Tag - RIMG

Small-cap stocks pushed lower again on Monday, pressured by sinking financial shares as yet another big name financial firm unveiled a capital raising effort. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 5.11, or 0.69%, at 735.26. Small caps were quite a bit weaker than large-cap stocks, narrowing the wide spreads that developed during last week’s volatile action.

For the last couple of weeks, Lehman Bros. (NYSE:LEH) has been the poster child for credit crunch concerns, and after days of speculation the firm finally announced plans to raise $6 billion in capital to shore up balance sheets. The Lehman news today sparked another bout of selling in the stock, which lost about 11% on the day. In addition, other large financial firms were pulled into the undertow, with JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) down 7% and Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) off 4%. The credit concerns are not solely a large-cap issue. In fact, during most of the credit crisis, small caps have tended to suffer relative to large-caps on a perception that the large banks and other financial firms have easier access to credit lines.

Early today, small caps gathered some relief bids from a pullback in crude oil prices, which slipped some $4 dollars a barrel back below $135. Still, national pump prices popped above $4 dollars a gallon over the weekend, and it will take additional downside action in crude to spark further hope about consumer spending into the summer driving season. There also was a brief morning bid in stocks when the April pending home sales report came in up 6.3%, well above the forecast for a dip of 0.3%, but the data is for April numbers and had very little staying power with stocks.
 
Broad market sectors under selling pressure today were dominated by the financial theme. The biggest losers included thrifts and mortgage financial firms, diverse financial services shares, investment banking, regional banks and diversified banks. On the upside, aluminum, airlines, coal, oil and gas drillers were the top-performing stocks.

Small caps of note today included Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG), which tumbled 21% as the firm lowered guidance for the second quarter. Maiden Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:MHLD) slipped 10% on heavy turnover following earnings news from Friday. Spreadtrum Communications (Nasdaq:SPRD) was off nearly 17% on an . . .

Rimage Corp (Nasdaq:RIMG), AEP Industries Inc (Nasdaq:AEPI) and Heritage Commerce Corp (Nasdaq:HTBK) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

TASER International Inc (Nasdaq:TASR), Benihana Inc (Nasdaq:BNHNA) and Community Bancorp (Nevada) (Nasdaq:CBON) are also among the new 52-week lows

City Bank (Nasdaq:CTBK), Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:JAZZ) and Banner Corp (Nasdaq:BANR) were additionally included among the results.

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

Though major stocks are trading generally higher, small caps have continued sliding in midday Monday trading. A drop in crude oil prices and a better-than-expected report on pending home sales for April was not enough to rally small-cap stocks. At 1:37 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 4.11, or 0.56%, at 736.26.

Crude oil prices were off more than $2 dollar a barrel into midday trading, slipping to $136.34 a barrel in recent action. The price decline is a welcome sign following Friday’s historic surge in energy prices and national pump prices breaking the $4 barrier over the weekend.

Small-cap investors were encouraged by a better-than-expected report on April pending home sales in early trading, but gains were lost shortly thereafter. Pending home sales rose 6.3% in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts anticipated a dip of 0.3%.

A big acquisition deal among large-cap insurers also boosted investor psychology. Willis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH), the world’s third-largest insurance brokerage, announced a deal to buy rival Hilb, Rogal and Hobbs Co. (NYSE:HRH) for $1.7 billion, news that sent HRH shares soaring some 44% on the opening.

In Monday midday trading, the U.S. dollar was up against the yen and the euro. The greenback slid during last week’s trading as European central bankers talked up rate hikes after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke about a desire to strengthen the dollar. In recent trading against the euro, the U.S. dollar was up to $1.5637.

Andy Busch, BMO Capital Markets’ foreign exchange strategist, said investors are watching oil and food prices as inflation indicators.

“In normal business cycles when the unemployment goes up, we focus on indicators that provide us insight into spotting a turnaround like housing or auto sales or durable goods,” Busch said. “However in the financial markets, we're focusing more on inflation from energy and food than on whether the economy has bottomed. So things . . .

Rimage Corp (Nasdaq:RIMG), AEP Industries Inc (Nasdaq:AEPI) and Spreadtrum Communications Inc (Nasdaq:SPRD) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

TASER International Inc (Nasdaq:TASR), Astro-Med Inc (Nasdaq:ALOT) and PAM Transportation Services Inc (Nasdaq:PTSI) are also among the biggest percentage losers.

Pier 1 Imports Inc (Nasdaq:PIR), Southern Community Financial Corp (Nasdaq:SCMF) and UFP Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:UFPT) were additionally included among the results.

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

The South Financial Group (Nasdaq:TSFG), Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG) and Monaco Coach Corp. (NYSE:MNC) were among the new 52-week lows established during Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Western Refining, Inc. (NYSE:WNR), Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) and Marlin Business Services Corp. (Nasdaq:MRLN) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

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

Stocks managed to eek out gains for the first day after two straight sessions of red, as investors shrugged off Ambac Financial Group Inc.'s (NYSE:ABK) lackluster outlook and embraced better-than-expected results from a range of technology companies.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) ended the day up 4.40 points, or 0.66%, to a level of 708.11, while the Dow gained 42.99 points, or 0.34%, to a level of 12763.22.

Trading was choppy for the day as investors digested a slew of earnings news from technology, industrial, tobacco, banks and commodity producers.

A large percentage advance was registered early today in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SIRT), with the stock up a whopping 82% on news that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) would buy the company for $720 million . . .

Daktronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:DAKT), The South Financial Group (Nasdaq:TSFG) and Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG), Wavecom S.A. (Nasdaq:WVCM) and Monaco Coach Corp. (NYSE:MNC) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Wednesday's biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks are slightly higher after fluctuating during morning trading. At 11:37 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 5.1, or 0.72%, at 708.81, as the market trimmed away opening gains in choppy action.

A large percentage advance was registered early today in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SIRT), with the stock up a whopping 82% on heavy volume on news that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) would but the company for $720 million in cash. ANADIGICS Inc. (Nasdaq:ANAD) was up 24% following earnings results yesterday, and Silicon Graphics (Nasdaq:SGIC) was up about 23% after a heavy sell-off on Tuesday.

On the downside, Daktronics (Nasdaq:DAKT) was down 23% after sloppy earnings. Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) was down 22% after the maker of cellulose-based specialty products cut its third-quarter earnings forecast to below Wall Street expectations. Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG) was down 21% after releasing . . .

Shares of Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG), a maker of CD and DVD publishing systems, are plunging more than 22% after reporting first-quarter net income of $1.8 million, or $0.18 per share, down 14% from $2.1 million, or $0.20 per share, a year earlier. Wall Street expected earnings of $0.26 per share.

In Wednesday morning trading, RIMG shares are plunging 23.72%, or $5.55, at $17.85. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Rimage, click RIMG. 

Small-cap stocks opened modestly higher after a see-saw overnight session. At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 0.26, or 0.04%, at 703.45, as the market trimmed away opening gains in choppy action. Stability in the foreign exchange market, a decent batch of overnight earnings and mild short profit-taking provided mild support for stocks but the market appeared to be searching for a more dynamic directional bias this morning.

The U.S. dollar was up modestly at the beginning of U.S. trading and crude oil was down a couple bucks off Tuesday’s record high, which may have prompted a mild sigh of relief that the moves weren’t immediately extended. Still, the issue of a sluggish economy, coupled with rising food and energy costs, remains a major roadblock for equity market bulls. A USA Today poll said that rising food costs were a “significant” worry for Americans, with 73% of respondents citing higher grocery bills as a concern.

The market has seen quite a bit of daily volatility in recent days, with percentage moves in the 2% or more range every other day for six sessions. If that pattern holds true today, then this will be the “quiet” day on the rollercoaster ride. From a charting standpoint, the Russell has support today near 700, 695 and then a window . . .

Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq: RIMG) CEO Bernie Aldrich said the provider of CD and DVD publishing systems sees significant untapped opportunities in a number of large business service markets. The chief executive said some of these untapped markets include media and broadcasting, law enforcement, education, government, software and professional services. Aldrich made the comments during a morning conference call.

“We believe business service applications will drive a significant portion of our growth over the next few years,” Aldrich said. “We intend to devote considerable resources building positions in these areas similar to what we have achieved in the retail and medical markets.”

Aldrich said the Edina, Minn.-based firm’s profitable growth over the last two years has been driven by its ability to penetrate the retail and medical imaging markets. Rimage’s equipment has become the retail industry standard for on-demand publishing systems for CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, he said.

“We continue to see good opportunities in these markets both here and overseas that we will pursue aggressively in the years ahead,” Aldrich said.

He said Rimage is also moving into mammography imaging in the medical market.

Before the opening, Rimage posted fourth-quarter earnings of $4.5 million, or $0.45 per share, up 25% from $3.6 million, or $0.34 per share, a year earlier. Wall Street analysts expected earnings of $0.32 per share.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are lower and the small-cap index will open with a decline following the latest economic news.

The consumer price index added 0.4% in January, the U.S. Labor Department reported this morning. That exceeds economists’ forecast and comes as a worrying sigh that inflation is rising while economic growth remains lackluster.

The core inflation index, which excludes the price of food and energy, gained 0.3%. That’s also above what economists were expecting.

The Russell 2000 exhibited an up-and-down, limited-range return to action Tuesday before closing up 0.82 at 702.34. Resistance should be seen at 712, 721 and 730; support is pegged at 694, 688 and 680.

Look for some potentially volatile events today. In the afternoon, the 2:00 p.m. ET FOMC Minutes also could spark some action for stocks.

Fonar Corp. (Nasdaq: FONR), WSI Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: WSCI) and A. Schulman, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHLM) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers:

Shares of Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq: RIMG) are rallying today after the manufacturer and distributor of CD-Recordable (CD-R) and DVD-Recordable (DVD-R) publishing and duplication systems reported strong earnings for the third quarter and said it will repurchase an additional 500,000 shares.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company recorded earnings of $6.2 million, or $0.59 per share, while two analysts polled by Thomson Financial were on average expecting earnings of $0.39 per share. For the third quarter of 2006, Rimage booked net income of $4.4 million, or $0.43 per share.

Sales rose 36% to $33.7 million, compared with $24.8 million in the same quarter last year. An analyst surveyed by Thomson Financial was expecting revenues of $31 million.

Rimage attributed its robust third-quarter performance to increased sales of high-end Producer disc publishing systems. The small cap noted that during the third quarter, revenues of approximately $8.4 million were recognized from two orders placed in the second quarter by major national retailers for Producer systems and related multi-year maintenance contracts and replacement printer ribbons.

In addition, Rimage said sales generated through its U.S. distribution channel increased by a stronger-than-anticipated 39% in the third quarter from second quarter level. Producer revenues accounted for the majority of total third quarter channel sales.

Higher sales of consumable supplies also contributed to the company’s strong performance in the third quarter, exhibiting growth in Rimage’s installed base of disc publishing systems in retail and other applications.

Rimage also reported that it has authorized a repurchase of an additional 500,000 shares of common stock. The new program replaces the completed share repurchase program that was adopted in July 2007, under which Rimage used cash to repurchase 500,000 shares during the third quarter.

Shares of Rimage (RIMG) rose 22.8%, or $1.96, to $26.75 at 11:10 a.m. ET. Shares of Rimage have been trading in the range of $20.50 to $34.63 for the past 52 weeks.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM), along with the other major U.S. indices, is treading lower this morning after disappointing earnings from Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) refreshed investors’ concerns that the subprime mortgage debacle is materially cutting into corporate earnings and the economy.

At 10:37 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had shed 1.33 points, or 0.16%, to 823.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was down 25.61 points, or 0.18%, to 13,866.93.

Bank of America’s third-quarter net income plunged 32% on account of write-downs on leveraged buyout loans and higher credit loss provisions. The firm’s third-quarter profit was $3.7 billion, or $0.82 per share, below analyst expectations of $1.06 per share and from $5.4 billion, or $1.18 per share, during the same period of 2006.

Adding to bearish earnings news, Pfizer Inc.’s (NYSE: PFE) third-quarter net income plummeted 77%, due to a $2.8 billion charge related to the company exiting its insulin product, Exubera. The company made the decision to exit Exubera because of intense competition from generic competitors. Pfizer’s third-quarter net income totaled $0.76 billion, or $0.11 per share, below Wall Street projections of $0.52 per share and from $3.36 billion, or $0.46 per share, a year earlier.

Earnings from Bank of America and Pfizer overshadowed Nokia Corp.’s (NYSE: NOK) strong third-quarter results. The mobile device maker reported an 85% increase in third-quarter profit, on a 26% increase in the number of phones shipped in the quarter.

As stocks sold off, treasuries rose for the fourth straight trading session for the first time since August, as the effects of the credit crisis reared its ugly head on reducing earnings at some of the largest U.S. banks. The yield on the two-year note fell to 3.92% at 10:06 a.m.

The odds for a quarter-percentage point Fed rate cut at the Oct. 31 meeting rose to 68% odds from a 54% chance Wednesday. The increased odds of a Fed rate cut sent the dollar tumbling to a record low against the euro. The dollar fell to $1.42 against the euro at 11 a.m. ET.

Shares of Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq: RIMG) are moving backward following news the provider of compact digital and versatile disc recordable publishing systems saw its second-quarter profit decline, missing expectations.

Net income for the three months ended June 30 was $2.92 million, or $0.28 per share, compared with a net income of $3.38 million, or $0.33 per share, during the same quarter of 2006, the Minneapolis-based company announced after Wednesday’s close.

Two analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of $0.32 per share.

Syniverse Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SVR) got a boost of $0.96, or 9.3%, late today after the Tampa, Fla.-based technology services provider announced first-quarter net income of $7.6 million, or $0.21, on revenue of $82.7 million. Nine analysts polled by Thomson First Call estimated earnings per share of $0.18 on revenue of $79 million.

Rochester Medical Corp. (Nasdaq: ROCM) plunged $2.80, or nearly 12%, to $20.65 on heavy volume in after-hours trading today after the Stewartville, Minn.-based company announced second-quarter results. For the three months ended March 31, Rochester Medical reported net income of $1.04 million, or $0.08 per share, on revenue of $8.4 million, compared with a net loss of $244,000, or $0.02 per share, on revenue of $4.9  million for the second quarter of last year. Rochester Medical makes urinary continence and urine drainage care products for the extended care and acute care markets.

Shares of Intevac Inc. (Nasdaq: IVAC) were down $2.21, or 9%,to $22.10 in after-hours trading today when the company announced second-quarter earnings guidance below analysts’ estimates. For the first quarter ended March 31, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based disk sputtering equipment supplier reported net income of $9.8 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, on revenue of $76.4 million. Six analysts polled by Thomson First Call had estimated earnings per share of $0.38 on revenue of $73.5 million. In a conference call today, according to Reuters, the company forecast second-quarter earnings per share of $0.33 cents to $0.40 cents, including $0.04 cents per share of stock-based compensation expense, on revenue of $69 million to $75 million. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $0.43 on revenue of $72.9 million.