Tag - CMG

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (Nasdaq:BWLD), DuPont Fabros Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:DFT) and First California Financial (Nasdaq:FCAL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $2 billion.

Also included among the results: Maui Land & . . .

Small caps dove again at closing, careening 2.4%. Small-cap stocks were especially punished today relative to the broad market and for the first time in months the Dow officially replaced the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) as a better performing index for 2008. Today’s small-cap gainers are Amerigroup (NYSE:AGP), Vasco Data Security (Nasdaq:VDSI) and Eagle Bancorp (Nasdaq:EGBN).

Other Market Watch highlights today include:

• The Russell is down 36% for the year, while the Dow is off 34% and the S&P 500 is down 38%.
• It should be noted that the market staged an impressive recovery move off the lows late in the session.
• AIG CEO Edward Liddy said that the $112.8 billion bailout by the government “may not be enough” and the firm may need to tap into additional capital.
• Financial stocks, homebuilders, airlines and retailers took a hit on Thursday.
• The ISE Homebuilders Index was down 9% following a study by RealtyTrac this morning saying that foreclosures were up 21% from September 2007 and up a jarring 71% from the third-quarter of last year. 
• Energy stocks were a source of solid support today for equities, underpinned by a $1-a-barrel bounce in crude oil prices ahead of this week’s OPEC meeting in Vienna.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Amerigroup up 15% after health insurer reported a 26% increase in Q3 earnings on strong revenues. See (NYSE:AGP). 
• Vasco Data Security International Inc. gapped higher and rallied some 28% as quarterly revenue and income set records for the firm. See (Nasdaq:VDSI).
• Eagle Bancorp posts 17% increase in net, earnings beat sole analyst . . .

Trailer Bridge Inc. (Nasdaq:TRBR), United Security Bancshares (Nasdaq:USBI) and Eagle Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (Nasdaq:CMG), CorVel Corp. (Nasdaq:CRVL), Seacoast Banking Corp of Florida (Nasdaq:SBCF), Centerstate Banks of Florida Inc. (Nasdaq:CSFL), Intervest Bancshares Corp. (Nasdaq:IBCA) and Encore Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTX).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks edged higher Friday, waffling between support from commodity and industrial stocks and weakness from the financial arena (and curiously enough, restaurant stocks). The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 1.27, or 0.18%, at 720.26. After what seemed like a frantic week of manic price swings, small caps finished out the entire week of trading with a miniscule gain of 0.18%. It was the kind of week that only a day trader with superlative entry and exit points could love.

The Dow closed out today’s action down 0.10% and is off 13.9% for 2008. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was up 0.21% today and is down 14.7% for the year. Small caps so far in 2008 have been a relative refuge in a difficult year for the bulls, with the Russell off only 5.9% this year.

The combination of ongoing worries about the health of the financial system, weak retail sales, a profit warning by Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE:CMG) and cautious analyst comments on Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) sparked worries about profit growth, Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, said in an email interview.

Those concerns were offset, however, by strength in raw material stocks — a sector that was oversold after hedge funds aggressively liquidated holdings in the group recently, Kalivas said. In addition, a weak dollar provided some relief to commodity prices, as the euro currency surged 1.6% against the greenback, sparking a bounce in the Commodity Research Bureau Index, which jumped 1.4% to reverse steep recent declines. “Energy stocks are being helped by the fact that they were oversold. Moreover, there are worries about energy infrastructure right now, especially refining,” Kalivas said.

Crude oil prices rose just $0.31 a barrel today, closing U.S. trading at $101.18. The market was underpinned by concerns over Hurricane Ike, which is rapidly approaching the Texas Gulf Coast. There is some thought that the storm won’t wreak as much havoc on Gulf production as originally feared. However, gains in crude oil . . .

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM), PharmaNet Development Group Inc. (Nasdaq:PDGI) and Maxxam Inc. (Nasdaq:MXM) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (Nasdaq:CMG), Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co Inc. (Nasdaq:GAP), Rackspace Hosting Inc. (Nasdaq:RAX), Diodes Inc. (Nasdaq:DIOD), Beverly National Corp. (Nasdaq:BNV) and Teekay Offshore Partners (Nasdaq:TOO).

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

PharmaNet Development Group Inc (Nasdaq:PDGI), Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp (Nasdaq:AGM) and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (Nasdaq:CMG) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Starrett LS Co (Nasdaq:SCX), Cardtronics Inc (Nasdaq:CATM), Metalico Inc (Nasdaq:MEA), Diodes Inc (Nasdaq:DIOD), Seneca Foods Corp (Nasdaq:SENEB) and Dixie Group Inc (Nasdaq:DXYN).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

TechTarget Inc (Nasdaq:TTGT), Sturm Ruger & Co Inc (Nasdaq:RGR) and Benchmark Electronics Inc (Nasdaq:BHE) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: FirstFed Financial Corp (Nasdaq:FED), iStar Financial (Nasdaq:SFI), Gencor Industries Inc (Nasdaq:GENC), MKS Instruments Inc (Nasdaq:MKSI), Chipotle Mexican Grill (Nasdaq:CMG) and Consolidated Graphics Inc (Nasdaq:CGX).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

The major indices moved into positive territory today following reports of stronger-than-expected U.S. factory orders and solid earnings from some big companies.  In small cap developments, shares of Tri-S Security Corp. (Nasdaq: TRIS) got a boost on news of a contract with the National Park, while Pain Therapeutics Inc.’s (Nasdaq: PTIE) profit shot up.

The Russell 2000 added 12.21 points, or 1.50 percent, to 828.46, its second consecutive day of gains.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average improved on Tuesday’s record close, adding 75.74 points, or 0.58 percent, to 13,211.88.

The Russell 2000 index is posting strong gains in midday trading while reports of strong earnings from major players are lifting all indices.  In specific small cap action, news of record revenues lifted shares of Interactive Intelligence, Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ), and TTM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTMI) is up after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

At 2:16 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 had added 12.89 points, or 1.58 percent, to 829.14.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 104.26 points, or 0.79 percent, to 13,240.40, on track for a second consecutive record close.