Tag - HSTX

Northwest Pipe Co (Nasdaq:NWPX), United Security Bancshares (Nasdaq:USBI) and Harris Stratex Networks Inc (Nasdaq:HSTX) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Badger Meter Inc (Nasdaq:BMI), Trina Solar Ltd (Nasdaq:TSL), Lacrosse Footwear Inc (Nasdaq:BOOT), American River Bankshares (Nasdaq:AMRB), Ultralife Corp (Nasdaq:ULBI) and JMP Group Inc (Nasdaq:JMP).

Small-cap stocks tried in vain to dodge some serious data land-mines Thursday as investors anxiously await the big data bomb released with Friday morning’s employment report. Amid choppy seas, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) eventually finished down 4.34, or 0.60%, at 714.52, unable to shrug off dreadful unemployment claims, soft GDP numbers and a cautious tone from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Day traders looking for a definitive direction in small caps today may have gotten a little seasick as the market see-sawed up and down, carried on the whims of economic data crunchers. The opening salvo (and the most dynamic move of the day) was a bearish tilt as weekly unemployment claims went through the roof. Although the survey period for Friday’s monthly jobs report was over before this week’s claims survey, it’s not exactly reassuring to see unemployment numbers spike way beyond expectations.

Just how bad was the claims report? The number came in at 448,000, swamping the forecast for a dip to 395,000 following last week’s already uncomfortably big 404,000 figure. To give it a little better perspective: it was the largest one-week claims figure for any week, of any month, in more than five years. If nothing else, the weekly claims report certainly shot more holes in Wednesday’s ADP employment report, which forecast job growth, nevermind recent reports of layoffs in financial and . . .

Harris Stratex Networks Inc (Nasdaq:HSTX), Deluxe Corp (Nasdaq:DLX) and CryptoLogic Ltd (Nasdaq:CRYP) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: AuthenTec Inc (Nasdaq:AUTH), Shutterfly Inc (Nasdaq:SFLY), Stratasys Inc (Nasdaq:SSYS), Rubicon Technology Inc (Nasdaq:RBCN), Online Resources Corp (Nasdaq:ORCC) and Ohio Valley Banc Corp (Nasdaq:OVBC).

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

It’s been a rollercoaster ride thus far for small caps, most recently trending deeper into the red along with the S&P 500 and the Dow after a gloomy weekly unemployment claims report and a weaker-than-expected read on GDP dragged equities lower. 

At 12:46 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 3.44, or 0.48%, at 715.42, while the Dow down 0.98%, or 113.01, at 11,470.68.

The weekly claims number, reported this morning, spiked more-than-expected to 448,000 from last week’s 404,000 level. The claims number, which was substantially above the median forecast of a decline to 395,000, was pushed higher by an emergency unemployment program. The number was the single largest weekly claims figure in more than five years. Although this survey was taken after the numbers were collected for Friday’s monthly employment release, it has heightened jitters ahead of the Labor Department’s release tomorrow. 

The second-quarter number for GDP, also out this morning, wasn’t comforting either. The nation’s domestic growth clocked in at 1.9% for the second quarter, below the forecast of 2.3%. Additionally, GDP for the past 3 years was revised downward. Fourth quarter GDP was reduced to minus 0.2%, the first decline in quarterly GDP since 2001.

"The revisions were ugly and will fuel the recession debate," Andy Busch, global foreign exchange strategist for BMO Capital Markets, said in an email. "Today's numbers were a big disappointment and will rev up the doom-gloom crowd to call for the end of the world. July was brutal. Let's hope we can focus on the Olympics -- I'm still expecting/hoping to see a stabilization occur in August without the massive swings July presented."

Although the weak GDP number and claims took the limelight today, there was some hopeful economic news in the abyss. The Chicago Purchasing Managers report came in stronger than expected. PMI was 50.8, above the forecast of 49 and above 50 for the first time since January.

For the first time in awhile, gyrations in crude oil prices were not the focal point. Crude sold off this morning, after spiking over $4 Wednesday, and continues to tread in the red. A barrel of light sweet crude slipped $2.40 to roughly $124 mid-session.

The economic reports managed to smother uplifting merger and acquisitions news. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) made a bid to acquire ImClone Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:IMCL) ...

Harris Stratex Networks Inc (Nasdaq:HSTX), Innospec Inc (Nasdaq:IOSP) and Bare Escentuals Inc (Nasdaq:BARE) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Stoneridge Inc (Nasdaq:SRI), CDI Corp (Nasdaq:CDI), Deluxe Corp (Nasdaq:DLX), Newport Corp (Nasdaq:NEWP), Arch Chemicals Inc (Nasdaq:ARJ) and RehabCare Group, Inc (Nasdaq:RquotesHB).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Wireless networking solutions maker Harris Stratex Networks Inc. (Nasdaq:HSTX) is off 27% today after providing a business update ahead of the opening that said fourth-quarter results will be hurt by higher costs and accounting discrepancies. The Morrisville, N.C.-based company said it will have to restate its financial results for fiscal years 2005 throught 2007. The company expects the total amount of the restated charges to be in a range of $18 million to $25 million. Expenses in the fourth quarter ended June 27 increased by about $13 million to $14 million. As a result, fourth quarter earnings per share will not meet previous estimates of $0.82, the company said.

Shares are at $8.20 at 10:59 a.m. ET, down $3.04 from Wednesday’s close. The shares have ranged from today’s low – achieved shortly after the opening – of $8.17 and a high of $20.90.

Small-cap stocks mounted a valiant comeback push after sinking 1% shortly after the opening, as tech stocks pushed higher, Chicago PMI beat the forecast and merger deals helped offset gloom tied to terrible weekly unemployment claims. At 10:00 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 3.25, or 0.45%, at 715.62. The tech-laden Nasdaq 100 was up 0.3%.

The weekly claims number came in at 448,000, far beyond the median forecast of 395,000, and a big jump from last week’s 404,000 number. How bad was this number? It was the single largest weekly claims figure in more than five years. Even though this survey was taken after the numbers were collected for Friday’s monthly employment release, it certainly won’t raise investor confidence about the labor market ahead of that release. It also will call into question some of the rise powered by Wednesday’s ADP employment report. The claims numbers were boosted by an emergency unemployment program, but even allowing for some data quirks, it’s a sobering report that does not paint a rosy picture of the labor market right now.

Most people came in to today’s session expecting the GDP report to claim top billing on the data slate, but economic growth was clearly upstaged by the weekly unemployment report. As for GDP, it was also a disappointment, as the headline figure came in at 1.9%, below the forecast of 2.0%. In addition, fourth quarter GDP was revised downward to minus 0.2%, the first decline in quarterly GDP since 2001.

Before the numbers came out, the stock market was higher in overnight trading, but the claims report sparked an abrupt 11-handle slide in S&P 500 futures, and triggered a big slide in the U.S. dollar and in Treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was down more than 2% into the stock market open, which suggested money flow away from equities toward safe-haven products. The dollar was down more than 100 basis points against the euro, slipping 0.7% after the . . .

The Russell 2000 (IWM) jumped earlier and higher than the other major U.S. indices as upbeat financial news sparked a rally. The small-cap index soared 17.81 points, or 2.56%, to 713.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 207.53 points, or 1.67%, to 12,650.36.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 6.88%, while the Dow has let go 4.63% and the S&P 500 has retreated 6.12%.

Wall Street made a remarkable turn around today and posted strong gains following news midway through the session on news that bond issuer MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBIA) will retain its top rating despite posting a record quarterly loss.

News reports quote MBIA’s CEO Gary Dunton as saying he is confident his company will maintain its AAA rating as it takes measures to raise capital.

That calmed investors and allowed the bulls to take center stage.

According to other news reports this afternoon, major rating agencies will hold off on downgrading the Armonk, N.Y.-based company, which primarily guarantees municipal bonds.

A downgrade will make it difficult for MBIA to find clients and will lower the value of many of the bonds that it insures. In turn, that will lead to a wave of write-offs at banks and other financial institutions and make it more difficult for the issuers of municipal bonds to raise capital.

One thing about small-cap investors – there are always a few who like to take a high-stakes bet. On Monday, July 23, some heavy gamblers placed 8.4 million chips on the stock of tiny wireless data transmission company Gigabeam Corp. (Nasdaq: GGBM) – the number of shares of GGBM that changed hands that day. Gigabeam has only 6.55 million shares outstanding and its market cap is now about $33 million.

After sleeping through most of 2007 at under $3.00, with daily volume rarely topping 30,000 shares, GGBM suddenly soared like a doped cyclist powering up a mountain in the Tour de France. From a $2.80 close on the previous Friday, it jumped to $4.85 on Monday, peaked mid-day Wednesday at $7.06 (a 152% increase from Friday’s close,) and has since coasted back to close at $5.02 on July 31. Its all-time high was $13.80 in April 2006.

The shot in the arm that woke this comatose stock was a press release issued after the market closed on July 20. Gigabeam announced that it had received an order for two dozen of its high-speed wireless data transmission systems from One Velocity Inc., a wireless telecom provider based in, appropriately enough, Las Vegas. Gigabeam CEO Louis Slaughter expanded on the news on July 25 in a conference call covered by SmallCapInvestor.com, assuring investors that this was a “milestone” event.

Gigabeam will not reveal how much the One Velocity order is worth, but on May 17 of this year, it did announce two “follow-on orders,” one from the Department of Defense and one from “a University in New York City,” that totaled “approximately $350,000.”

The question is whether this medicine is strong enough to save a long-ailing Gigabeam. Since its founding in January 2004 it has never made a profit from its systems. For the quarter ended March 31, 2007, it reported a net loss of $3.1 million on revenues of just $284,142 – one-sixth its revenues of $1.7 million for the same quarter last year (when it reported a net loss of $4.8 million).

The following were the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The following are the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Shares of Harris Stratex Networks (Nasdaq: HSTX) plunged to a new 52-week-low this morning on exceptionally heavy volume after being downgraded to “Neutral” from “Buy” by Merriman Curhan Ford.

Late Tuesday, the Morrisville, N.C.-based Harris Stratex reported non-GAAP pro forma net income of $3.7 million, or $0.06 per basic share, on revenue of $139 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 ended March 30.

Six analysts polled by Thomson First Call had estimated earnings per share of $0.21.

By 11:12 am ET, Harris Stratex’s stock had dropped by $4.34, or 21.9%, to $15.50. About 2 million shares had changed hands, compared with an average three-month daily volume of 125,047.

Previously, the stock had traded between $17.05 (on January 29) and $22.40 (on January 31) in the past year.

These are the biggest percentage losers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The following are the most actively traded companies in pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million: