Tag - AMSWA

First and foremost, I want to congratulate Landon Donovan and the whole U.S. soccer team. While the U.S. vs. Algeria game was a bit more stressful than I would have liked, the forward's winning stoppage-time goal more than made up for my temporary discomfort. I just hope my blood pressure can handle the Ghana game on Saturday!

***In Small Cap Investor Daily, I spill a lot of ink talking about growth stocks. You're probably reading this daily in hopes of finding the next True Religion (NASDAQ: TRLG), a small-cap company that saw its stock price rise over 2000% after I recommended it. These outsized gains are what got me into the small-cap game initially, but I also like to keep an eye out for dividend paying small-caps. All investors should have exposure to income stocks, and the small-cap asset class is one that many overlook at their own peril.

Right now, we're seeing a lot of stocks moving horizontally. In fact, I expect the major averages to mostly trade sideways over the summer months. Gaining this week and dropping back down the next. Investors are trying to determine whether this market is a bear or a bull, or some weird hybrid capable of devouring us all. In this kind of uncertain market I suggest taking a look at dividend paying small-caps.

Small-cap stocks closed higher Friday, finishing off a volatile week on a “good news/bad news” tilt as concerns about global growth and slumping labor markets in the United States took a toll for the week, but didn’t stop an impressive recovery for the day Friday. The big news today was that the unemployment rate in America jumped to 6.1%, which marked the highest level in nearly five years. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 0.23, or 0.03%, at 718.95 and is now down 6.1% for the year.  For the week, the Russell was down 2.8%. Meanwhile, the Dow was up 0.29% for the day and is down 15.4% for 2008, while the S&P 500 was up 0.44% Friday and now 15.3% lower for the year.

Despite the preponderance of bearish news on the data front this morning, the stock market staged a fairly heroic comeback from the morning lows, powered by a recovery in financial shares, which have beaten down in recent weeks and months. The PHLX KBW Banking Index rallied 4.1%, and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Index rose 2.8%, while key stocks like Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) all posted gains of 4% or more. Even investment banking firm Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MER) generated an impressive recovery from the morning lows despite suffering an analyst downgrade by rival Goldman Sachs.

The highly anticipated monthly employment report projected an ugly picture of the labor market, no matter how anyone might try to spin the numbers. Most market watchers were looking for the jobless rate to hold steady in August at 5.7%, or perhaps tick up to 5.8% at the worst … but soaring above 6% was a sobering thought for all. In addition to the dreary jobless news, the headline figure on non-farm payrolls tumbled 84,000 jobs, which was a tad below the forecast for a loss of 71,000 jobs.

“So far this year, 605,000 jobs have been lost. The economy has clearly slipped into a jobs recession because the housing meltdown and credit market turmoil has spread to the broader economy,” Steven Wood, chief economist with Insight Economics, said in an email. “Over the past year, the number of unemployed people has increased by more than 2.24 million and the unemployment rate has increased by 1.4 percentage point. In the post World War II period, every time the unemployment rate . . .

Shares of American Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMSWA) are spiraling downward today after the developer and marketer of software reported after Thursday’s close preliminary financial results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2008 below the Street.

For the three months ended July 31, the Atlanta, Ga.-based company recorded earnings per share of $0.08, while the sole analyst surveyed by Thomson Financial was expecting earnings of $0.10 per share. The company recorded earnings of $0.06 per share during the same quarter last year.

Revenue clocked in at $21.7 million, slightly below the Street’s estimate of $21.95 million. Last year the software company racked in $20.2 million in revenues.

Shares of American Software fell 16.8%, or $1.98 to $9.79 in late morning trading Friday.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNTA) reported the FDA’s review of its blood clotting drug M-Enoxaparin is probably going to be lengthier than previously projected.

These are the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Laboratory products maker Kewaunee Scientific Corp. (Nasdaq: KEQU) reported a profit of $0.51 million, or $0.21 per share, for the fourth quarter ended April 30, compared with a loss of $0.25 million, or $0.11 per share, in the same period ended of 2006

A group of investors – including the firm HBK Investments LP - reported a 9.5% ownership in The Steak n Shake Co. (NYSE: SNS) in an SEC document filed after Monday’s closing bell.

Hoku Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOKU) shares are up more than 133.5% since June 13. The reason for the rise is unclear, but a Cowen and Co. analyst believes institutional investors are buying shares after the company’s market capitalization broke $100 million following last Wednesday’s announcement of a seven-year deal with the German solar panel maker Solar-Fabrik AG.

American Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMSWA) reported revenue of $22.5 million, or $0.11 per share, for the fourth quarter ended April 30, compared with revenue of $20.46 million, or $0.05 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Identification technology company Intelli-Check, Inc. (AMEX: IDN) executives tried to assuage investors concerned for the company’s wellbeing after its 73-year-old CEO Frank Mandelbaum passed away on June 7. In a press release, Intelli-Check said the management transition since Mandelbaum’s death has been “orderly and the company is positioned to pursue its growth strategy.”

These are the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday’s trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million: