Tag - BHS

Shamir Optical Industry Ltd. (Nasdaq:SHMR), ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:ACAD) and Union Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:UNB) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: China Yuchai International Ltd. (Nasdaq:CYD), CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG), China TransInfo Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:CTFO), Brookfield Homes Corp (Nasdaq:BHS), Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq:ELRN) and China Marine Food Group Ltd. (Nasdaq:CMFO).

Small-cap stocks started out the week with a whimper as bleak manufacturing data, sinking financial and homebuilder shares and money flow away from equities took a toll on the market. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 15.86, or 3.39%, at 452.57 and is now down 41% for the year, while the Dow is off 35% and the S&P 500 down 41%.

Bank and financial shares have been a persistent drag on the market in recent days. The big news on the banking front today was an analyst downgrade on JP Morgan Chase and Co. (NYSE:JPM), which pulled down the rest of the financial universe. JPM shares lost 7.4% on the day, and the Financial Select Sector SPDR was off 4.1%. The market also was reluctant to buy bank and financial stocks ahead of earnings releases from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS); both firms lost some 1% on the day. Treasury market yields tumbled some 2% on the day, indicating that money was moving toward safe-haven outlets in concert with the weak tone in equities.

A fresh batch of economic data today was predictably awful, with the New York Manufacturing Survey sinking to a record low and the industrial production report showing a decline of 0.6%. That said, both of the reports were actually better than forecast and a much worse reading on manufacturing overnight in Japan didn’t stop the Nikkei from rising 5.2%, so it would be presumptuous to blame today’s . . .

Small-cap stocks extended the morning slide into midday trading, with financial, tech and homebuilder shares overpowering gains in energy and commodity names. Analyst downgrades for key companies in the financial and technology arenas played a role in magnifying worries about consumer spending and the never-ending credit crisis. At 12:21 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 11.08, or 2.36% at 457.35.

On the banking/financial front, analysts downgraded JP Morgan Chase and Co. (NYSE:JPM) and the firm was one of the major drags on large-cap indices, sinking some 6.8% and spreading selling in financial firms throughout the market. Analysts also downgraded Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL), which tumbled nearly 4% and sparked a slide throughout the technology arena. The tech-laden Nasdaq 100 was down 2.2% at mid-session, about double the percentage losses seen in the S&P 500 and Dow.

The Treasury Department announced it was reviewing information from the auto industry and providing regular updates to the White House, which kept enthusiasm for some kind of bailout for U.S. automakers running high. Even though the overall market was falling today, shares in General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) were up 5.5%, while Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) was up 3.6%.

Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:RSTI), Brookfield Homes Corp (Nasdaq:BHS) and Methode Electronics Inc (Nasdaq:MEI) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Houston Wire & Cable Co. (Nasdaq:HWCC), Spartech Corp. (Nasdaq:SEH), CoBiz Financial Inc.(Nasdaq:COBZ), Outdoor Channel Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:OUTD), Palm Harbor Homes Inc. (Nasdaq:PHHM) and Petroleum Development Corp. (Nasdaq:PETD).

Hooker Furniture Corp. (Nasdaq:HOFT), Bolt Technology Corp. (Nasdaq:BOLT) and Ariba Inc. (Nasdaq:ARBA) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Brookfield Homes Corp. (Nasdaq:BHS), Transcat Inc. (Nasdaq:TRNS), Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. (Nasdaq:GIFI), Hutchinson Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:HTCH), Hercules Offshore Inc. (Nasdaq:HERO) and VisionChina Media Inc. (Nasdaq:VISN).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Fairpoint Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:FRP), Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (Nasdaq:ISLE) and KVH Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:KVHI) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: AtriCure Inc. (Nasdaq:ATRC), Nexxus Lighting Inc. (Nasdaq:NEXS), Investors Title Co. (Nasdaq:ITIC), NewBridge Bancorp (Nasdaq:NBBC), Brookfield Homes Corp. (Nasdaq:BHS) and Providence Service Corp. (Nasdaq:PRSC).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Thursday, bolstered by reports that the $700-billion financial market rescue plan appears ready for approval through government channels. Optimism that quick passage of a rescue deal could free up clogged credit lines and spur economic recovery helped investors look right past a spate of dreadful economic reports that came out today. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 7.97, or 1.14%, at 705.74. The Russell is now down 7.8% for the year, compared with a loss of 16.9% for the Dow and 17.6% for the S&P 500.

Right now, the market appears to be of a one-track mind, with the immediate hopes rising and falling with the momentum of the Paulson Plan. This afternoon, key Senators said that the plan was progressing nicely, with Senator Chris Dodd, who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, saying that a “fundamental agreement” was in place. Meanwhile, Bob Bennett, a Republican senator from Utah, said “I expect we will have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate, be signed by the President and bring a sense of certainty to this crisis that is still roiling in the market.”

“Certainty” or the lack thereof clearly is the key. When it appeared Wednesday that political wrangling in an election year over rescue plan details could stall progress on a quick passage, the market made no bones about recoiling from those concerns. Conversely, when the stock market rallied today on hopes the bill could fly through the lawmaking process, investors made another statement by buying up stocks even in the face of slumping economic reports.

Speaking of those economic numbers, the market received bearish data on durable goods, a bearish surprise on weekly claims and yet another bearish report on new home sales. Usually, two out of three would be really bad for this trio, but with all the attention focused on the rescue plan, the market skated right by this terrible trifecta seemingly without worry. For the record, durable goods came in at minus 4.5%, well below the forecast for a dip of 1.9% (and last month was revised downward as well). Meanwhile, weekly unemployment claims shot to 493,000, compared with the consensus forecast of 450,000. Even if the report was “goosed” by . . .

Qiao Xing Universal Telephone Inc (Nasdaq:XING), Cardiome Pharma Corp (Nasdaq:CRME) and Stewart Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq:STEI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Berkshire Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:BERK), Brookfield Homes Corp (Nasdaq:BHS), CSG Systems International Inc (Nasdaq:CSGS), Qiao Xing Mobile Communication Co Ltd (Nasdaq:QXM) and China Architectural Engineering Inc (Nasdaq:CAEI).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Brookfield Homes Corp. (NYSE: BHS) announced after Friday’s closing that its third-quarter plunged 94% to $1.6 million, or $0.06 per share, from $27.6 million, or $1.03 per share, a year earlier. The Fairfax, Va.-based firm blamed the income drop on impairment charges and writedowns on housing and land assets of $41 million. Additionally, lower home and lot sales hurt earnings.

New home sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell to 130 units, from 264 in the year-ago period. Quarterly lot sales fell to 21 units, from 158 during the same period of 2006. The residential homebuilder and land developer is targeting 1,000 home closings for 2007. Brookfield closed 179 homes during the quarter, from 232 units a year earlier.

“Homebuyer confidence remains weak and it is expected this will continue until a balance of supply and demand is achieved in the market,” CEO Ian Cockwell said in a statement.

Brookfield’s (BHS) quarterly revenue declined to $120.8 million, from $175.5 million a year earlier.

The bears dominated trading and the Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow retreated on news that sales of existing homes fell in July. The small-cap index dropped up 9.48 points, or 1.19%, to 789.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) lost 56.74 points, or 0.42%, to 13,322.13.

The U.S. housing sector is still slumping, according to numbers released by the National Association of Realtors.

The inventory of unsold single-family homes rose 5.1% to 4.59 million available units, its highest level since 1991, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association reported after the opening bell. That represents a 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace, up from an upwardly revised 9.1-month supply in June.

However, total existing-home sales fell a less-than-expected 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units in July. Economists expected a drop to a level of 5.70 million following an upwardly revised level of 5.76 million in June.

The national median existing-home price fell 0.6% to $228,900 in July, compared with $230,200 in July 2006.