Tag - INTV

China Sunergy Co Ltd (Nasdaq:CSUN), Novatel Wireless Inc (Nasdaq:NVTL) and Retalix Ltd (Nasdaq:RTLX) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.   

Also included among the results: Sierra Wireless Inc. (Nasdaq:SWIR), FX Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:FXEN), InterVoice Inc. (Nasdaq:INTV), Taser International Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), BSD Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:BSDM) and Ultra Clean Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:UCTT).        

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:    

Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:OMRI), Micromet Inc (Nasdaq:MITI) and LoJack Corp (Nasdaq:LOJN) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.           

Also included among the results: Yucheng Technologies Ltd (Nasdaq:YTEC), PMFG Inc (Nasdaq:PMFG), Industrial Services of America Inc (Nasdaq:IDSA), i2 Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:ITWO), InterVoice Inc (Nasdaq:INTV) and Saia Inc (Nasdaq:SAIA).      

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:       

Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF) and Crocs Inc (Nasdaq:CROX) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Trico Marine Services Inc (Nasdaq:TRMA), Cavium Networks Inc (Nasdaq:CAVM), Resources Connection Inc (Nasdaq:RECN), GigaMedia Ltd (Nasdaq:GIGM), Brightpoint Inc (Nasdaq:CELL) and InterVoice Inc (Nasdaq:INTV).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Small-cap stocks took flight Wednesday, as investors embraced a spate of relatively positive earnings results and another slide in crude oil as a sign that the market may have weathered the worst of the summer storm. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) jumped 24.39, or 3.68%, to 686.75, notching the fourth-largest one-day advance of the year, powered by gains in financial and tech stocks.

The impressive rally topped off a picture perfect validation of a bullish chart pattern from Tuesday’s recovery bounce off fresh move lows, and further upside action this week would cement the most powerful technical analysis bullish signal in months. In addition, the heightened volatility in recent days fits with similar whipsaw price action at the lows back in January and March.

The market was also able to carve out today’s sizable gains despite another serving of bearish economic headlines. When the market starts to work higher in the face of bearish news, it is considered a classic show of strength — especially if the move is powered by more than just short-covering amid oversold conditions. While we wait for further confirmation of the recovery off Tuesday’s lows, let’s recap what the market overcame on the data front today.

The big report this morning was the Consumer Price Index release. For the second consecutive day, the market was slapped in the face with sobering inflation news. The headline figure for CPI came in at plus 1.1%, which was the largest monthly advance in 26 years. What’s more, the year-over-year increase was at a whopping 5%, which is the largest rise in consumer prices since 1991. In short, the CPI news was every bit as troubling as Tuesday’s Producer Price Index report, where the year-over-year figure was the highest since June 1981. And the inflation data simply adds to the woes from slumping housing, GDP and labor market reports of recent months.

So, if we are truly mired in a slow growth, rising unemployment, escalating inflation world, then why on earth did small caps put together such an impressive rally today? The easy part of that question is that crude oil prices tumbled down to . . .

After a brief pull back after the opening, small caps staged a welcome upward trajectory, breaking this week’s red streak as better-than-expected earnings from Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), the SEC’s initiation to taper the shorting the financial sector has experienced year-to-date and deflating crude served to lift the market.
 
At 1:51 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 14.65, or 2.21%, at 677, while the Dow is up 153.96, or 1.4%, at 11,116.50.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was back on Capitol Hill for day two of his six-month economic progress report. Following a Q&A session in front of the Senate on Tuesday, the Fed Chair told the House a similar version. In testimony in front of the House, Bernanki told regulators that the central bank aims to attain price stability, as inflation in the United States “is too high.”

“Bernanke is stuck between a rock and a hard place right now regarding the economy,” said Bill Greiner, chief investment officer for UMB Asset Management and UMB Bank, and chief economist for Scout Investment Advisors. “The Fed’s priority has been trying to maintain stability in the financial system this year. The collateral damage of that focus now is that they’re going to try to keep the system liquid and not pay strict attention to what’s going on in the inflation world … I think they will be [hawkish] into 2009. They started jawboning about six weeks ago — trying to talk interest rates up, talking about the idea of tightening money supply by increasing interest rates some time in the not so distant future. But then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac happened.”

As the Fed Chair again addressed slower growth coupled with inflationary pressures that confront the economy, his comments proved timely in the face of troubling consumer price index data.

The headline figure for CPI clocked in at plus 1.1%, which was the largest monthly advance in 26 years. What’s more, the year-over-year increase was at a whopping 5%, which is the largest rise in consumer prices since 1991. Today’s CPI figure, which was in line with the forecast, came on the heels of Tuesday’s unsettling PPI report.

“We’re starting to see signs that headline inflation—and what’s been driving headline inflation on the upside (i.e. transportation costs and food costs) are starting to bleed into other areas of the economy,” Greiner said. “We’re starting to see some serious contagion with energy and commodity price inflation into other segments in the economy. Now I don’t think it’s gotten to a point where we’ll see wage-price spiral inflation. [However,]…if we’re starting to see labor costs move up dramatically in relation to productivity gains then I think we have a much more serious problem on our hands than we do today.”

E Com Ventures Inc (Nasdaq:ECMV), InterVoice Inc (Nasdaq:INTV) and First Midwest Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:FMBI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: VIST Financial Corp (Nasdaq:VIST), MHI Hospitality Corp (Nasdaq:MDH), Continental Airlines Inc (Nasdaq:CAL), National Penn Bancshares Inc (Nasdaq:NPBC), Oneida Financial Corp (Nasdaq:ONFC) and Camco Financial Corp (Nasdaq:CAFI).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps: 

InterVoice Inc (Nasdaq:INTV), IPC The Hospitalist Co Inc (Nasdaq:IPCM) and Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), National Coal Corp (Nasdaq:NCOC), Orckit Communications Ltd (Nasdaq:ORCT), Orion Energy Systems Inc (Nasdaq:OESX), CoStar Group Inc (Nasdaq:CSGP) and China Sunergy Co Ltd (Nasdaq:CSUN).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps: 

Automated voice response systems maker Intervoice Inc. (Nasdaq:INTV) is up more than 21% in pre-market today after the company announced it will be bought by Convergys Corp. (NYSE:CVG) for $335 million in cash. Convergys said it would pay $8.25 per share for Dallas-based Intervoice. The deal should raise Convergys earnings beginning in 2009, the companies said. The deal will help Convergys, a customer and human resources management firm, offer a larger number of automated and live agent services, Convergys said.

In today’s pre-market trading, Intervoice is at $8.10, up $1.43 from Tuesday’s close. During the past 52 weeks, shares of the company have ranged from $5.10 to $11.03.

Small-cap stocks weathered several storms today to punch out a higher close as investors were able to look past a sudden reversal higher in crude oil futures, renewed credit crunch worries amid a collapse in mortgage finance stocks and safe-haven money flow into short-dated treasury products. Oversold conditions and bargain hunting spurred by merger activity were enough to pull small-cap stocks into the green. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rose 6.68, or 1.01%, to 670.44.

Heading through midday trading, the market tried to carve out a modest recovery rally in the wake of Wednesday’s big collapse, but a sudden afternoon surge in crude oil prices stomped out bullish sentiment in equities — at least for a while. Crude oil prices charged more than $5 a barrel higher, climbing back above $141 on supply concerns out of Africa and Brazil and amid ongoing tension in the Middle East.

Workers in Brazil threatened to initiate a five-day strike next week, while a ceasefire in Nigeria threatened supply from Africa. Meanwhile, Iran said it has been test-firing more missiles, as a “lesson for enemies;” U.S. officials warned Iran that it would defend its allies. The potential for supply disruption and geopolitical tension was enough to spark the sudden resurgence in crude oil prices, which had tumbled some $10 a barrel off recent record highs.

S&P 500 futures actually made their daily high this morning before the regular market even opened, rising to highs in conjunction with a better-than-expected headline figure on the weekly jobless claims report. The report showed a decline in claims to 346,000 which was much better than the 395,000 forecast and a big improvement on last week’s 404,000 figure. However, there were some “devils in the details” of the data, which hinted that all is not well in the labor market.

“Continuing claims, which lag initial claims by one week, rose 91,000 to 3.202 million. The insured unemployment rate moved up to 2.4% from 2.3% in the prior week. The insured unemployment rate has held at 2.4% in three out of the last five weeks. The noticeable decline in initial claims is a distortion and is not an indicator of a market improvement in labor market conditions,” Asha Bangalore, economist . . .

Excel Technology Inc (Nasdaq:XLTC), Ruby Tuesday Inc (Nasdaq:RT) and First California Financial Group Inc (Nasdaq:FCAL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Cato Corp (Nasdaq:CTR), Fundtech Ltd (Nasdaq:FNDT), Duckwall Alco Stores Inc (Nasdaq:DUCK), Metabolix Inc (Nasdaq:MBLX), InterVoice Inc (Nasdaq:INTV) and Renaissance Learning Inc (Nasdaq:RLRN).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Delta Apparel, Inc. (AMEX:DLA), Broadway Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:BYFC) and Power Medical Interventions, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMII) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Intervoice, Inc. (Nasdaq:INTV), Ixia (Nasdaq:XXIA) and Riviera Holdings Corp. (AMEX:RIV) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Friday's biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Shares of Intervoice Inc. (Nasdaq:INTV) are singing a bearish tune despite news after the close on Thursday that the communications software maker met fourth-quarter profit expectations. The Dallas-based company reported that net income for the three months ended Feb. 29 was $3.1 million, or $0.08 per share, in line with the consensus estimate of five analysts polled by Thomson Financial. During the same period a year earlier, earnings were $0.1 million, or $0.00 per share.

At 12:05 p.m. ET, the stock had shed $1.31, or 16%, to $6.76.

A smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly U.S. GDP is weighing on small cap stocks this morning.  In specific company developments, a decline in quarterly net income lowered shares of Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CVGI), while news of earnings below expectations hurt shares of Intervoice, Inc. (Nasdaq: INTV).

At 11:26 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was down 4.52 points, or 0.54 percent, to 829.28.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 5.93 points, or 0.05 percent, to 13,111.43.

These are the biggest percentage losers at 10:44 ET among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million: