Tag - NOBL

Phoenix Co Inc. (Nasdaq:PNX), Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. (Nasdaq:GLRE) and Delta Apparel Inc. (Nasdaq:DLA) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Coleman Cable Inc. (Nasdaq:CCIX), Noble International Ltd. (Nasdaq:NOBL), Collectors Universe Inc. (Nasdaq:CLCT), Lexington REIT (Nasdaq:LXP), Telvent GIT SA (Nasdaq:TLVT) and Crosstex Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:XTXI).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Wednesday, finding comfort in soft energy and firm dollar trends, even as large-cap stocks fretted about global growth worries and a mixed picture on the economic front. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 3.40, or 0.46%, at 741.91.

Small caps outperformed large-cap index products and the straight dollar spread of the S&P 500 against the Russell 2000 tumbled to fresh move lows and is at the lowest point in well more than a year. For the day, the S&P 500 was down 0.20% and is now down 13.1% on the year. Meanwhile, the Dow was up 0.14% today and is off 13% for the year. The biggest losses today were suffered in the technology arena, with the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 sinking 0.9%.

The terrain right now seems particularly difficult for investors to navigate. Just because crude oil prices sink, it doesn’t necessarily mean the overall stock market will rally. And just because the dollar is strong, it doesn’t necessarily mean money is shifting into U.S. assets. There are growing concerns that the slide in energy prices is more a reflection of a slowing global economic environment, which could pinch overseas demand for U.S. goods — and U.S. exports were about the only bright spot in the recent economic slowdown. Along those same lines, American technology companies are cautioning that global customers may cut back on spending, which has been a chilly issue tech stocks.

In today’s action, Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) was the poster child for the tech spending worries, with INTC stock sinking 4.5%. Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq:RIMM), also posted declines greater than 3% and Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) slumped to fresh move lows and are at the lowest point in more than a year amid talk that worldwide cell phone users just aren’t that eager to pay up for the latest and greatest technology gizmos.

The sloppy price action in large caps today also provided some confirmation that Tuesday’s decline in stocks amid a collapse in crude oil prices was not a fluke. Crude oil prices remained on the defensive today, slipping $0.36 a barrel to $109.35, but did manage to bounce about $2 dollars off the intraday low. Outside . . .

Small-cap stocks waffled back and forth near steady levels into midday, with support from lower crude oil prices and a firm U.S. dollar countered by slumping technology stocks and worries about a global economic slowdown. At 12:48 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 1.20, or 0.16% at 739.70.

The Russell was holding up much better than other large-cap indices. The tech-laden Nasdaq 100 was down 1.3%, with key stocks like Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) both generating sizable declines. INTC was off about 4% and IBM down about 2.5%.

In the lunchtime frame, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said that the impact of rate cuts has been minimized by the credit crunch and he cautioned that the economy could slow down in the second half of 2008 and that the unemployment rate could surge beyond 6%. His comments seemed to have a much more dovish tone than recent Fed speak from Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed and Jeffrey Lacker from the Richmond Fed.

Commodity names and tech stocks dominated the losing trends so far today, with coal, metals and mining, gold, semiconductors and semiconductor equipment among the biggest losing sectors. On the upside, healthcare facilities and airlines were doing well, with the latter boosted by the recent reprieve on the jet fuel front.

There were still some lingering jitters about a large hedge fund shutting down overnight. The fund, Ospraie Management LLC, had some $2.8 billion under management and reportedly has losing large sums of money on various commodity-tied equity investments. There are concerns that other hedge funds could be in a precarious position as well as the market unwinds the short dollar/long commodity trade. In the case of Ospraie, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) held a 20% stake in the hedge fund, but LEH shares were holding up reasonably . . .

Lincoln Bancorp (Nasdaq:LNCB), Western Refining Inc. (Nasdaq:WNR) and Medivation Inc. (Nasdaq:MDVN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Newport Corp. (Nasdaq:NEWP), Timberland Co. (Nasdaq:TBL), Noble International Ltd. (Nasdaq:NOBL), Banner Corp. (Nasdaq:BANR), Chemgenex Pharm (Nasdaq:CXSP) and United Natural Foods Inc. (Nasdaq:UNFI).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Protherics (Nasdaq:PTIL), Heelys Inc. (Nasdaq:HLYS) and Cheviot Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CHEV) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.   

Also included among the results: Deltek Inc. (Nasdaq:PROJ), Beazer Homes USA Inc. (Nasdaq:BZH), Noble International (Nasdaq:NOBL), Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:OREX), Pzena Investment Management Inc. (Nasdaq:PZN) and Ceco Environmental Corp. (Nasdaq:CECE). 

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:    

Anadigics Inc. (Nasdaq:ANAD), Advanced Battery Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:ABAT) and Knot Inc (Nasdaq:KNOT) are among the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.       

Also included among the results: Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:PGNX), Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:ARNA), Noble International (Nasdaq:NOBL), PowerSecure International Inc (Nasdaq:POWR), Magma Design Automation Inc (Nasdaq:LAVA) and Cytori Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:CYTX).    

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:     

Small-cap stocks reversed course Thursday, pulling back into the recent range as the credit crisis moved to the forefront, punishing financial stocks. The selling mood was also stirred by soft economic data and worries about consumer spending after sluggish sales at benchmark retailer Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT). In the end, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) shed 12.48, or 1.72%, to 713.42.

Large-cap financial stocks were getting hammered in the afternoon today, extending a gloom that began after Wednesday’s close when insurance giant American International Group (NYSE:AIG) reported hefty quarterly losses amid write-downs of bad mortgage loans. The whole mess with AIG rekindled fears about the credit crunch and investors dumped shares in a wide swath of financial names. AIG tumbled some 18% on the day. The nation’s top bank, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) stumbled amid news that the firm would buy back some $7 billion in auction-rate securities and pay a $100 million civil fine to settle a suit that it misled investors on the risk of the investments. Citigroup lost about 6% on the day. Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE:MER) lost 8%, Lehman Bros. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LEH) tumbled 13%, JP Morgan Chase Co. (NYSE:JPM) was down 4% and mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae (NSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) were down 14% and 9%, respectively. The Financial Select SPDR was down 5%--and it’s not as if those declines are limited to the large-cap banks and brokerage houses. There are dozens of small- and mid-cap banks out there, and they have even more trouble accessing credit during the crunch than the big firms.

As you might expect...

After swooning out of the gate, the Russell 2000 has pulled off its lows of the session, but still remains besieged in the red mid-session. A spike in unemployment claims, disconcerting July retail sales, an uptick in oil prices and gloomy results from insurance juggernaut American Insurance Group (NYSE:AIG) pushed small caps lower, while a better-than-expected pending home sales report served to taper losses.

At 12:41 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) had slipped 4.67, or 0.64% to 721.23, while the Dow has given back 94.93, or 0.81%, to 11,561.14.

The Labor Department reported this morning that the weekly claims report spiked to 455,000, marking the largest weekly figure since March 2002. Adding insult to injury, the number was substantially above the forecast of 420,000 and adds to the sobering picture of a weaker labor market. The continuing claims number rose to a fresh cycle high at 3.311 million, the highest level since December 2003.

“Continuing claims, which are inversely related to job creation, jumped this week to their highest level since December 2003,” Steven Wood, chief economist with Insight Economics, said in an email. “This is an indication that hiring has weakened.”

In other economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported this morning that pending home sales rose 5.3% to 89 from May’s reduced figure of 84.5. Economists were expecting the index to slide to 84.3. The rosier-than-anticipated report helped to pull stocks off their lows of the session. However, despite a gain during June, the number is still 12% lower than last year.

Shares of Noble International Ltd. (Nasdaq:NOBL) are up 83% after the company announced after-hours Wednesday that its second quarter net earnings and revenue were up significantly over the prior year period. For the quarter ended June 30, the Troy, Mich.-based automotive parts supplier posted earnings of $9 million, or $0.35 per share, on revenue of $314.9 million. This compared with earnings of $1.8 million, or $0.13 per share, on revenue of $182.7 million in the prior year quarter. Analysts were expecting a loss of $0.5 per share.

Noble International (Nasdaq:NOBL), Susser Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq:SUSS) and TXCO Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:TXCO) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.         

Also included among the results: McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq:MSSR), Medifast Inc. (Nasdaq:MED), ENGlobal Corp. (Nasdaq:ENG), Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:RJET), Mediacom Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:MCCC) and 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (Nasdaq:FLWS). 

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:     

Noble International, Ltd. (Nasdaq:NOBL) late Thursday night reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and lowered its 2008 expectations citing lighter vehicle production, higher-than-anticipated costs associated with the firm’s Arcelor Business acquisition and increased pricing pressure in Europe. Shares skidded 8.7%, or $0.64, to $6.72 in pre-market trading.

For detailed price information and recent news stories about Noble International, click NOBL.  

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) futures are higher and the small-cap index will likely open in the green.

Personal income rose a more-than-expected 0.5% in February, the U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning. Economists were expecting an increase of 0.3%. The same report also showed that personal spending increased 0.1%, in line with projections.

The bullish pre-market sentiment is in part in reaction to news that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) recommended buying shares of financial services company Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH).

The Russell 2000 ended the day Thursday with a thud, closing out near the lows at 692.39, down 9.73, or 1.39%, for the day. The 10:00 a.m. ET sentiment figures could also stir some reaction in the market.

It would provide a lift for the index to close out the week above 685, to help validate the recent upward draft off the lows. In addition, a close on Monday above 686.05 would provide the first monthly close above opening levels since October, which is an astoundingly long time for any market. For short-term traders, support comes in Friday at 686, 680 and 674. Meanwhile, resistance is pegged at 700, 706 and 714.