Tag - QELP

Stocks closed higher for a fifth day in a row as in investors were encouraged by a successful Treasury bond auction and consumer products maker Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG) confirmed its earnings forecast for this quarter and suggested that sales should improve in the next quarter.

The Dow closed at 9,627, up 80 points; the Nasdaq finished at 2,084, up 24 points; and the S&P 500 ended the day at 1,044, up nearly 11 points.

The Russell 2000, the leading index for the top 2,000 small-cap stocks, finished up over 7 points to end the session at 594.

Advances lead declines by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and Amex and 10 to 3 on the Nasdaq.

Small-cap price gainers trading over 1 million shares were lead by Quest Energy Partners (Nasdaq: QELP), up 98%; MIND C.T.I. (Nasdaq: MNDO), up 54%; Dynavax Technologies (Nasdaq: DVAX), up 47%; and YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCW), up 19%...

Even though the market is still hammered for the year, today’s rally was a significant rise for the stock market, small caps included. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rallied 7.6% for the second-largest one-day gain of the year. Today’s small-cap gainers are Dineequity (Nasdaq:DIN), Synutra International (Nasdaq:SYUT) and Quest Energy Partners (Nasdaq:QELP).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The Conference Board reported today that consumer confidence plunged to 41-year lows. With two-thirds of the U.S. economy driven by consumer spending, a retrenched mood into peak holiday season purchasing activity is a troubling sign.
• Some of the renewed faith in the market on Tuesday could very well be tied to optimism ahead of the Federal Reserve’s announcement on interest rates Wednesday afternoon. 
• Inter-bank rates slipped again overnight for the twelfth straight trading day, which many hope is a sign that things are getting better in the ongoing credit crisis.
• The only areas of pronounced weakness today were household appliances, building products, health care facilities and homebuilders.
• Energy stocks were a clear source of strength for the stock market today, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund jumping some 9%. 
• Despite the rise in energy shares, crude oil prices were skittish to join the buying party and closed down about $0.50 a barrel. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Dineequity Inc. soared some 81% and has now charged some 192% off the lows from Monday. See (NYSE:DIN). 
• Synutra International, Inc. closed up 51% on light volume. See (Nasdaq:SYUT). 
• Quest Energy Partners declares cash distribution for Q3 2008. Stock price closed up 27.5%. See (Nasdaq:QELP). 
• Shares of ARM Holdings closed up 29% after the tech company reported . . .

Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:RVSB), JDA Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JDAS) and Culp Inc. (Nasdaq:CFI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Oceanfreight Inc. (Nasdaq:OCNF), optionsXpress Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:OXPS), Adams Resources & Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:AE), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), Aristotle Corp. (Nasdaq:ARTL) and Interval Leisure Group Inc. (Nasdaq:IILG).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), Seabridge Gold Inc. (Nasdaq:SA) and Landrys Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq:LNY) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Tortoise Energy Capital Corp. (Nasdaq:TYY), Targanta Therapeutics Corp. (Nasdaq:TARG), WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq:WBMD), Allscripts Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq:MDRX), PAB Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:PABK) and Primeenergy Corp. (Nasdaq:PNRG).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks steamrolled higher, putting a bullish exclamation point on one of the most tumultuous and dramatic weeks in stock market history. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) climbed 30.07, or 4.15%, to 753.74, bolstered by investor confidence that government moves to stabilize troubled financial conditions would save the day and put an end to recent firestorms that saw the 4th-largest investment bank in the country file for bankruptcy while the Treasury Department dashed in to rescue the world’s largest insurance firm.

For the week, the Russell was actually up 33.48, or 4.64% despite enduring the two largest one-day declines of the year Monday and Wednesday. It will probably come as a shock to many to know that the Russell actually posted the highest weekly close of the year on Friday, topping the previous peak set during the August rally. For the year, small-caps are down just 1.6%, while the Dow is down 14.1% and the S&P 500 down 14.5%.

Volatility reached manic proportions this week as daily ranges swelled to mammoth levels. Even a Hollywood action film would have been spent trying to keep pace with this week’s market action.

The strong finish this week suggested that investors were willing to buy into talk from the Treasury Department that a rescue plan would be able to gobble up mountains of bad debt among elite U.S. financial companies, re-establish credit lines, secure investor profits in money market accounts, stave off an economic recession, cure cancer and help all old ladies cross the road (okay, maybe those last two . . .

SurModics, Inc. (Nasdaq:SRDX), Centerstate Banks of Florida Inc. (Nasdaq:CSFL) and MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:MKTX) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: VanceInfo Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:VIT), Entergy Arkansas, Inc.  (Nasdaq:EHB), Repros Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:RPRX), Protherics Depository Receipt (Nasdaq:PTIL), Koss Corp. (Nasdaq:KOSS) and Quest Energy Partners L.P (Nasdaq:QELP).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (Nasdaq:AGM), Targacept Inc. (Nasdaq:TRGT) and North American Galvanizing & Coatings Inc. (Nasdaq:NGA) are among the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Innovative Solutions and Support Inc. (Nasdaq:ISSC), Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:JAZZ), Astronics Corp. (Nasdaq:ATRO), Elbit Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq:EMITF), Targa Resources Partners L.P. (Nasdaq:NGLS) and Quest Energy Partners L.P. (Nasdaq:QELP).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Rubicon Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:RBCN), Dreman/Claymore Dividend & Income Fund (Nasdaq:DCS) and Stream Global Services Inc. (Nasdaq:OOO) are among the new 52-week lows in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (Nasdaq:EXM), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), Parallel Petroleum Corp. (Nasdaq:PLLL), Colfax Corp. (Nasdaq:CFX), China Digital TV Holding Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:STV) and Minefinders Corporation Ltd. (Nasdaq:MFN).

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

China Sunergy Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:CSUN), Rediff.com India Ltd. (Nasdaq:REDF) 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: Sigma Designs Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGM), Micromet Inc. (Nasdaq:MITI), Royale Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:ROYL), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ASTI) and NGAS Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:NGAS).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Small-cap stocks started out the week with a thud, sinking hard and fast amid concerns about the relentless credit crisis and a potential slowdown in global growth. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) tumbled 17.06, or 2.31%, to 720.54, generating the largest one-day decline in about four weeks. The Russell is now down 5.93% for the year, while the Dow is down 14.1% after slipping 2.08% Monday. The S&P 500 lost 1.96% today and is off 13.7% for the year.

Financial stocks were once again bloodied, as investors are not confident in bank, brokerage or insurance shares amid slumping economic conditions and uncertainty about the extent of debt write-downs emanating from the mortgage and housing swoon. American International Group (NYSE:AIG) tumbled to 13-year lows today, sinking 5.7% on analyst downgrades, and other financial stocks were also pummeled. The up-and-down (mostly down) world at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LEH) took a turn for the worse today as concerns were voiced about the proposed Korean buyer that emerged late last week. LEH slumped 11.2% on the talk. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund shed 3.3% and the PHLX KBW Banking Index was off 3.2%. Nearly every large name bank was in the red today, and that selling momentum spread easily into small-cap financial stocks as well.

Fresh data on the housing arena failed to instill confidence in the bulls that things were ready to improve. Even though the headline figure on existing home sales came in above the forecast (plus 3.1% versus plus 0.9%), there were still troubling elements in the report, included a record high supply of homes on the market and steep price declines from last year. The market will get more data on the housing picture with Tuesday morning’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index, and then later in the morning from the New Home Sales report.

Financials and the never-ending credit crisis weren’t the only worries facing investors today. Talk that the International Monetary Fund was lowering global growth projections was troubling for technology, small-cap and industrial names, and today’s index losses were paced by the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 and the Russell 2000. Within the tech sector, big firms like Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) and Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq:RIMM) lost 2.3% and 3.1%, respectively. On the industrial front, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) were . . .

Small-cap stocks fell hard into mid-session trading, pulled down by renewed concerns about the ongoing credit crisis, which continues to haunt the financial arena. In addition, fretting about a global growth slowdown kept tech stocks and industrial shares on the defensive. At 12:45 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 17.79, or 2.41%, at 719.81.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its global growth forecast for the next two years, which could stunt expansion for tech stocks and industrial companies that sell aggressively overseas. Small-cap stocks have tended to mirror price action in the tech arena of late and both the Russell 2000 and the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 were pacing today’s sharp slide in equities.

Financial stocks were sinking once again today, with the PHLX KBW Banking Index off nearly 3%. Almost every big-name financial, bank and brokerage stock was in the red today, which spilled into the smaller-cap financial names as well. Jitters about the financial situation were heightened by yet another bank failure over the weekend, as Federal regulators seized control of the Columbian Bank and Trust Company, which marked the ninth bank failure of the year.

Regional banks and insurance firms were among the worst performers today in the stock market, but the array of losing sectors was surprisingly diverse, with steel, construction materials, casinos and electrical equipment manufacturers all incurring stiff losses. The only sector seeing decent gains today was home furnishings…it is rare to see declines spread across such a diverse area of equities.

Small-caps on the move today include Quest Resource Corp. (Nasdaq:QRCP), which was down about 25% amid news of a change in leadership positions at the firm. Also, Quest Energy Partners LP (Nasdaq:QELP), tumbled 18% on unusually . . .

DrdGold (Nasdaq:DROOY), Accuray Inc (Nasdaq:ARAY) and 012 Smile Communications Ltd (Nasdaq:SMLC) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.       

Also included among the results: Insulet (Nasdaq:PODD), SORL Auto Parts Inc. (Nasdaq:SORL), Fundtech Ltd. (Nasdaq:FNDT), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), China Sunergy Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:CSUN) and Comverge Inc. (Nasdaq:COMV).           

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:   

Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), Crucell NV ADR (Nasdaq:CRXL) and USA Truck Inc (Nasdaq:USAK) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: TASER International Inc (Nasdaq:TASR), USANA Health Sciences Inc (Nasdaq:USNA), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY), ARGON ST Inc (Nasdaq:STST), Cepheid (Nasdaq:CPHD) and Clean Energy Fuels Corp (Nasdaq:CLNE).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

As energy policy quickly emerges as a hot topic of debate on the minds of voters in the 2008 presidential election, the oil and gas exploration industry has been thrust into the spotlight. For better or for worse, this theme will remain dominant for some time to come, and should put the spotlight on small-cap companies such as Oklahoma City-based Quest Resources (Nasdaq:QRCP).

At a market cap of $209 million, Quest is a fully integrated exploration and production company positioned in the Cherokee Basin of southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. It was incorporated in 1982 and today has two distinct business segments: gas and oil production, and the gathering, processing, transporting and selling of natural gas.

The company conducts its gas and oil production segment through its Quest Energy Partners (Nasdaq:QELP) subsidiary. This subsidiary works to develop coal bed methane in a 15-county region in the Cherokee Basin, where it is one of the largest producers of natural gas with an average net daily production of over 50 million cubic feet equivalent (Mmcfe). At the end of 2007, this division had more than 2,200 gross gas wells in operation and was looking to drill and connect another 325 this year.

Quest currently operates its natural gas pipelines business segment through Quest Midstream Partners, a privately held subsidiary that could go public before the end of 2008. Midstream Partners owns approximately 2,000 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and over 1,100 miles of natural gas pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

Despite a recent pullback in its share price, Quest Resources has put together a remarkable run this year for its shareholders. Year-to-date, Quest’s common stock has risen 25%. The company’s operating results have played an integral role . . .

Quest Energy Partners L.P. (Nasdaq:QELP) announced ahead of the opening today it had completed the purchase of natural gas and oil producing wells in the Appalachian Basin from Quest Resource Corporation (Nasdaq:QRCP) for a cash consideration of $72 million. The wells have developed reserves with an estimated 32.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent.

“QELP is acquiring long-lived natural gas producing properties that are immediately accretive to distributable cash flow per unit, add geographic and geologic diversity, receive premium natural gas pricing, and offer numerous low-risk development opportunities,” said Jerry Cash, chairman and CEO of the general partner of Quest Energy, in a statement.

Arris Group Inc (Nasdaq:ARRS), Crocs Inc (Nasdaq:CROX) and A Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:APWR) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Evergreen Solar Inc (Nasdaq:ESLR), Finish Line Inc (Nasdaq:FINL), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF), EMCORE Corp (Nasdaq:EMKR), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP) and James River Coal Co (Nasdaq:JRCC).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Medivation Inc (Nasdaq:MDVN), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF) and Sequenom Inc (Nasdaq:SQNM) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), ViroPharma Inc (Nasdaq:VPHM), Given Imaging Ltd (Nasdaq:GIVN), True Religion Apparel Inc (Nasdaq:TRLG), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP) and RAM Energy Resources Inc (Nasdaq:RAME).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

GFI Group Inc (Nasdaq:GFIG), Cal-Maine Foods Inc (Nasdaq:CALM) and Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (Nasdaq:SOLF) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), FCStone Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCSX), National Coal Corp (Nasdaq:NCOC), Quest Energy Partners L P (Nasdaq:QELP), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY) and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd (Nasdaq:GILT).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps: