Tag - BMTI

Small-cap stocks stormed out of the gate with a flourish this morning, as buyers were enamored with yet another rally in overseas markets and happy that a sobering GDP report in the United States wasn’t even worse. Today’s small-cap gainers are LHC Group (Nasdaq:LHCG), Freightcar (Nasdaq:RAIL) and BioMimetic Therapeutics (Nasdaq:BMTI).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Norway also joined in on the rate cut fervor as countries around the world toss cheap money at businesses in a drive to thaw frozen credit lines.  
• Hong Kong shot up some 10% and Taiwan was up 6%, as those countries announced rate cuts following the Fed’s rate cut Thursday.  
• Stock markets around the world were in rally mode overnight, with the world stock index up 2.5%, powered by steep gains in some Asian markets.
• Crude oil futures trimmed overnight gains and were hovering near steady levels on the stock market opening.  
• The energy sector should be a focal point today following Exxon Mobil Corp.’s quarterly earnings figure, which topped the forecast.

Small Cap Gainers:

• LHC Group shares jumped 29% as the home nursing services provider reported a quarterly increase in revenue. See (Nasdaq:LHCG).  
• Freightcar reported robust third-quarter results that crushed analysts’ estimates. Results were owed to cost controls. Shares up 27%. See (Nasdaq:RAIL).  
• BioMimetic Therapeutics reports promising clinical results using injectable bone graft. Shares up over 27%. See (Nasdaq:BMTI).
• Brush Engineered Materials Inc. got an earnings lift this morning, climbing 13%. See (NYSE:BW).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Polypore International beats on Q3 results, guides full year revenues below the Street, EPS straddle consensus. See (NYSE:PPO).  
• Iris International Q3 results miss Street, guides full year below consensus. See (Nasdaq:IRIS).  
• JDS Uniphase Q1 EPS beat Street: $0.11 vs. $0.09. On GAAP basis, narrows loss. (Nasdaq:JDSU).  
• Brocade and Foundry Networks to amend merger terms: Foundry's shareholders to receive $16.50 in cash for each share. See (Nasdaq:FDRY).  

Small caps closed up nearly 2%, embracing the Fed’s rate cut, a thaw in credit markets and a bounce in commodity-tied stocks. Today’s small-cap gainers are Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SVNT), Savvis (Nasdaq:SVVS) and Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The rate cut by the Fed coincides with global easing; just last night, central bank officials in China cut rates by 0.27% and European leaders hinted that further rate cuts are possible. 
• It’s possible that the bulls were corralled a little bit today, leery to take a big bullish stand ahead of Thursday’s GDP report.
• Commodities were a key part of the story today, which may explain some of the relative strength in small caps, which have shown a tendency to more closely track commodity trends in recent weeks.
• Crude oil prices jumped some 9%, or more than $5 a barrel, bolstered by oversold conditions and a slide in the U.S. dollar, which tumbled some 1.4% against the euro.
• Copper has soared some 14%, which is particularly interesting because copper is often seen as a proxy for economic activity around the globe. Copper has collapsed in recent weeks, but a stabilization in that market would be a positive sign for the global economy.

Small Cap Gainers:

• BioMimetic Therapeutics reports promising clinical results using injectable bone graft. Shares close up 21%. See (Nasdaq:BMTI).  
• Tessera Technologies shares surged 30% after arbitration ruling. See (Nasdaq:TSRA).  
• Savient Pharmaceuticals announces data in treatment-failure gout . . .

Evergreen Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:ESLR), Cache Inc. (Nasdaq:CACH) and Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq:CIEN) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF), A Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:APWR), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY), BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:BMTI), FGX International Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:FGXI) and Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $50 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Hansen Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:HNSN), up 63%.
• Immersion Corp. (Nasdaq:IMMR), up 10%.
• Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:MNTA), up 8%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Radware Ltd. (Nasdaq:RDWR), down 11%, after reporting a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and lower revenues.
• BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:BMTI), down 9%.
• Novogen Ltd. (Nasdaq:NVGN), down 8%.

Small-cap stocks opened lower, and at 10:01 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 9.43, or 1.31%, at 708.57. Small-cap issues paced the early slump in U.S. equities, as the Dow was only off about 0.6%.

The 10:00 a.m. ET release of Existing Home Sales data was on target with analyst forecasts and had very little immediate impact on the market.

The home sales was the first economic release so far this week, and given a dearth of economic data, the market has been focused on the never-ending run of quarterly earnings releases. From afar, the numbers haven’t really looked that great, but soft returns were expected, and so far the market is higher into the initial earnings push.

The latest batch of big-name earnings releases into today’s action served up a mixed bag, with Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) missing the forecast, while DuPont (NYSE:DD) beat the estimate. Texas Instruments was under selling pressure this morning, last down 4% after the chipmaker said the soft economy and sluggish demand for cell phones would hurt second-quarter results. DuPont’s strong earnings were fueled by agriculture products and overseas demand.

Commodity markets appear to be on a modest roll today, which could provide a boost to commodity-linked stocks if the trend remains in play throughout the session. Crude oil made new highs overnight and remains on a bid, lifted by civil unrest in producing state Nigeria, a refinery strike in Scotland and a Japanese tanker hit by rocket fire off the coast of Yemen. Gold and grains are also expected to hit the ground running in U.S. trading action this morning.

Financial shares in Europe were hit hard overnight, with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays down in the 4% range as those banks navigate through . . .

Shares of BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:BMTI) are gaining ground ahead of the bell after the developer of bio-active drug-device combination products said this morning that the Food & Drug Administration confirmed the status of its study for the treatment of foot and ankle fusions and said it should continue as originally designed.

Shares advanced 13%, or $1.35, to $11.34 ahead of the bell. For detailed price information and recent news stories about BioMimetic Therapeutics, click BMTI.  

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $50 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:VLTR), up 19% on news that its first-quarter revenues and earnings beat analysts’ estimates.
• BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:BMTI), up 13% on news that the FDA confirmed the status of the company’s study for the treatment of foot and ankle fusions.
• DexCom, Inc. (Nasdaq:DXCM), up 9%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Hansen Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:HNSN), down 3%.
• China Finance Online Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq:JRJC), down 1%.
• Encore Wire Corp. (Nasdaq:WIRE), down 1%. 

Isramco, Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRL), USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU) and Graham Corp. (AMEX:GHM) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:BMTI), Rand Logistics Inc. (Nasdaq:RLOGU) and China Technology Development Group Corp. (Nasdaq:CTDC) are also among the top small-cap percentage gainers.

Here are Thursday's biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Bio-active drug-device combination products provider BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:BMTI) clarified late Thursday night that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing safety review of Regranex does not conclusively suggest that use of the drug could lead to an increased risk of cancer in patients with diabetes. BioMimetic also noted that the FDA is not warning healthcare professionals to discontinue prescribing Regranex. Shares spiked 38.5%, or $2.50, to $9 in pre-market trading.

For detailed price information and recent news stories about BioMimetic Therapeutics, click BMTI.  

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) futures are higher and the small-cap index will likely open in the green.

Personal income rose a more-than-expected 0.5% in February, the U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning. Economists were expecting an increase of 0.3%. The same report also showed that personal spending increased 0.1%, in line with projections.

The bullish pre-market sentiment is in part in reaction to news that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) recommended buying shares of financial services company Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH).

The Russell 2000 ended the day Thursday with a thud, closing out near the lows at 692.39, down 9.73, or 1.39%, for the day. The 10:00 a.m. ET sentiment figures could also stir some reaction in the market.

It would provide a lift for the index to close out the week above 685, to help validate the recent upward draft off the lows. In addition, a close on Monday above 686.05 would provide the first monthly close above opening levels since October, which is an astoundingly long time for any market. For short-term traders, support comes in Friday at 686, 680 and 674. Meanwhile, resistance is pegged at 700, 706 and 714.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed lower as fears of an economic slowdown came to the forefront. The small-cap index lost 9.72 points, or 1.38%, to 692.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) declined 120.40 points, or 0.97%, to 12,302.46.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is down 9.61%, while the Dow has shed 7.26% and the S&P 500 is off 9.71%.

The bears dominated most the session today as investors worried that lackluster economic growth could possibly tip into a recession.

Gross domestic product rose at the previously announced annual pace of 0.6% during the fourth-quarter of 2007, the U.S. Commerce Department announced before the start of trading. That’s in line with economists’ expectations but below the 4.9% growth recorded in the third quarter of 2007.

Many observers, among them Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, forecast that the economy will slow down even more in the first quarter of 2008.

“It’s clear the economy is in a slowdown that resembles past periods that were the leading edge of a recession,” Lockhart told the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Tenn. after the opening. “Following a sluggish fourth quarter, I expect that GDP for the first quarter of this year will show little, if any, growth.”

Shares of BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BMTI) opened in the red but managed to climb into positive territory despite news of a wider fourth-quarter loss. The Franklin, Tenn.-based maker of products for the healing of musculoskeletal injuries and disease reported after the close on Wednesday that its loss for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2007, was $6.9 million or $0.37 per share, compared with a net loss of $5.3 million, or $0.34 per share, for the same period in 2006.

Six analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a net loss of $0.31 per share. At 1:34 p.m. ET, the stock was up $0.59, or 5%, to $13.49.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are down on news of unexpectedly high inflation and the small-cap index will open in the red.

Consumer prices increased 0.8% in November, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists were expecting to see a rise of 0.6% following October’s increase of 0.3%.

That’s the biggest jump in over two years. Pulling inflation higher were energy and transportation costs, which increased 5.7% and 2.9% respectively.

The core consumer price index, which factors out the cost of food and energy, gained 0.3%. The forecast called for an increase of 0.2%.

The rise in inflation makes it less likely that the U.S. Federal Reserve will move to lower its target interest rate. The Fed has said more than once that fighting inflation is its primary task.

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

Biggest percentage gainers:

• BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (BMTI), up 15% on news of a successful trial of a bone graft.
• China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (CSUN), up 11% on news of an agreement to supply solar cells.
• Basin Water, Inc. (BWTR), up 9%.

Biggest percentage losers:

• QC Holdings, Inc. (QCCO), down 11%.
• CDC Corp. (CHINA) down 9% on news it swung to a third-quarter loss.
• DRD Gold Ltd. (DROOY) down 6%.

The news of an impending root canal, cavity filling or crown replacement could be enough to put a damper on anyone’s day—unless you’re Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCBM) or BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BMTI), two companies that are benefiting from increased spending on dental care.

The American Dental Association predicts that dental care spending will grow to $146.9 billion by 2014 from $84.1 billion in 2005. Demand is rising due to population growth, the aging of baby boomers and increased awareness of the benefits of preventive dentistry in combating disease.

The market for advanced dental technologies includes some 160,000 practicing dentists in the United States and at least 700,000 dentists worldwide. U.S. dentists perform over 200 million hard tissue dental procedures annually, including cavity preparation, inlays, crowns and root canals. In addition, some 1.2 million soft tissue procedures typically involving gum-line alteration or gum grafts are performed annually.

All good news for Lifecore Biomedical, which manufactures biomaterials and medical devices, and operates through its hyaluronan and dental divisions.

The hyaluronan division manufactures products containing hyaluronan, a naturally occurring polysaccharide distributed in the matrix of connective tissue. The Dental division develops and markets surgical and prosthetic devices for the restoration of missing dentition, including dental implants permanently implanted in the jaw for tooth replacement therapy and as long-term support for crowns, bridges and dentures. This division also markets bone regenerative products for repairing bone defects caused by periodontal disease and tooth loss.

Lifecore’s dental products are distributed through a direct sales force in the United States and internationally through distributors.

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI)
Franklin, TN  37067
http://www.biomimetics.com/
52-week low / high: $7.44 / $19.25
Shares Outstanding:  18.31 million
Market Capitalization:  $244.23 million

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. is in the process of commercializing breakthrough therapies to aid in musculoskeletal injury and disease healing. The company has developed a unique drug-delivery system, which combines recombinant proteins and a tissue-scaffold to stimulate healing and tissue regeneration. BioMimetic’s first product, Growth-factor Enhanced Matrix (GEM 21S) received U.S. FDA approval in 2005 for the treatment of bone loss and gum recession as a result of periodontal disease.

In February, BioMimetic received orphan drug designation from the FDA for rhPDGF-BB for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the jaw. In June the company received approval to begin evaluation of GEM OS1 Bone Graft in foot and ankle fusions.

Future products under development include a synthetic bone regeneration system, GEM 21S (for which the company received marketing approval in Canada in September 2006) and GEM OS2 Injectable Bone Graft, for radius bone fractures (currently being evaluated in Sweden).

BioMimetic currently has manufacturing supply agreements with Novartis, Orthovita, Inc. and Kensey Nash for key bio-active and synthetic scaffolding component products.

While sales have declined year to year, most analysts see 2007 as a major turnaround year for BioMimetic, with sales expected to reach $7.5 million in 2007, up from $4.1 million in 2006 and growing to $12.3 million in 2008. Annual growth rate is seen around 30%. We believe the company has remarkably bright prospects.

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI)
Franklin, TN  37067
http://www.biomimetics.com/
52-week low / high: $7.44 / $19.25
Shares Outstanding:  18.31 million
Market Capitalization:  $244.23 million

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. is in the process of commercializing breakthrough therapies to aid in musculoskeletal injury and disease healing. The company has developed a unique drug-delivery system, which combines recombinant proteins and a tissue-scaffold to stimulate healing and tissue regeneration. BioMimetic’s first product, Growth-factor Enhanced Matrix (GEM 21S) received U.S. FDA approval in 2005 for the treatment of bone loss and gum recession as a result of periodontal disease.

In February, BioMimetic received orphan drug designation from the FDA for rhPDGF-BB for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the jaw. In June the company received approval to begin evaluation of GEM OS1 Bone Graft in foot and ankle fusions.

Future products under development include a synthetic bone regeneration system, GEM 21S (for which the company received marketing approval in Canada in September 2006) and GEM OS2 Injectable Bone Graft, for radius bone fractures (currently being evaluated in Sweden).

BioMimetic currently has manufacturing supply agreements with Novartis, Orthovita, Inc. and Kensey Nash for key bio-active and synthetic scaffolding component products.

While sales have declined year to year, most analysts see 2007 as a major turnaround year for BioMimetic, with sales expected to reach $7.5 million in 2007, up from $4.1 million in 2006 and growing to $12.3 million in 2008. Annual growth rate is seen around 30%. We believe the company has remarkably bright prospects.