Tag - NSIT

The economy weighed heavily on U.S. stocks on Thursday, as many observers wondered if the country was on the verge of entering a double-dip recession.

Still, a few small-cap stocks managed to defy Wall Street's massive meltdown, offering some bright spots in an overall dismal market.

Yesterday the Russell 2000 lost 5.95 percent in value, while the Standard & Poor's Small Cap 600 shed 5.22 percent.

Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq:NKTR), RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:RXII) and Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Buckeye Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:BKI), Interval Leisure Group Inc. (Nasdaq:IILG), Safe Bulkers Inc. (Nasdaq:SB), TRW Automotive  (Nasdaq:TRW), American Apparel Inc. (Nasdaq:APP) and Rockwood Holdings Inc .(Nasdaq:ROC).

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM), STEC Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC) and O'Charley's Inc. (Nasdaq:CHUX) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Winn Dixie Stores Inc. (Nasdaq:WINN), Nelnet Inc. (Nasdaq:NNI), Kenexa Corp. (Nasdaq:KNXA), RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:RXII), Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) and Consolidated Water Co. Ltd (Nasdaq:CWCO).

Small-cap stocks edged slightly lower early today, pulled down by sloppy corporate profit results and mild concern that the roll out of the bank bail out plan was pushed back this week. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq:HBAN), Albany Molecular Research (Nasdaq:AMRI) and Volcano Corp.  (Nasdaq:VOLC).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The U.S. dollar was off about 0.9% against the euro this morning, providing a lift to commodities that are priced in dollar terms.   
• Crude oil futures climbed about $1 a barrel into the stock market open, providing a lift to energy and commodity stocks early.  
• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is slated to have a press conference on the bank plan Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. ET.
• The official excuse for the bank rescue delay was that the Administration wanted to focus attention on the stimulus plan vote.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Huntington Bancshares rises 22% as many regional banks saw a rise today. See (Nasdaq:HBAN).  
• Albany Molecular Research turns around to profit in Q4; shares rise over 13%. See (Nasdaq:AMRI).  
• Volcano Corp. rose 7% as the market of heart products gapped higher without any apparent fresh news behind the move. See (Nasdaq:VOLC).

Small Cap Losers:

• Insight Enterprises Inc. tumbled nearly 16% as the IT firm announced preliminary quarterly results. See (Nasdaq:NSIT).  
• Global Traffic Network Inc. was off 10% as the traffic report specialist took a hit after releasing profit numbers for the quarter. See (Nasdaq:GNET). 
• AMERISAFE Inc. gapped lower and lost 10% as the workers’ comp firm said they would conduct a governance review. See (Nasdaq:AMSF).

Small-cap stocks edged slightly lower early today, pulled down by sloppy corporate profit results and mild concern that the roll out of the bank bail out plan was pushed back this week. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 4.18, or 0.89%, at 466.52.

There was some thought that the market needed a little “breather” session after Friday’s solid gains that flew in the face of a bad employment report. With no fresh news yet on the bank or stimulus plans, it was tempting for short-term players to pocket profits off last week’s rise, which also marked the first weekly gain of 2009 for small caps.

Interestingly, bank stocks were holding in okay to start the session — especially regional banks — so any angst tied to the delay in the bank rescue seemed to be manifested in other arenas. Although bank stocks were on decent footing to start the day, financial stocks in general were still simply treading water, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund up just 0.3% on the open.

The official excuse for the bank rescue delay was that the Administration wanted to focus attention on the stimulus plan vote, which could take place today after more debate in the Senate. Among market watchers, it appears that the bank rescue plan is actually more keenly awaited, tied to a sense that it could have a more immediate impact on companies versus the time it will take a stimulus plan to ripple through the economy. For now, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is slated to have a press conference on the bank plan Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Crude oil futures climbed about $1 a barrel into the stock market open, providing a lift to energy and commodity stocks early. Shortly after the open, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.6%. Crude oil prices were lifted by talk of further production cuts out of OPEC.

The U.S. dollar was off about 0.9% against the euro this morning, providing a lift to commodities that are priced in dollar terms (such as crude oil). Looking at early sector trends, commodity themes were finding support, with coal, oil refiners . . .

US Airways Group Inc. (Nasdaq:LCC), Central Jersey Bancorp (Nasdaq:CJBK) and Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Rubicon Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:RBCN), Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV), InterOil Corp. (Nasdaq:IOC), Palm Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM), Switch & Data Facilities Co Inc. (Nasdaq:SDXC) and Super Micro Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:SMCI).

Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT), AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAG) and Liberty Media Corp. (Nasdaq:LCAPB) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Stage Stores Inc. (Nasdaq:SSI), Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE), Forest City Enterprises (Nasdaq:FCE.A), Conn's Inc. (Nasdaq:CONN), Willbros Group Inc. (Nasdaq:WG) and Pericom Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:PSEM).

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

Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT), Delta Petroleum Corp. (Nasdaq:DPTR) and Macquarie Infrastructure Co LLC (Nasdaq:MIC) are among the new 52-week lows in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc. (Nasdaq:GRIF), Chiquita Brands International Inc. (Nasdaq:CQB), Kansas City Life Insurance Co. (Nasdaq:KCLI), comScore Inc.(Nasdaq:SCOR), Fossil Inc (Nasdaq:FOSL) and Brooks Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:BRKS).

Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT), Gaiam Inc. (Nasdaq:GAIA) and Talbots Inc. (Nasdaq:TLB) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Dialysis Corporation of America (Nasdaq:DCAI), Accuray Inc. (Nasdaq:ARAY), Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc. (Nasdaq:GRIF), Ames National Corp. (Nasdaq:ATLO), Syniverse Hldg Inc. (Nasdaq:SVR) and Live Nation Inc. (Nasdaq:LYV).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks are pushing higher in midday Friday trading, boosted by upbeat economic data and a dip in crude oil prices. The gains, however, have not erased Thursday’s market dive. At 12:13 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 9.86, or 1.4%, at 712.25.

Crude oil futures pulled back $1.54 to $123.92 a barrel in recent trading. The U.S. dollar is up against the yen and flat against the euro.

The Michigan sentiment survey extended this morning’s upside data surprise trend, beating the median forecast handily at 61.2 versus the projection of 56.4. Still, the number is low historically. Equities did produce a decent bounce when the sentiment figures came out just before 10:00 a.m. ET.

New home sales also topped the forecast, coming out at a pace of 530,000 annual units, compared with an expectation for 500,000. In addition, the May figure was revised upward, which kept the “feel good” data surprise intact heading into the rest of the trading session.

Ahead of the open, the June durable goods report came in well above expectations, with the headline figure up 0.8%, compared with the forecast for a dip of 0.3%. Although durables was a nice upside surprise for equities, the data is a little dated and seldom has a staying influence on stocks.

Broad market sectors on the rise this afternoon include coal, metal mining, airlines, iron and steel, construction and agricultural machinery, and oil and gas operations companies. Sectors on the decline include printing services, computer storage devices, apparel, office equipment, plastics and rubbers and life insurance . . .

Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) is up 9% in pre-market today after announcing better-than-expected preliminary second-quarter results after the close on Thursday. For the quarter ended June 30, earnings per share are expected to be between $0.57 and $0.59 per share, before a goodwill impairment charge. Tempe, Ariz.-based Insight will take a non-cash, pre-tax charge of $313 million during the second quarter, but it will not affect the company’s debt covenant compliance, cash flow or financial performance, the company said in a statement. Wall Street is expecting earnings per share of $0.52. The company will issue its second-quarter earnings on Aug. 11 after the market close.

In today’s pre-market, shares of the IT hardware and software provider are at $13.39, up $1.06 from Thursday’s close.

AmericanWest Bancorp. (Nasdaq:AWBC), Insight Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) and Barrett Business Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:BBSI) were among the new 52-week lows established during Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Nasdaq:MCRI), The South Financial Group (Nasdaq:TSFG) and Virginia Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:VCBI) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

Here are today's 52-week small-cap lows:

Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMCL), Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRBC) and AMCORE Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMFI) were among the new 52-week lows established during Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Insight Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT), Ambassadors International, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMIE) and Lee Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LEE) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

Here are today's 52-week small-cap lows: