Tag - MTRX

Encore Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTX), Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq:MTRX) and Insteel Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:IIIN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: 3D Systems Corp. (Nasdaq:TDSC), NASB Financial Inc. (Nasdaq:NASB), Ricks Cabaret International Inc. (Nasdaq:RICK), Santander Bancorp (Nasdaq:SBP), Alama Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ALG) and NACCO Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:NC).

Dendreon Corp (Nasdaq:DNDN), DryShips Inc (Nasdaq:DRYS) and OmniVision Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:OVTI) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Clean Energy Fuels Corp (Nasdaq:CLNE), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY), Cepheid (Nasdaq:CPHD), Matrix Service Co (Nasdaq:MTRX), Sun Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:SNBC) and STEC Inc (Nasdaq:STEC).

Matrix Service Co (Nasdaq:MTRX), Lacrosse Footwear Inc (Nasdaq:BOOT) and Enterprise Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:EBTC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Evercore Partners Inc (Nasdaq:EVR), American River Bankshares (Nasdaq:AMRB), Seanergy Maritime Corp (Nasdaq:SHIP), Ocean Power Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:OPTT), Maxygen Inc (Nasdaq:MAXY) and Pharmaxis Depository Receipt (Nasdaq:PXSL).

Small-cap stocks went into freefall mode Thursday, weighed down by fears that the U.S. economy is careening toward recession following a fresh batch of awful economic indicators today and worries in front of the employment report Friday. In addition, jitters ahead of an expected House vote on a revamped version of the $700 billion bailout of financial institutions overshadowed any upbeat response to the Senate’s overwhelming approval of the rescue plan overnight.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) shed 33.92, or 5.05%, to 637.67, the lowest daily close in nearly three years. Today’s slide marked the second-largest one day decline of the year, and just the fifth time the market has suffered a session loss greater than 4%. All five of those instances have taken place in just the last two weeks of trading. After flirting with a yearly gain just two weeks ago, small-cap stocks are now down 16.7% for 2008; meanwhile, the Dow is off 20.9%, the S&P 500 off 24.1%.

The market was already in a shaky position this morning when weekly unemployment claims soared to the highest level since September 2001, an ominous sign ahead of Friday morning’s big monthly employment report. Breaking down the details of the claims report failed to serve up any silver linings either, as the four-week moving average for claims was the highest in seven years and continuing claims were at a five-year peak.

The claims data was a harsh blow just a day after manufacturing data from the ISM Manufacturing Survey was at recession levels and vehicle sales stalled to stunningly weak 16-year lows. Just to underscore the manufacturing malaise in play right now, today’s factory orders report tumbled to minus 4.0%, well below the forecast of minus 2%.

The combination of sinking equity prices, slumping economic conditions and a sudden collapse in commodity prices had market participants talking about deflation — an ironic surprise given fears of soaring inflation were all the rage just a few weeks ago. Crude oil prices dropped $4.56 a barrel Thursday to $93.97, while gold, . . .

Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq:MTRX), Gevity HR Inc. (Nasdaq:GVHR) and PHH Corp. (Nasdaq:PHH) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Elbit Imaging Ltd (Nasdaq:EMITF),Celadon Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CLDN),Titan Machinery Inc. (Nasdaq:TITN),Och Ziff Capital Management Group (Nasdaq:OZM), Parker Drilling Co. (Nasdaq:PKD) and CVR Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:CVI).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks remained under heavy selling pressure into mid-session, as yet another soft economic data report kept a dark mood in tow for investors. At 12:55 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 20.37, or 3.03%, at 651.22, hitting the lowest point on intraday charts since mid-July.

The market was already in a foul mood this morning following news that unemployment claims soared to a seven-year high – which is not encouraging on the eve of the big monthly jobs release. Then, just to rub a little salt in that wound, factory orders came in well below the forecast at minus 4%, compared with expectations for a slide of 2%. Wednesday’s dreadful ISM Manufacturing Survey already suggested that manufacturing was in recession territory, and today’s factory orders report certainly didn’t do anything to squash those fears.

Although most prognosticators are predicting the House will approve the revamped version of the $700 billion “Paulson Plan” bailout of the financial market credit mess, there is still some uncertainty lingering in the air. After all, everyone expected the House to OK the previous plan before they shot it down last week. History repeatedly shows us that the stock market tends to trade aggressively in only one direction amid uncertainty – and that is south.

The push for a safe-haven has been evident so far today, with money moving into Treasury products. The yield on benchmark 10-year notes is down about 1.7% (yields move inverse to price) which reflects strong demand for Treasury products. The dollar is on a strong upward thrust today, lifted primarily by a sinking euro after the ECB kept rates steady at its policy meeting today and the ECB chief cautioned that . . .

Sizeable insider buying by a smart money hedge fund and a beaten-down stock price make Patrick Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:PATK) a small-cap play worth putting on the radar.

Billionaire investor Jeffrey Gendell has made his fortune patiently making big bets in sectors when they are out of favor. As part of this strategy, his Tontine Capital hedge fund selectively invests in the private placements of small-cap companies. Tontine-led private placement homeruns in recent years have included Broadwind Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:BWEN), MISCOR Group Ltd. (OTCBB:MIGL), Exide Technologies (Nasdaq:XIDE) and Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq:MTRX). Given this record, Tontine’s recent increased bet on Patrick Industries, a manufacturer of component products and a distributor of building products serving the recreational vehicle (RV), manufactured housing and industrial markets, caught my eye.

Near the end of June, Patrick completed a previously announced Tontine-led rights offering and standby purchase agreement at a price of $7 a share. In total, the rights offering and standby purchase agreement raised gross proceeds of nearly $13 million. Since the start of 2008, Tontine has now pumped nearly $20 million in cash into Patrick, boosting its stake in the $67 million market capitalization company to 57%. This continued vote of confidence by Tontine in Patrick comes in the face of the company’s stock having been walloped over the past year. At Monday’s closing price of $7.30, Patrick shares have tumbled over 50% from the $17 they fetched last July.

In May 2007, Elkhart, Ind.-based Patrick acquired rival Adorn, a manufacturer and supplier of interior components to the RV and manufactured housing industries, for nearly $79 million in cash. This acquisition virtually doubled Patrick’s manufacturing sales volume and significantly increased its market share. Since closing the Adorn deal, Patrick has focused on consolidating overlapping facilities to boost capacity utilization and improve operating efficiencies. This integration activity has come at a dicey time for Patrick with the housing industry in a downturn and RV sales suffering . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) managed a small rise on news of mixed economic reports. The small-cap index climbed 1.30 points, or 0.18%, to 713.57, its fourth consecutive rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 20.20 points, or 0.16%, to 12,626.03.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has shed 6.85%, while the Dow is down 4.82% and the S&P 500 has retreated 6.75%.

Small-cap stocks spent the morning in negative territory on news before the opening that jobless claims for the week ended March 29 unexpectedly increased 38,000 to 407,000, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That’s the highest level in more than two years and a sign that economic growth has stalled.

The small-cap index recovered and almost touched the flat line at about 10 a.m. ET on news that the U.S. service sector contracted less than expected in March.

But stocks quickly lost their footing again, falling to a session low of nearly 706 at 11 a.m. ET, before beginning a slow climb upward. The bullish sentiment, which . . .

Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq:MTRX) CEO Mike Bradley said he anticipates fiscal 2009 to be a “strong turnaround year” for the Tulsa, Okla.-based company, which provides construction and maintenance services to the energy industry. Bradley made the comments during a midday conference call with investors and analysts.

“We are starting to see key clients commit to substantial turnaround work,” Bradley said. “We expect to see a strong finish to our fiscal year. We are focused on carrying through on our existing contracts and strengthening our underlying business.”

Bradley said the firm is pleased with its quarterly performance and with its future opportunities.

In a statement released before Thursday’s opening, Matrix said it projects fiscal 2008 revenue between $720 million and $740 million. Analysts expect $748 million. The firm’s revenue in fiscal 2007 totaled $639.8 million.

Before the opening, Matrix posted third-quarter net income of $6 million, or $0.22 per share, down 3% from $6.2 million, or $0.24 per share, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts, on average, anticipated earnings of $0.28 per share.

The quarterly results included a pre-tax charge of $0.06 per share related to construction project costs in the Gulf Coast. In response to an . . .

Industrial services company Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq: MTRX) reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter of 2008 above Wall Street’s expectations.

For the three months ended Aug. 31, the Tulsa, Okla.-based company reported net income of $6.3 million, or $0.23 per fully diluted share, compared with net income of $3 million, or $0.12 per fully diluted share for the first quarter of 2007. The consensus of three analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for earnings of $0.19 per share.

Total revenues were $161.3 million, compared with $126.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. One analyst polled by Thomson Financial was expecting revenues of $151.07 million.

Shares of Matrix Service (MTRX) rose $0.31, or 1.37%, to $22.97 in pre-market trading. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged between $12.99 and $29.38.

The shadow of hurricanes Katrina and Rita hangs heavy over the Gulf Coast region nearly two years after the one-two punch devastated the area. It also has continued to impact industrial construction companies such as Matrix Service Co. (Nasdaq: MTRX), which saw its fiscal 2007 profits take a hit from lingering problems on a major Louisiana tank project.
 
The Tulsa, Okla., company reported Tuesday its financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended May 31, and outside of a one-time charge, results from a deep 18-month restructuring were clearly visible.
 
For the quarter, revenue climbed 28% to $177.9 million, but net income dropped to $1.9 million, or $0.08 per share, compared with $3.3 million, or $0.16 per share in the year-ago period. The company took a charge of $10.9 million, or $0.24 per share, for continued cost overruns on a liquefied natural gas construction project in the Gulf Coast region. Without the charge, the company would have handily beaten the consensus earnings estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, which called for $0.26 EPS.

Despite the earnings miss on the one-time charge, analysts didn't take company executives to task over the lingering problems associated with the big tank project during a Tuesday morning conference call. Nor have they rushed to recommend that their clients dispose of Matrix shares. Outside of the problems on the one project, the company has quickly implemented a restructuring that has strengthened its operations.
 
Matrix Service, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, received a contract in 2005 from Bechtel Corp. for the engineering, fabrication and construction of three LNG tanks for Cheniere Energy at its Sabine Pass facility in Cameron Parish, La. Now more than two-thirds completed, the LNG terminal will be the largest in the world when operations begin in mid-2008. The $1.5 billion tank project will have the capacity of sending out 4 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas per day.  

LSI Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: LYTS), which provides visual image solutions, projects fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $0.27 per share and $0.29 per share, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company said this morning. That’s above Wall Street’s projected income of $0.22 per share. The stock is up $1.23, or 8%, to $16.55.

Shares of Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVRX) are higher following news after Tuesday’s close that the Germantown, Md.-based company announced positive interim results from its Phase I study of a drug that treats hematologic malignancies. The stock is up $0.59, or 12%, to $5.70.

Shares of webMethods, Inc. (Nasdaq: WEBM) are up sharply on news the software provider is being purchased by German company Software AG. Fairfax, Va.-based webMethods will be bought for $546 million in cash, according to news reports this morning. The stock gained $1.82, or, 25%, to $9.10.