday.

The buyout was unprecedented, as the U.S. Federal Reserve gave JPMorgan $30 billion in special financing to complete the deal and prevent a domino effect that would have wreaked havoc on other major financial institutions and deepened the current turmoil.

The U.S. Central Bank also lowered its discount rate, the rate at which it lends funds to commercial banks, to 3.25% from 3.50%, on Sunday.

“It is a measure of the severity of the current financial crisis,” said Dr. Bob Webb, professor of derivatives, trading and fixed income securities at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, in an e-mail. “It is also an indication of how poorly past attempts by the Fed and other central banks to deal with the crisis have fared.”

America is crumbling, and we’re not talking the economy here.

The U.S. infrastructure needs upgrading worse than that old computer running Windows 98. Just a few of the problems faced by state and municipal governments are packed roads that can’t handle 21st-century traffic, century-old water and sewer lines continually springing leaks, and airports lacking the long runways needed to handle the biggest jets leaping to the skies.

Even with budget shortfalls knocking on the doors of government at all levels, elected officials know they must keep the customer satisfied by paving the potholes and keeping the water and sewage flowing for consumers and businesses. Sterling Construction Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: STRL) has been lending its expertise to all sorts of public projects in the building and rebuilding of Texas and the Southwest.

Mom and Pop might suck it up and put off some of those big home improvements during the current economic downturn, but they’re going to give government officials an earful if they’re repeatedly sitting in traffic jams or finding a sewage backup in their basement.

That’s where Sterling Construction comes in. Primarily operating through its Texas Sterling Construction business, which traces its lineage back more than half a century, Sterling has been winning a healthy stream of contracts from state and municipal government for transportation and water infrastructure projects in the Longhorn state.

Last month, the company announced its latest deals: it was the low bidder on a $26 million road project in Collin County, Texas, north of Dallas, with completion expected in the fall of 2010, and it was the apparent low bidder on a $55 million rebuilding project for the North Texas Toll Road Authority that will continue into the summer of 2010.

Three analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial have a favorable view of Sterling Construction with either a “strong buy” or “buy” rating on the stock. The recent median 12-month price target from Thomson is $26.50. On Thursday, Sterling closed at $18.40.

Cost Plus, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPWM), Novacea, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVC) and Isramco, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

While the topic of infrastructure repair rarely makes the headlines, one of the major challenges facing the United States today is an outdated, decaying highway and bridge system. Federal and state agencies acknowledged this issue last year by increasing public works transportation spending 13%, with an additional 10% increase projected for 2007.    

The U.S. bridge infrastructure, in particular, is woefully antiquated and in need of repair. According to the Federal Highway Administration, nearly 30% of U.S. bridges are more than 50 years old and warrant frequent inspections for cracks and fatigue. Of the 600,000 bridges in the U.S. National Bridge Inventory (NBI) database, nearly 100,000 bridges are considered structurally deficient and in urgent need of attention. Maintenance and repair costs typically range around $2 .6 million across the life of a bridge, so the amount of spending required to repair 100,000 outdated bridges could easily approach $300 billion. The passage of time only exacerbates infrastructure repair challenges since costs climb as repairs become more frequent and as emergency situations arise.

The federal government oversees the maintenance of the U.S. bridge system. In 2005, Congress passed SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users), a bill that authorizes spending of $286 billion for, among other things, bridge maintenance and repair between 2004 and 2009. The bill also requires more frequent inspection and maintenance of railroad bridges.