Tag - ENTG

Entegris Inc. (Nasdaq:ENTG), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF) and Hoku Scientific Inc. (Nasdaq:HOKU) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Dendreon Corp. (Nasdaq:DNDN), Otter Tail Corp (Nasdaq:OTTR), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY), Nobel Learning Communities Inc. (Nasdaq:NLCI), Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE) and ADA-ES Inc. (Nasdaq:ADES).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

TomoTherapy Inc (Nasdaq:TOMO), Winn Dixie Stores Inc (Nasdaq:WINN) and eHealth Inc (Nasdaq:EHTH) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Transition Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:TTHI), Radiant Systems Inc (Nasdaq:RADS), Spartan Motors Inc (Nasdaq:SPAR), AuthenTec Inc (Nasdaq:AUTH), Entegris Inc (Nasdaq:ENTG) and EW Scripps Co (Nasdaq:SSP).

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

Entegris Inc. (Nasdaq:ENTG) announced ahead of today’s opening it had inked a deal to obtain privately owned Poco Graphite Inc. for $158 million in cash. Entegris is a Chaska, Minn.-based manufacturer of products for the microelectronics industry while Poco Graphite makes graphite products. The sale is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2008, and Entegris said it should add to its earnings sometime next year.

“Poco, together with the Entegris Specialty Coatings business that we acquired in August 2007, will form the foundation of a materials-based, consumable products business that has a strong presence in semiconductors but is also well-positioned in other growth areas. With 60 percent of its revenue coming from outside the semiconductor industry, Poco provides us with existing sales and growth opportunities in the medical, aerospace and specialty industrial markets,” said Gideon Argov, president and CEO of Entegris, in a statement.

In today’s trading, shares of Entegris are down 3% at $6.43 on below-average volume.

Small-cap stocks edged lower on the open, pulled down by overseas equities declines and an on-going rout in the financial arena. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 12.36, or 1.72%, at 707.45, sinking to the lowest level since April 24.

Into the U.S. stock market opening, prices for “black gold” were off from the overnight highs quite a bit, which helped trim opening losses for equities. In overnight action, crude oil prices climbed near $139 dollars a barrel amid rumors of an attack on Iran. The rumors were denied by Iranian officials and crude oil prices gradually pulled back off the highs. By the opening, crude oil prices actually slipped into the red a tad and were bouncing back and forth around steady levels.

The consumer confidence report came out at 50.4, which was well below the forecast of 56 and down from a revised 58.1 reading last month. The figure was a fresh 16-year low and equity markets and the U.S. dollar extended losses after the soft data on confidence.

The FOMC started a two-day policy meeting today, and some traders may go into hibernation waiting for the official rate news Wednesday afternoon. Fed funds futures have priced out any chance for a rate hike from this meeting, and the market is expecting interest rate policy to move into a hold mode.

The Case-Shiller U.S. home price index came out at minus 1.4% versus minus 2.2% in March. The year-over-year decline was a whopping minus 15.3%; although the numbers are numbingly bad on face value, they were actually a touch better than feared, sparking hope that housing market declines are nearing some kind of . . .

U.S. stocks are trading just above the flat line after news of a planned buyout in the aluminum sector.  Among small caps, shares of Rocky Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: RCKY) are rising on news of a stronger-than-expected first quarter, while disappointing earnings are hurting Entegris, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ENTG) stock price.

At 11:28 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had added 0.64 points, or 0.08 percent, to 833.52.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 33.32 points, or 0.25 percent, to 13,297.94.