Tag - MSC

The Russell staged a dramatic comeback at Friday’s closing, closing up a stunning 4.66%, and shooting nearly 12% off an intraday trough that marked the lowest point since August 2003. Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• In what will be forever remembered as a historic week for the stock market, small caps shed 15.6% in an unprecedented collapse this week.
• From a charting and index perspective, the late recovery move in stocks today was paced by small caps, which was an encouraging sign.
• If small caps start to show a leadership role in the coming days, it could be a sign that a bottom, or at least stabilization is nearby. 
• AMR Corp, Delta and Continental Airlines were among the most actively traded small caps today amid falling oil prices.
• Crude oil prices tumbled 10% today to fresh one-year lows.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) closed up about 30% on momentum from the decline in energy prices, late day small-cap recovery moves.
• Ardea Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq:RDEA) jumped some 39%, recovering from new move lows set Thursday.
• Material Sciences Corp. (NYSE:MSC) up 25.2% on slight increase in Q2 earnings reported Thursday.
• Willis Lease Finance (Nasdaq:WLFC) up 26% after $63M sale of 10 . . .

Spectranetics Corp. (Nasdaq:SPNC), Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. (Nasdaq:RBPAA) and Hoku Scientific Inc. (Nasdaq:HOKU) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Atlantic Southern Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ASFN), Chemgenex Pharm Depository Receipt (Nasdaq:CXSP), Shiloh Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:SHLO), Marlin Business Services Corp. (Nasdaq:MRLN), Website Pros Inc. (Nasdaq:WWWW) and Material Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq:MSC).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Material Sciences Corp. (NYSE: MSC), provider of material-based products for acoustical and coated applications, today reported third-quarter earnings for fiscal 2008 below the estimate of the sole analyst on Wall Street.

For the three months ended Nov. 30, 2007, the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based firm recorded net income of $0.7 million, or $0.05 per share, below the $0.07 an analyst polled by Thomson was forecasting. This compares with a net loss of $0.2 million, or $0.01 per share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2007.

Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 increased 7.3% to $65.1 million from $60.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. An analyst polled by Thomson was projecting revenues of $58.40 million.

The company’s CEO, Clifford D. Nastas, noted that the firm continues to suffer from ongoing weakness in the North American automotive industry and housing market, and anticipates that softness in these segments will persist at least through the 2008 calendar year.

Shares of Material Sciences (MSC) were halted in pre-market trading.

Material Sciences Corp. (NYSE: MSC) shares are sagging after the provider of material-based solutions for acoustical and coating applications reported second-quarter sales of $56.2 million, below Wall Street projections of $62.4 million and down 16.6% from $67.3 million a year earlier.

The Elk Grove, Ill.-based company recorded a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.16 per share, for the three months ended Aug. 31, below analyst expectations of earning $0.07 per share and compared with net income of $2.7 million, or $0.19 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

"Continued production cuts at the three largest North American automobile manufacturers hurt Material Sciences' second quarter sales, as did continued weakness in the housing market," CEO Clifford D. Nastas said in a statement. “We expect this slowdown in the U.S. auto market will continue at least through the balance of this fiscal year.”

Nastas will discuss the results during a morning investor conference call.

The firm’s selling, general and administrative expenses remained stable on a year-over-year basis—about $8.6 million during this year’s second quarter and fiscal 2006—but gross profit plummeted to $4.9 million, from $13.3 million during the same period of 2006.

In morning trading, MSC shares are down 5.02%, or $0.54, at $10.21. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $8.25 to $13.59.

Shares of Material Sciences Corp. (NYSE: MSC) are trading lower following news the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based maker of coated steel products reported a first-quarter loss.

The net loss for the three months ended May 31 was $0.3 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with net income of $2.3 million, or $0.15 per share, a year earlier, the company said before the opening bell. Wall Street was expecting a profit of $0.04 per share.

Net sales also disappointed, dropping to $60.7 million, a decline of 19.9%, from $75.8 million a year earlier. The street was looking for revenues of $66.2 million.