Tag - OSUR

Stocks moved higher today after several positive reports reversed early downward trading trends. Investors initially drove down stocks on news that first time unemployment claims increased by 15,000 last week.

Gains were made in homebuilders like Lennar (NYSE:LEN), KB Homes (NYSE:KBH), and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) as well as retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY), Kirkland's (Nasdaq:KIRK), and Pier One (NYSE:PIR). Both sectors have seen bankruptcies (Linens and Things, Circuit City, among others) and layoffs over the past year as the souring economy has brought housing starts to a crawl and forced consumers to pull back in discretionary spending.

The broader indexes were up today with the Dow finishing at 8,472.40, the Nasdaq showing positive gains to close up 37.2 points to close at 1,829.54, and the S&P 500 posting a 2.14% gain to close at 920.26.

Small-cap stocks in the Russell 2000 helped propel that index 2.87% to close at 509.14 today.

Leading small-cap gainer was Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:JAZZ) up 37% on news that the late-stage results for its fibromyalgia drug had met the company's main goal. The drug, Xyrem, is scheduled to be submitted for marketing approval. Gains in Jazz shares outpaced gains made by other, better known, pharmaceutical manufacturers including Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Merck (NYSE:MRK), and share price losses posted by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK).

As we've mentioned in previous updates, this follows a general trend of sector rotation as investors are looking for more defensive plays, like healthcare and pharma, over the summer.

Other small-cap gainers for today include CPI International (Nasdaq:CPII) up 32%; Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB) up 27% on news that Dress Barn (Nasdaq:DBRN) will buy it for roughly $157 million in stock; Royale Energy (Nasdaq:ROYL) up 32.5%, an energy company involved in development and exploration of natural gas and oil in California, Texas, and the Rocky Mountain region.

Small-cap decliners were lead by medical oral diagnostics maker OraSure Technologies (Nasdaq:OSUR) down 23% on news that it needs to conduct more additional clinical trials to get approval for its hepatitis C virus test. The exact timing and costs for these additional tests have not been disclosed by OraSure and investors drove down share prices based on this uncertainty.

A number full of other small-cap stocks were big decliners today including data marketing services provider Acxiom Corporation (Nasdaq:ACXM) down 22%; Capital Bank Corporation (Nasdaq:CBKN) down 20%; and Cordorus Valley Bancorp (Nasdaq:CVLY) down 19%.

The Fed has spoken. Interest rates are not going higher anytime soon. And the Fed announced no change to its $1.75 bond purchase program. Bonds sold off, suggesting that traders hoped the Fed would do more to put a floor under prices.  

The Fed made it a point to say that "…inflation will remain subdued for some time." But the Fed also hasn't made any comments about target levels of inflation, or what levels of inflation would make it uncomfortable. With the amount of money being pumped into the system, this is a concern to me. Especially with commodity prices rising and the spread between 10-year Treasuries and 10-year inflation adjusted bonds (TIPS) increasing over the last month.  

*****Nothing will kill whatever recovery the Fed and others see coming faster than higher interest rates fueled by inflation fears.  

Most signs point to an imminent economic recovery. No one thinks it will be strong. But two straight months of increase for Durable Goods orders has most convinced that recovery, and a small level of inflation, is here.  

The Fed, in the other hand, is still fighting deflation. Unemployment is still on the rise, and modest improvement in the housing market doesn't mean we're anywhere close to working off the massive inventory of unsold homes. 

Given the very low expectations for economic recovery, maybe 2% growth in 2010, how does the Fed hike interest rates and start sopping up liquidity? I believe inflation will have to become a concern before the Fed can act.  

*****In case you missed last night's special Internet Video Conference, called Inflation Busters: Discover the Stocks to Grow and Protect Your Wealth, I have a replay ready for you. You can access it HERE.   

*****Reuter's reported yesterday that Rep. Barney Frank and another Democrat wrote a letter to the CEOs of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae asking them to relax their standards for condo loans.  

Apparently Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae recently said they wouldn't give loans to potential condo buyers if the condo development was less than 70% occupied. Makes sense, these days. But Frank and his friend are worried the tighter standards will impair the housing market and constrict future developments. 

This is appalling. The only thing we need more than more condos is more Hummers.  
If the government truly thinks we can simply reflate our way back to prosperity, they are sadly mistaken. This recession is new animal, one where both consumers and corporations took on way too much debt. That debt now sits in the form of unsold homes, many of which have been foreclosed upon. 

These homes (and condos) must get sold. But they must get sold to people with the means to pay the loans. Simply lowering lending standards doesn't do it and may well prolong the pain of this recession. Isn't the lowering of lending standards much of what got us into this mess to begin with? 

*****China's still throwing its cash around, this time offering $7.2 billion for oil exploration company Addax Petroleum (LSE:AXC.L). It would be state-run Sinopec (NYSE:SNP) actually doing the deal. But after the attempt to buy a $19 billion stake in Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) it should be obvious that China is intent on securing the commodities it needs. 

And in a world starved for cash, don't be surprised when China gets what it wants.  

*****Last year, travel group AAA reported that car travel over the 4th of July was down 10.5%. This year, it will fall another 1.9%.  Airline travel is expected to be up nearly 5%.  

 

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:SOLF) and America's Car-Mart Inc. (Nasdaq:CRMT) are among the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Medivation Inc. (Nasdaq:MDVN), Savvis Inc. (Nasdaq:SVVS), China Sunergy Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:CSUN), Westport Innovations Inc. (Nasdaq:WPRT), ShengdaTech Inc. (Nasdaq:SDTH) and OraSure Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:OSUR).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

OraSure Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:OSUR), Synchronoss Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:SNCR) and Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc (Nasdaq:TWPG) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Greatbatch Inc (Nasdaq:GB), Independent Bank Corp (Nasdaq:IBCP) and TierOne Corp (NYSE:TONE) are also among the new 52-week lows.

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

After rising during morning trading, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) hit resistance at 733.59 at 10:45 a.m. ET, and has continued to slide in Wednesday’s trading action. At 1:59 p.m. ET, the Russell was down 6.12, or 0.84%, at 723.67.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig gave the bears support after he said late Tuesday that inflationary pressures “now stand at unacceptably high levels.” Hoenig is not a current voting member of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee. U.S. consumers are feeling the pinch on their wallet, especially with oil prices surging to record highs. In recent trading, June crude oil contracts were up $1.51 to $123.35 a barrel.

A rising U.S. dollar combined with a positive productivity report kept investors bullish during early trading. In afternoon trading, the greenback is up to $1.5387 versus the euro. The U.S. dollar closed at $1.5524 against the Euro on Tuesday.

Also encouraging the bulls was the Labor Department’s Wednesday morning announcement that non-farm business productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.2% during the first quarter. Economists anticipated a 1.5% increase. Unit labor costs rose slower than expected at an annual rate of 2.2%, compared with . . .

Synchronoss Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:SNCR), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc (Nasdaq:KCP) and OraSure Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:OSUR) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

ExlService Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:EXLS), Irwin Financial Corp (Nasdaq:IFC) and Greatbatch Inc (NYSE:GB) are also among the biggest percentage losers.

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are slightly above their close level on Friday on news of corporate deal-making.

Search engine Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) will reject a $45 billion bid from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), according to news reports over the weekend. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant will in turn take its offer directly to shareholders.

More mergers and acquisitions news is coming from networking solutions provider Nortel Networks Corp. and telecommunications heavyweight Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), which are in talks to merge their wireless infrastructure divisions, according to The Wall Street Journal.

There are no economic report releases to navigate on Monday, and outside volatility looks calm until we get to Wednesday morning’s Retail Sales report. Look for support Monday at 688 and 680, while resistance is at 712 and 721.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures have moved higher and the small-cap index is likely to rise as investors await the Fed’s decision.

All eyes are on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is meeting today to decide on monetary policy. A decision will be announced at 2:15 p.m. ET. Many observers are betting that falling house prices and restricted lending from banks will prompt the central bank to lower the federal funds rate to give the economy a lift.

The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, currently stands at 4.5%. Financial markets have recently taken the view that a 0.25% cut is baked in, with more courageous voices anticipating a decline of 0.5%.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers and losers in pre-market trading among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• Genesis Microchip Inc. (GNSS), up 57% on news it is being purchased by STMicroelectronics NV (STM) for about $336 million.
• Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (ALTH), up 13% on news it will present a corporate overview at a conference in San Francisco.
• Smith Micro Software, Inc. (SMSI), up 13% on news it will buy part of Pctel Inc. (PCTI) for $59.7 million.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (SPRD), down 7%.
• Orasure Technologies, Inc. (OSUR) down 3%.
• Cardica Inc. (CRDC) down 3% on news of a partial exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of its public offering.

Shares of Durham, N.C.-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISPH) are trading higher following news after Friday’s close that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis, a type of eye infection.  Shares are up $0.53, or 7.74%, to $7.38.