Tag - NTGR

Netgear Inc. (Nasdaq:NTGR) slid to a new 52-week low this morning after lowering its revenue forecast for the third quarter.

The San Jose, Calif.-based home networking products manufacturer said before the bell this morning that it now expects to report revenue in the range of $173 million to $183 million, compared with a previous estimate of between $208 million and $212 million.

Netgear said it saw weakness in September demand on its consumer products across all channels and in all geographies.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call on average had expected Netgear to report revenue of $210.2 million.

By late morning, Netgear is at $12.10, down $0.33, after reaching its new 52-week low of $9.50 earlier in the day. The stock had traded as low as $12.40 and as high as $37 in the past year.

For detailed price information and news stories on Netgear, click NTGR.

Small-cap stocks opened lower, but clawed back to a mild gain about 20 minutes after the open as fear about a recession and tight credit conditions battled overnight euphoria tied to global central bank rate cuts. This marked the first globally coordinated rate cut by central bankers since the 2001 recession in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 3.53, or 0.63%, at 562.48.

Volatility in the two-hour time frame ahead of the actual market opening has been unprecedented this week. Today saw S&P e-mini futures trade in an astonishing 92-handle range overnight as the market rallied on the rate cut news, then slumped as traders digested the news and decided it wouldn’t necessarily avert recession or unclog credit lines. Unless you were awake early this morning well before the opening, then you never even got to rejoice in a brilliant overnight rally in stock market derivatives.

The market was in retreat mode overnight in the wake of Tuesday’s slide to fresh four-year lows, but when the announcement came out at 7:00 a.m. ET that central bankers around the world were slashing interest rates in concert, it sparked a big relief bounce in equities. European shares went from a stunning 6% loss to a brief positive print, bolstered by not just the coordinated global rate cuts, but also by news that the Bank of England was injecting 50 billion pounds to help the banking business. The news on rate cuts came a little late to rescue Asian stocks, with Japan down 9.3%, Hong Kong off 8.7%, China down 3.7%, Taiwan down 5.7%, Australia off 5%, Singapore down 6.6%, South Korea down 5.2% and India down 3.1%. Trade on Russian and Indonesian shares was halted when they reached 10% declines.

For the record, the Federal Reserve slashed its target rate on Fed funds to 1.5% from 2%, the lowest level since August 2004. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Swiss central bank, Swedish central bank and even the Chinese central bank also sliced rates this morning.

Perhaps one early sign that the rate cuts weren’t going to gain immediate traction in the market was that gold prices pushed higher despite the news. Gold is seen as a safe-haven and if that market continues to grind higher, its unlikely money . . .

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Friday, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rising 4.81, or 0.67%, to 721.88, which marked the highest daily close since Feb. 13. The market had a teeter-totter session, opening higher on earnings news and a firm dollar, then slumping on consumer sentiment jitters and soaring crude oil before staging the afternoon recovery.

Crude oil futures climbed to a record intraday peak Friday at $119.90 per barrel, lifted by supply concerns tied to worker strikes in Nigeria and the North Sea. The supply side concerns were complemented by news of warning shots fired on boats in the Gulf thought to be Iranian, underscoring tensions right now between the United States and Iran.

The market appeared set for a comfortable morning rise early today, but then the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey cast a pall over buyer enthusiasm. The Michigan headline report came out at 62.6, down from 69.5 the previous month, and at the lowest April reading in 26 years. The dour consumer mood sparked a wave of selling across equity products, but the slide never really took hold and stocks were able to recover in the afternoon despite the Michigan survey and spiking crude values.

Speaking of economic data, this week’s report front was the quiet before next week’s storm. Not only will investors have to navigate a frothy sea of economic data risk —  highlighted by Friday’s employment report — but the FOMC meeting Tuesday afternoon could trigger a dramatic market response as everyone struggles to read the Federal Reserve “tea leaves” to see if the end of the easing cycle is nigh.

Back to today’s action, equities likely found some support tied to a solid performance in the U.S. dollar, which climbed about 0.6% against the euro, and was up nearly 0.3% against the yen. The fact that the greenback held onto gains versus the euro despite the jump in crude oil was impressive, as most of the time in recent . . .

Horizon Lines, Inc. (NYSE:HRZ), Preferred Bank (Nasdaq:PFBC) and NetGear, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTGR) were among the new 52-week lows established during Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Trailer Bridge, Inc. (Nasdaq:TRBR), VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (Nasdaq:VDSI) and Citizens Holding Co. (Nasdaq:CIZN) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

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