Tag - NOVN

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:SWHC), Wind River Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:WIND) and Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Centennial Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:CYCL), Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq:CENX), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Matrixx Initiatives (Nasdaq:MTXX), GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq:SOLR) and Amkor Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:AMKR).

Stocks moved in a seesaw pattern today as they opened high and then slid during the opening hours only to sharply pick up before noon eastern time.

Shares on the Dow closed up 28 points to end the day at 8,359. The Nasdaq finished up 7 points to close at 1,800 and the S&P 500 was up almost 5 points to close at 906.

The Russell 2000, an index of the 2,000 most influential small-cap stocks as determined by Russell Investments, closed the day's trading session at 496, up 3 points.

Small-cap volume leaders today include beleaguered finance firm CIT Group (NYSE:CIT) trading 165 million shares, followed by American International Group (NYSE:AIG), and previous SmallCapInvestor PRO recommendation DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS). (Find out more here)

Price gainers in the small-cap space were lead by Nevsun Resources (AMEX:NSU) up 32% following news that it had received all approvals for debt facilities totaling $235 million to begin mining copper and gold in Eritrea. The Vancouver-based mining firm expects to be able to repay the entire debt within two and one-half years.

Other small-cap gainers include Noven Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:NOVN) up 22% on news that Japan-based Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical plans to increase its U.S. presence in purchasing the company for $16.50 a share; Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE:EXM) up 21%; and CIT Group (NYSE:CIT) up 20%.

*****The day after the home run derby was held during baseball's All-Star festivities, it's probably appropriate that Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) hit it one out of the park.

I'm referring to Goldman's 2nd Quarter earnings blowout. Goldman beat revenue and earnings estimates by better than 30%. Clearly, just like the sluggers in the homerun derby, Goldman had softball pitches thrown right down the center of the plate to hit.

Don't forget that even the bears' best friend, bank analyst Meredith Whitney, turned bullish on Goldman yesterday. It would appear that she could see the writing on the wall - analyst estimates were simply too low.

But why? How could analysts miss Goldman's quarter by such a wide margin? Could it be that they are deliberately low-balling estimates to keep the rally going?

*****Goldman Sachs is up in the early going, but not as much as you might expect. That suggests that the blowout numbers aren't a surprise at all. It was already priced in during Monday's 10% rally.

This type of behavior from analysts puts individual investors in a difficult position. I suspect that buyers above $150 will be showing a loss in the near future. Once again, we are being suckered. And that's business as usual for Wall Street.

*****If you focus on the gain in the Producer Price Index (PPI) from this morning, you're probably thinking that inflation is on its way after prices rose 1.8% in June.

But if you focus on retail sales, you probably see the 0.6% rise in retail sales as a sign of recovery.

So which is it: inflation or recovery? The answer is: both. Inflation is an inevitable by-product of economic expansion.

Now, obviously, the U.S. economy is still playing catch-up. And there's an outside possibility that the economy will grow this quarter. But the most important thing to realize is that both the retail sales number and the PPI number are almost directly related to government actions.

If you exclude auto and gasoline sales, retail sales actually fell for a fourth straight month. Auto sales have been helped by government incentives to trade in a gas guzzling clunker for a new, more efficient vehicle.

The PPI was affected by another government incentive program - the yield on Treasury bills. As the Treasury sells more and more bonds, it has to offer a higher yield to entice buyers. This, along with the sheer amount off Treasuries that are being sold, is driving the value of the U.S. dollar down. That, in turn, is driving oil and gas prices higher. Without food and energy, the PPI only rose 0.5%.

*****Government actions are currently filling in for an actual economy. That's how it is in our new "Managed America." Most expect the heavy hand of government to be temporary, and that Managed America can end sooner than later. We'll see…

I expect the conditions of Managed America - high unemployment, sluggish growth, more regulations, higher taxes, and inflation to last years instead of months. And I've outlined my expectations for investing under these conditions in my new Special Issue of Top Stock Insights. The article is titled Managed America: The New Economic Reality. It will be released tomorrow. You can sign up for Top Stock Insights and get my blueprint for profiting in Managed America when you click here. You'll also be on the list to receive my Predictions 2009 Issue update for the remainder of this year.

Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq:ININ), Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN) and Stein Mart, Inc. (Nasdaq:SMRT) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ardea Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq:RDEA), Books-A-Million Inc. (Nasdaq:BAMM), Clearwater Paper Corp. (Nasdaq:CLW), Hi-Tech Pharmacal Inc. (Nasdaq:HITK), Global Consumer Acquisition Units (Nasdaq:GHC.U) and SXC Health Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq:SXCI).

Hi-Tech Pharmacal Inc. (Nasdaq:HITK), Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN) and Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq:ININ) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: USEC Inc. (Nasdaq:USU), Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (Nasdaq:EXM), American Dairy Inc. (Nasdaq:ADY), Fuqi International Inc. (Nasdaq:FUQI), Xyratex Ltd. (Nasdaq:XRTX) and Blue Nile Inc.. (Nasdaq:NILE).

Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN), Take Two Interactive Software Inc. (Nasdaq:TTWO) and American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq:AGNC) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: CardioNet Inc. (Nasdaq:BEAT), A Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:APWR), ATP Oil & Gas Corporation (Nasdaq:ATPG), RINO International Corp. (Nasdaq:RINO), Spartan Motors Inc. (Nasdaq:SPAR) and Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (Nasdaq:ENER).

Isramco Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRL), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (Nasdaq:DTG) and Rentrak Corp. (Nasdaq:RENT) are among the new 52-week highs in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Anaren Inc. (Nasdaq:ANEN), BioScrip Inc. (Nasdaq:BIOS), American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq:AGNC), Spectrum Control Inc. (Nasdaq:SPEC), ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CKSW) and Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:NOVN).

Stocks took another major tumble Monday after news that small-cap insurer American International Group (NYSE:AIG) clocked the biggest operating loss in its history, adding to investor despair. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were ICT Group (Nasdaq:ICTG), FGX International Holdings (Nasdaq:FGXI) and Noven Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:NOVN).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 21.22, or 5.45%, to 367.80, while the Dow closed down 4.24% to 6,763.29 and the S&P 500 closed down 4.66% to 700.82.
• For the year, the Russell 2000 is now down 26.35%, the Dow is down 22.95 and the S&P 500 is down 22.41%.
• On the data front today, personal spending rose about 0.6% in January and incomes rose 0.4%, while construction spending fell 3.3%, or more than twice as much as analysts predicted.
• Oil prices plummeted more than 10% today, suggesting energy demand is still being hurt by the deteriorating global economy.
• The U.S. government said it would give AIG another $30 billion in loans, on top of the $150 billion it has already provided to the insurer.
• Back to AIG, the insurer clocked $61.7 billion Q4 loss.
• Global stock markets sharply slumped overnight, with the benchmarks in Britain and Japan down about 4% each.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Business service outsourcer ICT Group, Inc. closed up 64% after Aegis Limited made an acquisition proposal to ICT’s board. See (Nasdaq:ICTG).
• FGX International Holdings Limited saw a 16% uptick following a strong sales and earning release late last week. See (Nasdaq:FGXI).
• Noven Pharmaceuticals is up 11% ahead of its scheduled earnings . . .

Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVN) is down 10% today after analysts and Jeffries & Co. downgraded the Miami, Fla.-based specialty pharmaceutical company to “underperform” from “hold.” Analysts cited weaker sales in key products as the reason for the downgrade. The stock is down $1.07 to $9.72 less than an hour before the market close. Trading volume for Noven Pharmaceuticals is more than double the average at about 500,000 shares.

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Thursday, lifted by asset flow into equities, demand for technology shares trickling down from the large-cap issues and a perception that credit conditions are on the improve. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rose 7.31, or 0.99%, to 743.28, the highest daily close since Jan. 3.

“I think investors are underweight equities, and in recent weeks there has been movement out of cash and treasuries into stocks,” Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, told SmallCapInvestor.com.

Kalivas said that a narrowing of credit spreads after the JP Morgan purchase of Bear Stearns and the Fed’s aggressive open door policy on liquidity to the dealer community has sparked buying in equities. In addition, huge debt issuance in the last few weeks has bolstered corporate balance sheets.

“I think money has come to stocks because of robust profits in the non-financial sector and the macro news has not shown further meaningful weakness in the economy. I also don’t think players want to be too short given the injection of stimulus from tax rebate checks and other measures,” Kalivas said. Simply put, stocks are cheap relative to treasuries and cash, which attracts money flow into equities.

More attractive pricing of DRAM products appears to be pulling investors toward tech issues. What’s more, the possibility of great new “toys” from big-cap players like Research in Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM), with the touch screen Blackberry, and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL), with its iPhone upgrades spreads goodwill down to all tech stocks, big and small. Hey, we’re all kids at heart, and there’s nothing like . . .

I-trax Inc. (AMEX: DMX), Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVN) and Aristotle Corp. (Nasdaq: ARTL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAPP), First Cash Financial Services Inc. (Nasdaq: FCFS) and Intervest Bancshares Corp. (Nasdaq: IBCA) are also among the top small-cap percentage gainers.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have declined and the small-cap index will open in negative territory.

Small-cap stocks are poised for a bearish opening on news that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February. The U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning that sales dropped 0.6%, defying economists’ forecasts for a small increase.

The Russell 2000 was unable to extend Tuesday’s big rally, and tumbled 6.50, or 0.97% to 667.31 on Wednesday. After the dramatic rise the previous day, a little bit of a “breather” session was not a surprise, but the market still needs to hold above 660 to help validate Tuesday’s huge rise. Look for chart resistance Thursday at 677.50, 683 and 688. Meanwhile, initial support should be seen at 660, then critical support comes in approaching 650.

The Business Inventories report at 10:00 a.m. will get a little more attention from traders. Still, the next big data risk comes with Friday’s CPI release.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are treading flat this morning as traders digest a slew of economic news and dreary corporate news surrounding the credit crunch.

The Labor Department reported this morning reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 22 increased by 349,000, compared with an increase of 346,000 the previous week.

Durable goods orders for the month of November edged up a less-than-forecasted 0.1% from October’s 0.4% decline. Economists were forecasting an increase of 2.5%.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its weekly Mortgage Applications Survey — a survey that tracks mortgage applications volume for new homes purchased and for mortgage refinancing activity — for  the week ending Dec 21. Mortgage applications slid to 603.8 from last week’s 653.8.

In corporate news, Goldman Sachs issued a note late Wednesday speculating that financial juggernaut Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) might have to slash its dividend by 40% in light of now greater-than-forecasted write-downs for bad bets on collateralized debt obligations. Goldman is now projecting write-downs in the neighborhood of $18.7 billion, up from the investment bank’s previous estimate of $11 billion.

In related news surrounding the unfolding of the credit crisis, Fitch Ratings put 205 residential mortgage-backed securities backed by bond insurers, including MBIA and Ambac Financial Group, on review for a downgrade.

Edge Petroleum Corp. (Nasdaq: EPEX), Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVN) and China Shenghuo Pharmaceutical Hldg, Inc. (AMEX: KUN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers:

Medical imaging company Vital Images, Inc. (Nasdaq: VTAL) revealed disappointing second-quarter preliminary results and cut its annual revenue guidance.

Speaker manufacturer Directed Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: DEIX) lowered its income guidance to between $0.95 and $1.05 per share, blaming lower-priced Sirius radio units.

On a 27% plunge in revenue, Amityville, N.Y.-based Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. (Nasdaq: HITK) swung to a fourth-quarter loss.

These are the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Shares of Ocean Bio-Chem Inc. (Nasdaq: OBCI) are soaring on news this morning that the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based maker of a line of appearance and maintenance products for boats saw its sales for the second quarter of 2007 rise to $5.72 million from $4.33 million a year earlier. Analyst estimates were not available. The stock is up $0.92, or 53%, to $2.65.

Kensey Nash Corp. (Nasdaq: KNSY) has decided to reduce its costs by cutting all activities on its embolic protection platform, the Exton, Pa.-based provider of medical technology solutions announced this morning. Embolic protection devices serve to capture and/or remove debris created after coronary surgery. Shares are up $1.68, or 6%, to $29.00.