Tag - BANR

Banner Corp (Nasdaq:BANR), Cascal NV (Nasdaq:HOO), China Security & Surveillance Technology Inc (Nasdaq:CSR) and W Holdings Co Inc (Nasdaq:WHI) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Community Bank Shares Industries Inc (Nasdaq:CBIN), Tuesday Morning Corp (Nasdaq:TUES), OSI Systems Inc (Nasdaq:OSIS), Southwest Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:OKSB) and Winner Medical Group Inc (Nasdaq:WWIN).

Small-cap stocks pushed lower on the opening, pressured by a sloppy batch of earnings reports this morning and another weak slate of economic reports that threatens to break a four-day winning streak for the market. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were POZEN (Nasdaq:POZN), OSI Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:OSIS) and Sepracor (Nasdaq:SEPR).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Crude oil prices have been closely tethered to equities, and today’s rugged economic data reinforces the demand difficulties facing energy companies.   Crude oil prices were on the defensive this morning, with futures off some $1.60 a barrel into the stock market open.  
• The stock market appeared to extend the morning slide after the dreary home sales report.  
• New home sales fell off a cliff today, sinking 14.7% to an annual rate of 331,000 units, way below the forecast of 400,000.  

Small Cap Gainers:

• POZEN informed by FDA that endoscopic gastric ulcer incidence continues to be an acceptable primary endpoint; shares climb 17% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:POZN). 
• OSI Systems Inc. rose 16% as the electronics system designer received an earnings lift. See (Nasdaq:OSIS).  
• Sepracor rises 10% in pre-market to cut workforce despite rise in profit. See (Nasdaq:SEPR)

Small Cap Losers:

• Banner Corp. fell 15%, gapping lower as the bank holding company announced quarterly results. See (Nasdaq:BANR).  
• Oshkosh Corp. fell 20% as the specialty equipment maker posted a quarterly loss and announced job cuts. See (NYSE:OSK).  
• Arkansas Best swings to loss on 15% lower revenue; stock slides 11% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:ABFS).  
• DryShips in breach of some loan covenants; shares tumbles over 26% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:DRYS). 

Small-cap stocks pushed lower on the opening, pressured by a sloppy batch of earnings reports this morning and another weak slate of economic reports that threatens to break a four-day winning streak for the market. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 11.00, or 2.32% at 462.03.

New home sales fell off a cliff today, sinking 14.7% to an annual rate of 331,000 units, way below the forecast of 400,000. The stock market appeared to extend the morning slide after the dreary home sales report.

The weekly claims report came in at 588,000, which was a tad higher than the forecast. The bleak news was on continuing claims, which rose to record highs at 4.77 million, topping the recessions from the 1970s and 1980s in the process. This was a sobering look at recent layoffs ahead of the big monthly employment report next week.

Also on the data front, the durable goods report came out at minus 2.5%, which was nominally worse than the projection for a decline of 2%. However, when stripping out the “big ticket” transportation orders, durables were off 3.6%. This marked the December report on durable goods; for the year, orders were down more than any year since 2001.

As for the latest earnings reports, Allstate Corp. (NYSE:ALL), QUALCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOM), Black and Decker Corp. (NYSE:BDK) and Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE:FO) all posted various troubling numbers on profit reports, setting a bleak tone for the morning, just a day after investors were finding spots of good news on the profit front for buying enthusiasm.

Interestingly, all the bleak news on earnings and economic data shuttled aside excitement over the House passage of the Obama stimulus plan; but even before today’s data, the market was already lower, suggesting that the House passage wasn’t a surprise and that the market would need something fresh to . . .

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM), Macatawa Bank Corp. (Nasdaq:MCBC) and Banner Corp. (Nasdaq:BANR) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Value Line Inc. (Nasdaq:VALU), Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc. (Nasdaq:TWPG), Innophos Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:IPHS), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), Agilysys Inc. (Nasdaq:AGYS) and PMFG Inc. (Nasdaq:PMFG).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Lincoln Bancorp (Nasdaq:LNCB), Western Refining Inc. (Nasdaq:WNR) and Medivation Inc. (Nasdaq:MDVN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Newport Corp. (Nasdaq:NEWP), Timberland Co. (Nasdaq:TBL), Noble International Ltd. (Nasdaq:NOBL), Banner Corp. (Nasdaq:BANR), Chemgenex Pharm (Nasdaq:CXSP) and United Natural Foods Inc. (Nasdaq:UNFI).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks pushed higher on the opening, lifted by solid earnings results from key names in the large-cap arena, which spilled over into the overall market psyche. In addition, economic reports have been a mild upside surprise this morning and stock markets overseas were higher overnight, which helped set up a platform to extend Wednesday’s big rally. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 3.35, or 0.49%, at 690.10.

In overseas trading, European shares were up about 2%, Japan was up 1%, Hong Kong rallied 2.4%, Taiwan surged 3.9%, India was up 4.2%, South Korea up 1.2%, Singapore up 1% and Australia up 0.6%.

Crude oil futures drifted higher after the stock market open, which drained away some of the morning gains in equities. Crude oil prices were lower overnight, and are down some $10 dollars a barrel off the recent highs, but traders remain sensitive to the volatile nature of energy markets, especially when recent declines have been short-lived.

Headline figures from economic data this morning have been much improved over the sobering inflation reports seen Tuesday and Wednesday. Weekly claims rose to 366,000 this week, but were below expectations for a rise to 380,000. Also, housing starts jumped 9.1%, which was far better than the forecast for a 1.5% dip. However, the housing starts report was boosted by data quirk adjustments and it will take more evidence in future reports to suggest that the housing market is anywhere near the recovery road.

The final piece of today’s data puzzle came in at 10:00 a.m. ET, with the July Philly Fed Survey, which came in softer than expected at minus 16.3 and appeared to pull stock index products off the morning highs.

The market is now deep into Q2 earnings season, and some of the “big” . . .

Small-cap stocks ended the week with a whimper, pulled down by surging crude oil prices, an ongoing rout in financial stocks, sinking tech stocks and safe-haven money flow away from equities and into credit instruments. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) stumbled 12.10, or 1.64%, to 725.73, notching the second-largest one-day decline since June 6.

It’s probably no coincidence that the big decline exactly two weeks ago on June 6 also coincided with talk that Israel was developing plans to possibly attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, which sparked a rally in energy markets and also played into geopolitical tensions ahead of a weekend.

The reversal in crude oil prices meant that Thursday’s slide in energy markets was a very brief respite for consumer, airline and courier shares that have been mercilessly battered by soaring gasoline prices. The rise in crude oil was accompanied by a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar, which tumbled about 0.7% against both the euro and the Japanese yen.

Financial shares were under attack once again today following a downgrade in the outlook for banks by Merrill Lynch analysts. Citigroup (NYSE:C) was off 4.7%, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) down 3.7% and Wachovia (NYSE:WB) off nearly 2%. Investment banks, brokerage firms and specialty trading houses were also under pressure, with JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) down about 2%, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) off 1.6% and Lehman Bros. (NYSE:LEH) down 1%. Small-cap firm MF Global (NYSE:MF) sank 22% and continues to reel in the face of analyst downgrades and slumping interest rate income from futures trades. Ironically, Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) itself was down 4.6%.

With the market taking a beating today and the crude oil market rising amid political concerns, the quarterly “quadruple witching” expirations shuffled into the background a little bit. That said, the market certainly was volatile today, be it from expirations or other factors. The NYSE said that short interest was at an all-time high, . . .

Banner Corp (Nasdaq:BANR), West Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:WTBA) and Spreadtrum Communications Inc (Nasdaq:SPRD) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Pharmaxis Ltd (Nasdaq:PXSL), Myers Industries Inc (Nasdaq:MYE), First National Bancshares Inc (SC) (Nasdaq:FNSC), AMERICAN RIVER Bankshares (Nasdaq:AMRB), Winnebago Industries Inc (Nasdaq:WGO) and Frontier Financial Corp (Nasdaq:FTBK).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Banner Corp (Nasdaq:BANR), Frontier Finl Corp (Nasdaq:FTBK) and Ocwen Financial Corp (Nasdaq:OCN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Cytori Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:CYTX), Winnebago Industries Inc (Nasdaq:WGO), Aristotle Corp (Nasdaq:ARTL), Beach First National Bank (SC) (Nasdaq:BFNB), INX Inc (Nasdaq:INXI) and Myers Industries Inc (Nasdaq:MYE).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small caps are taking a beating in Friday’s mid-session trading, as crude oil prices surged and credit jitters prompted a broad sell-off in the financial sector. At 12:04 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 10.85, or 1.47%, at 726.98.

Small-cap investors tried to rally in the third hour of trading but met resistance at the 730 notch. After the brief resurgence, the small-cap slide is continuing into the afternoon session.

Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) started off the selling frenzy after cutting its estimates for regional banks. Rival investment banks Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) were both in the red in midday trading as well. MER is down 3.9%, GS has fallen about 1% and JPM is off 0.4%.

Crude oil futures have rebounded from the largest one-day decline in about three months. In recent trading, crude has climbed $3.29 to $135.22 a barrel. The rebound in crude prices was accompanied by a falling U.S. dollar, which is down against both the euro and the yen.

Broad market sectors attracting sellers today were airlines, computer storage devices, plastics and rubber, casinos, auto and truck manufacturers, audio and video equipment and computer peripherals. Sectors on the upside included school services, savings and loans banks, gold and silver and oil well services and equipment companies.

Anchor Bancorp of Wisconsin Inc (Nasdaq:ABCW), First California Financial Group Inc (Nasdaq:FCAL) and Preferred Bank (Nasdaq:PFBC) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Bank of the Ozarks Inc (Nasdaq:OZRK), C&F  Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CFFI), Banner Corp (Nasdaq:BANR), Providence Service Corp (Nasdaq:PRSC), City Bank (Nasdaq:CTBK) and Cascade Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CASB).

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Rimage Corp (Nasdaq:RIMG), AEP Industries Inc (Nasdaq:AEPI) and Heritage Commerce Corp (Nasdaq:HTBK) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

TASER International Inc (Nasdaq:TASR), Benihana Inc (Nasdaq:BNHNA) and Community Bancorp (Nevada) (Nasdaq:CBON) are also among the new 52-week lows

City Bank (Nasdaq:CTBK), Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:JAZZ) and Banner Corp (Nasdaq:BANR) were additionally included among the results.

Here are the new 52-week lows among small caps:

Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) shares are increasing moderately after the bank holding company announced that its board of directors declared its regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share. The dividend will be paid on April 10 to shareholders of record as of March 31.

After Tuesday’s close, the Walla Walla, Wash.-based company reported that its fourth-quarter net income rose to $12 million, or $0.74 per share, from $7.9 million, or $0.64 per share, a year earlier. Net interest income during the fourth quarter increased to $38.7 million from $33.1 million in the prior year.

In morning trading, BANR shares are up 1.85%, or $0.40, at $21.80. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $19.90 to $45.41.

Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) shares are down slightly after the regional bank reported before the opening that its board approved a plan to increase the quarterly cash dividend to $0.20 per share. The dividend will be paid Jan. 10 to shareholders of record on Dec. 31.

“We have been building our franchise, while generating top- and bottom-line improvements,” CEO D. Michael Jones said in a statement. “This increase in our cash dividend is a way for us to share this growth with our shareholders.”

After Thursday’s close, Banner reported third-quarter earnings of $10 million, or $0.64 per share, above analyst estimates of $0.59 per share and compared with $8 million, or $0.65 per share, a year earlier. Quarterly revenue increased to $48.1 million, below Wall Street projections of $49 million and compared with $38.1 million during the same period of 2006.

Operating expenses rose to $34.8 million, from $31.3 million a year earlier.

In midday trading,BANR shares are down 0.43%, or $0.14, at $32.09. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $27.63 to $46.71.