Tag - MRX

New Century Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:NCBC), Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (Nasdaq:MRX) and DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Marcus Corp. (Nasdaq:MCS), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), Basic Energy Services Inc. (Nasdaq:BAS), Adams Resources & Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:AE), Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSII) and AK Steel Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:AKS).

Schawk Inc. (Nasdaq:SGK), Heritage Crystal Clean Inc. (Nasdaq:HCCI) and Summit Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SMMF) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Schawk Inc. (Nasdaq:SGK), Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (Nasdaq:MRX) and Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSII) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Michael Baker Corp. (Nasdaq:BKR), Renaissance Learning Inc. (Nasdaq:RLRN), First United Corp Maryland (Nasdaq:FUNC), Norwood Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:NWFL), Gencor Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:GENC) and Sigma Designs Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM).

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (Nasdaq:WSM), Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (Nasdaq:MRX) and Agree Realty Corp. (Nasdaq:ADC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Standard Register Co. (Nasdaq:SR), SuccessFactors Inc. (Nasdaq:SFSF), CPI International Inc. (Nasdaq:CPII), Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (Nasdaq:EYE), Textainer Group Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:TGH) and Forest City Enterprises (Nasdaq:FCE.A).

Small-cap stocks jumped higher on the opening, a welcome sign after the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) suffered the largest one-day loss of the year on Monday. Buying interest was stirred by optimism for a bail-out of beleaguered U.S. automakers, anticipation for another round of global rate cuts and just a plain old oversold bounce after Mondays’s rout. At 9:57 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 was up 5.14, or 1.23%, at 422.21.

Investor eyes will be on our nation’s capital today as auto industry executives gather in Washington with hands held out begging for a rescue package to avert potential failure. In a turnabout from last month’s embarrassment when the executives showed up on their chartered jets asking for taxpayer money, this time around the top dog at General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) said he was willing to work for just $1. CEOs from the Big 3 also were either flying commercial or driving to Capital Hill. The general perception is that after some browbeating, lawmakers will come up with an aid package for automakers in the $25 billion range. Shortly after the open, GM stock was up 6%, while Ford was up 5%.

Today’s meetings in Washington will coincide with monthly figures for vehicle sales, which are expected to be among the worst in a quarter-century. Overnight, news on the auto front was bad around the world, with new vehicle registrations in Germany down 17% for the month of November and down 28% in South Africa. Toyota and Tata (India’s top carmaker) announced plans to slash annual production to avoid building up inventory of unsold vehicles.

Financial shares were in bounce mode this morning after getting absolutely hammered Monday. Investors were hopeful for another round of global rate cuts to stimulate the world out of recession. The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed 100 basis points off their benchmark rate last night, which was much more aggressive than expected. In addition, the Bank of Japan expanded lending, and rate cuts are expected out of the United Kingdom, eurozone and New Zealand soon, and out of Sweden . . .

Small-cap stocks jumped higher on the opening, a welcome sign after the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) suffered the largest one-day loss of the year on Monday. Buying interest was stirred by optimism for a bail-out of beleaguered U.S. automakers, anticipation for another round of global rate cuts and just a plain old oversold bounce after Mondays’s rout. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE:MRX), Wright Express Corp. (NYSE:WXS) and Clinical Data Inc.  (Nasdaq:CLDA).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• New data out: retail sales down 0.4% on a year-over-year basis for the week, down 0.9% in Nov. from last year, while off 1.1% from Oct.  
• On the open, crude oil prices were up about $0.40 a barrel, and energy stocks were up about 2.4%.  
• Commodity markets stabilized this morning, which was a big relief after crude oil collapsed 9% Monday.  
• The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed 100 basis points off their benchmark rate last night, which was much more aggressive than expected.
• Investors were hopeful for another round of global rate cuts to stimulate the world out of recession.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. gapped higher and was up about 17% as the skin treatment firm resolved a patent dispute to license a generic version of it’s acne drug. See (NYSE:MRX).  
• Wright Express Corp. rose 13% as the payment processing firm basically recovered Monday’s big slide. See (NYSE:WXS).
• Clinical Data Inc. rose 11% as the biotech company bounce off Monday’s severe decline amid a dearth of fresh news. See (Nasdaq:CLDA).
• America's Car-Mart Q2 earnings rise; shares climb 6.3% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CRMT).


Small Cap Losers:

• Palm Inc. tumbled 34% as the smart phone maker lowered quarterly projections. See (Nasdaq:PALM).
• Enzon scraps spinoff of biotech division; shares tumble 16% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:ENZN).
• Solarfun Power swings to Q3 loss; shares drop nearly 13% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:SOLF).  
• Skyworks Solutions Inc. gapped lower and slumped 13% after the analog semiconductor firm lowered guidance. See (Nasdaq:SWKS).  

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (Nasdaq:MRX), Navios Maritime Partners LP (Nasdaq:NMM) and Transition Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:TTHI) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Orbotech Ltd. (Nasdaq:ORBK), Mortons Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:MRT), Capella Education Co. (Nasdaq:CPLA), Bank of Granite Corp. (Nasdaq:GRAN), Oneida Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:ONFC) and CNB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CCNE).

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

National Financial Partners Corp. (Nasdaq:NFP), H&E Equipment Services Inc.(Nasdaq:HEES) and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (Nasdaq:PPC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Citi Trends Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRN), Jos A Bank Clothiers Inc. (Nasdaq:JOSB), Tenneco Inc. (Nasdaq:TEN), Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (Nasdaq:MRX), and James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC)

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Medicis (NYSE:MRX) plunged to a new 52-week low this morning after announcing that it will likely need to restate financial statements going back to 2003.
 
The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based specialty pharmaceutical firm said at 9 a.m. ET that it will likely restate statements for the annual, transition and quarterly periods in fiscal years 2003 through 2007 and the first and second quarters of 2008.
 
The restatement, the company said, relates to a modification in the company's technical interpretation of the generally accepted accounting principles relating to sales return reserve calculations.

Medicis said it does not expect the restatement to have an impact on its cash flows or cash and cash equivalents balances for any of the affected periods.

Effective immediately, the company also said is suspending its previously reported financial guidance for the remaining periods of 2008.

By the afternoon, Medicis is at $15.77, down $2.15 from Tuesday’s close, and after having traded as low as $14 earlier in the day. Previously the stock had ranged between $17.72 and $32.18 during the past 52 weeks.

Trading volume was heavy — more than 2.4 million shares had changed hands compared with an average three-month volume of 999,000.

For detailed price information and news stories on Medicis, click MRX.

Small caps opened lower on the session, as a disappointing existing home sales number created a cloud cover over famed investor Warren Buffett’s investment stake in now commercial bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

At 10:22 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 4.87, 0.69%, to 704.32.

The broader market applauded the Oracle of Omaha’s move, as it proved that there is confidence in the system and the decimated financial services sector. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs by way of preferred stock. The deal could yield potential ownership of 10%.

“The stock market has been looking to see when Buffet would do a deal in the financial sector as a major sign that we're at the bottom,” Andy Busch, global foreign exchange strategist for BMO Capital Markets, said in an email. “Stocks have moved up on the news. …”

Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will testify for a second day before the House on their $700 billion bailout plan. Day one of testimony on Tuesday was greeted coldly by the Senate with skepticism on both sides. Lawmakers grilled the administration’s economic officials. SEC Chairman Chris Cox called for regulation of credit default swaps (a security that acts like insurance on a loan or bond), which were responsible for pushing Lehman Brothers over the edge and forcing AIG into regulators’ hands. Democrats were keen on enacting limits on executive compensation and on allowing the government to take equity stakes in firms who take federal aid.

While the battle rages on, few perceive that a bailout solution would collapse all together. 

In economic news, existing home sales for August fell declined 2.2% to . . .