Tag - NYSE:PMI

PMI Group Inc (Nasdaq:PMI), Hovanian Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:HOV), Beazer Homes USA Inc (Nasdaq:BZH) and , Sequnom Inc (Nasdaq:SQNM) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc (Nasdaq:BEE), Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:VNDA), McClatchy Co (Nasdaq:MNI), Pozen Inc (Nasdaq:POZN) and Energy Conversion Devices Inc (Nasdaq:ENER).

PMI Group Inc (Nasdaq:PMI), Hovanian Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:HOV), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NasdaqIVR:) and Photronics Inc (Nasdaq:PLAB) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Beazer Homes USA Inc  (Nasdaq:BZH), intergrated Silicon Solution (Nasdaq:ISSI), Affymetrix Inc (Nasdaq:AFFX), McClatchy Co (Nasdaq:MNI) and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:BCRX).

PMI Group Inc (Nasdaq:PMI), Hovanian Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:HOV), Beazer Homes USA Inc (Nasdaq:BZH) and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc (Nasdaq:EGLE) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Sonic Automotive Inc (Nasdaq:SAH), China Sercurity & Security Technology Inc (Nasdaq:CSR), Sequnom Inc (Nasdaq:SQNM), Southwest Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:OKSB) and Callon Pete Co (Nasdaq:CPE).

Arqule Inc (Nasdaq:ARQL), PMI Group Inc (Nasdaq:PMI), Overstock.Com Inc (Nasdaq:OSTK) and Omeros Corp (Nasdaq:OMER) are among the biggest percentage Gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Gainsco Inc (Nasdaq:GAN), Immerson Corp (Nasdaq:IMMR), Gulf Island Fabrication Inc (Nasdaq:GIFI), NN Inc (Nasdaq:NNBR) and Heritage Crystal Clean Inc (Nasdaq:HCCI).

Arqule Inc (Nasdaq:ARQL), PMI Group Inc (Nasdaq:PMI), Arca BioPharma Inc (Nasdaq:ABIO) and Western Refining Co (Nasdaq:WNR) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: A Power Energy Generated Systems (Nasdaq:APWR), Delcath Systems Inc (Nasdaq:DCTH), Energy Conversion Devices Inc (Nasdaq:ENER), SmartHeat Inc (Nasdaq:HEAT) and Overstock.com Inc (Nasdaq:OSTK).

Stocks closed higher today as Meredith Whitney's comments on Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) helped to lift financials, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), which she indicated as being inexpensive. Previously she'd been down on financials and very accurate with her assessment concerning their exposure to sub-prime mortgages.

The Dow closed up 185 points today to end at 8,332. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 followed suit to close at 1,793 and 901, respectively.

The Russell 2000 closed at 492, up 11 points.

Small-cap stocks showed leadership behind Territorial Bancorp (Nasdaq:TBNK) of Honolulu, Hawaii, which was up 49% to close at $14.94. Shares in TBNK started trading today as part of an initial public offering with the opening price set at $10.

Other small-cap gainers include PMI Group (NYSE:PMI) up 31%; iBasis (Nasdaq:IBAS) up 28% on news that Dutch telecommunications firm Koninklijke KPN issued an offer of $1.55 per share or roughly $48.2 million to acquire 44 percent of the shares outstanding in iBasis; and American International Group (NYSE:AIG) up 24%.

Decliners were lead by China-based baby formula producer American Dairy (NYSE:ADY) down 44% after issuing news that it had reduced guidance by stating that Q2 revenue would be increase only 10% against the year-prior period.

American Dairy had previously grown by nearly 200% after the company was untainted by the scandals surrounding other Chinese dairy producers over contaminated baby formula that left six infants dead and millions of gallons of milk considered suspect and destroyed.

Other decliners include CardioNET (Nasdaq:BEAT) down 34%; Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq:SBGI) down 21%; and American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) down 15%.

*****A few weeks ago, Treasury Secretary Geithner had to go to China to assure our largest creditor that their investment in the U.S. dollar was safe. Now he's off to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates for another round of "strong dollar" propaganda.  
Of course, it's not an easy task to convince foreign governments that the U.S. wants a strong dollar when interest rates are at zero and we're selling tens of billions in Treasury bills virtually every week. You may recall Geithner's assurances elicited laughter from a group of Chinese college students when he made the strong dollar pledge there.  

If college students know the score, you can bet everyone else does, too.  But Treasury auctions have been met with plenty of demand, and that's a good thing.

*****Fed Chief Bernanke is expected to reveal to Congress just how he plans to reverse his stimulative monetary policy next week. The Fed has expanded the money supply by about $1 trillion, cut rates to zero and doubled the assets on its balance sheet.  

In normal times, this would be highly inflationary. But these aren't normal times. Were it not for the Fed's action, the U.S. economy would be broken even more than it already is.  

Now, normal times will return. And how the Fed plans to reel in liquidity when the economy starts to grow again is critical. The potential for runaway inflation is real, and the Fed will have to be just as diligent at fighting inflation as it was fighting deflation.  

*****Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) received an upgrade from the very same banking analyst that predicted collapse of mortgage-backed securities, Meredith Whitney.  
Upgrading Goldman is easy. The bank is practically a subsidiary of the U.S. government. But the timing is interesting, given that Goldman reports earnings before the bell tomorrow.  

And speaking of earnings, this is a big week for some important companies. In addition to Goldman, we get Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) after the bell tomorrow. Thursday, we'll hear from JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM), Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) and IBM (NYSE:IBM). Then Friday, we get General Electric (NYSE:GE), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC).  

Tech and financials - the anchors for the U.S. economy will be reporting this week. Investors will be watching these early earnings reports closely. Much of the rally of the past few months can be attributed to investors' faith in companies meeting Q2 earnings, even if expectations were substantially lowered. Any bad news from these bellwether companies and the market could turn. We'll be watching closely. 

*****As if earnings weren't enough, there's a full slate of economic data coming out this week, too. Tuesday, it's the Producer Price Index (PPI) along with retail sales and business inventories. 

Wednesday, we get the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Empire Manufacturing Survey from New York state, capacity utilization, industrial production, crude inventories and the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. 

Thursday, it's initial unemployment claims and the Philadelphia Fed. 
And finally, on Friday, we get building permits and housing starts for June.   
Whew! That's going to be a lot of data to review.  

*****On January 15, my Top Stock Insights advisory service released its Predictions 2009 special issue. This issue was our blueprint for profits with mid- and large-cap stocks as we headed into the new year.  

In that issue, I outlined the case for oil, gold, commodities and biotech/healthcare stocks. And we took 51% profits on an oil stock, 25% on a gold stock, another 25% on a commodity stock and we're still holding three biotech/healthcare double-digit winners in the portfolio. 

In other words, our expectations for the year led my readers to some nice gains this year, and there's more to come... 

Now, I'm all set to release an update to that special Predictions issue that will get us through the rest of this year with more solid gains. It comes out on Wednesday, and if you'd like to get my blueprint for profits for the rest of 2009, please click here. Or go to topstockinsights.com. 

*****Also, if you missed TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts technical analyst Jason Cimpl's weekly video chart analysis, here's that link again. 

Small-cap stocks opened lower but battled back to steady levels, pressured by profit-taking after Tuesday’s big FOMC rally. Weak profit news on the financial front and lingering worries about the recession prompted a pause in the updraft, which saw small-caps climb to the highest daily close Tuesday since mid-November.  Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE:PCH), Telvent  (Nasdaq:TLVT) and Joy Global (Nasdaq:JOYG).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• This morning, the yield on benchmark 10-year notes was down a whopping 6%, indicating strong demand for underlying Treasury securities.  
• The only physical product making huge waves right now is the cocoa market, which rose to 22-year highs in London trading.  
• Commodities should find underlying support from the recent slide in the U.S. dollar, which tumbled to 13 ½-year lows against the yen today.  
• Emerging market stocks found support overnight, with Hungary’s beaten down stock market climbing 6% amid gains in oil and gas stocks.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped 48% on news of a positive trial for a post-surgery abdominal pain drug. See (NYSE:PCH).
• Telvent Oversees Lan-Zheng-Chang liquid pipeline operation, the largest liquid pipeline in China. Shares rise 13%. See (Nasdaq:TLVT).  
• Joy Global up 11% after Q4 profit rises on strong demand. See (Nasdaq:JOYG). 
• Energy Conversion Devices is climbing above 10% despite a maintained "sell" rating by Citi. See (Nasdaq:ENER).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Gibraltar Steel Corp. gapped lower and shed 26% building products manufacturer updated guidance and announced the closure of a manufacturing facility. See (Nasdaq:ROCK).  
• Soleil Securities initiates coverage on Ducommun with a "sell;" shares fall 13%. See (NYSE:DCO).
• QBE Insurance Group Limited completes PMI Asia acquisition. Shares of PMI are down 10% on the news. See (NYSE:PMI).  
• Small-cap homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. missed the earnings forecast and HOV shares were off 7.5% shortly after the open. See (NYSE:HOV).

Small-cap shares opened higher Monday, lifted by advances in overseas equity markets, a firm U.S. dollar and a dip in crude oil prices. At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.86, or 0.12%, at 720.91.

The U.S. dollar was up nearly 1% against the yen into the market open, and pushed about 0.2% higher versus the euro. The firm dollar tone was linked to a $2-per-barrel pullback in crude oil futures, which came off Friday’s record highs amid profit-taking.

Financial shares could find a boost this morning from a jump in the largest European bank HSBC, which climbed about 2% overnight on profit news. Early on this morning, Citigroup (NYSE:C) was up 0.6% and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was up about 0.8%. Other large-caps of note included Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), which was up 1.2% shortly after the opening on optimism ahead of earnings. Research in Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) jumped 2.4% on news that the company was unveiling a new BlackBerry Bold Smartphone.

A massive earthquake in China overnight caught trader attention, but a lack of details seemed to leave the market without a feeling for whether or not it would have an impact on equities in the United States.

Looking ahead to this week’s action, the economic calendar picks up steam after a relatively tame risk quotient last week. Not only will the market have to navigate through a batch of important data on retail sales, inflation and housing starts, but there is a glut of Federal Reserve speakers on the docket.

Speaking of Fed speakers, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans was the first one up to the plate this morning, saying that housing was still a drag on the economy, and that growth risks were to the downside, but inflation risk was on the upside. He said that U.S. growth should improve in the second half of the year, but . . .

Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq:NKTR), The Pantry, Inc. (Nasdaq:PTRY) and AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAG) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE:PMI), Gladstone Capital Corp. (Nasdaq:GLAD) and Radian Group Inc. (NYSE:RDN) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Wednesday's biggest percentage losers among small caps:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) went through the roof today as a late rally in financial shares lifted all the major U.S. indices. The small-cap index advanced 21.86 points, or 3.26%, to 693.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) gained 298.98 points, or 2.50%, to 12,270.17.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has lost 9.48%, while the Dow has let go 7.50% and the S&P 500 is missing 8.84%.

Small-cap stocks outpaced their larger brothers today as speculation of more rate cuts fueled the late-session rally.

February fed funds futures overwhelmingly suggest that the U.S. Federal Reserve will vote to lower its target for the federal funds 0.75% during its two-day meeting starting Jan. 29. A reduction of at least 0.50% is seen as a sure bet.

On Tuesday, the Fed lowered the federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, to 3.50% from 4.25%.

Shares representing the financial sector were invigorated and freed themselves of the bears’ grasp. Among the few exceptions was consumer financial services provider First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCFS), which issued a 2008 earnings guidance below analysts’ projections.

Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:


• CompuCredit Corp. (CCRT), up 29%.
• Buckeye Technologies Inc. (BKI), up 24% on news it will lay off between 20 and 25 employees at a production facility in Canada. That’s up to 16.6% of the plant’s workforce.
• Stanley Furniture Co. (STLY), up 22%.


• Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI), down 44% on news of serious side effects from a study of a hepatitis C drug. Shares have been downgraded by analyst.
• First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (FCFS), down 35% on news it has lowered its full-year earnings forecast.
• The PMI Group, Inc. (PMI), down 15%.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices rallied and ended the day in the green on news that the Fed may move to lower interest rates. The small-cap index added 8.09 points, or 1.14%, to 720.21, its second consecutive rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 117.78 points, or 0.92%, to 12,853.09.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has retreated 5.98%, while the Dow is down 3.10% and the S&P 500 has shed 3.27%.

Stocks small and large began the day in negative territory but rallied in the second half of the session and closed with solid gains.

“In light of recent changes in the outlook for and the risks to growth, additional policy easing may well be necessary,” U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told an audience at the Women in Housing and Finance and Exchequer Club this afternoon.

Those words sparked speculation that the Fed is preparing to lower the federal funds rate at its two-day meeting starting Jan. 29. The bulls took charge of the session and pushed stocks higher.

The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, currently stands at 4.25%.