Tag - SHFL

IncrediMail Ltd (Nasdaq:MAIL), Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:PARD) and Frisch's Restaurants Inc (Nasdaq:FRS) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Schweitzer Mauduit International Inc (Nasdaq:SWM), Pep Boys-Manny Moe & Jack (Nasdaq:PBY), Bank of Kentucky Financial Corp (Nasdaq:BKYF), SYNNEX Corp (Nasdaq:SNX), Shuffle Master Inc (Nasdaq:SHFL) and Cray Inc (Nasdaq:CRAY).

China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:DL), Lannett Co Inc. (Nasdaq:LCI) and Diedrich Coffee Inc. (Nasdaq:DDRX) are among the new 52-week highs in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: KongZhong Corp. (Nasdaq:KONG), Kirklands Inc. (Nasdaq:KIRK), Health Fitness Corp. (Nasdaq:FIT), Stein Mart, Inc. (Nasdaq:SMRT), ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CKSW) and Shuffle Master Inc. (Nasdaq:SHFL).

Shuffle Master Inc. (Nasdaq:SHFL), Olympic Steel Inc. (Nasdaq:ZEUS) and 99 Cents Only Stores (Nasdaq:NDN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: United Security Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:USBI), Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq:CENX), Oxford Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:OXM), Venoco Inc. (Nasdaq:VQ), Duckwall Alco Stores Inc. (Nasdaq:DUCK) and Tessco Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:TESS).

Shares of Shuffle Master, Inc. (Nasdaq:SHFL) are treading higher in pre-market trading after the gaming supply company said this morning that it has amended the terms of its cash tender offer for its outstanding 1.25% contingent convertible senior notes due 2024. The firm has now extended the offer to August 22, 2008 and will purchase any outstanding notes at a purchase price per each $1,000 principal amount of the notes equal to $972.50, plus all accrued and unpaid interest up to the date of payment for the notes accepted for payment.

Shares galloped 15%, or $0.78, to %5.90 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Shuffle Master, click SHFL.

Gaming supply company Shuffle Master Inc. (Nasdaq:SHFL) said at mid-session today it had gotten $5 million in additional term-loan commitments from Union Bank of California for its new term-loan facility. The aggregate commitments total is now $65 million.

The Las Vegas-based company also said today that the underwriters of a public offering of its common stock have exercised the over-allotment option in full and purchased 2.6 million shares at $4.25 apiece. The net proceeds are expected to be $80.8 million.

At 2:56 p.m. ET, shares are at $4.69, down $0.22 from Friday’s close. Trading volume is slightly above average. During the past year, shares have ranged from $3.93 to $17.87.

Small-cap stocks limped into the close, barely clutching onto a smidgeon of the steep morning rise tied to stout monthly retail sales figures. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 1.95, or 0.27%, at 719.84, but the advance felt somewhat hollow considering small caps shed 10 handles off the highs.

The day started off in fine fashion for the bulls, as the retail sales report topped analyst forecasts, providing further enthusiasm that was already in place from soft crude oil prices and a firm dollar. The overnight dip in crude oil turned out to be short-lived, however, as black gold pushed back near $137 per barrel in the afternoon, charging about $3 dollars off the levels seen into the stock market open. In addition, new crop corn futures soared to new record highs as flooding damages crop conditions in the heartland.

Despite the recovery in crude oil prices, energy stocks were on the defensive today following a downgrade on energy and an upgrade in the financial arena by Morgan Stanley analysts. Although that recommendation seems to buck the ongoing trends, it worked well today.

Some of the morning excitement in stocks was stoked by fresh news on the proposed acquisition of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE:BUD) by Belgian firm InBev, which reportedly has tendered a deal worth $65 dollars a share, or approximately $46.3 billion. Anheuser, the quintessential iconic American brewery, controls nearly half the U.S. beer market, including the top seller, Bud Light. M&A talk tends to lift investor psychology, and big-cap deals are also supportive to small caps on the theory that if there are deals to be done in large caps, there are certainly even more deals to be done for small caps.

Speaking of M&A activity, the late slide in stocks off the highs was also powered by news that talks between Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) broke down without any deal being struck. Shares in Yahoo tumbled about 10% on the news, dragging down large-cap index products and causing . . .

After a drop in crude oil prices and positive retail sales data caused a buying frenzy during the morning session, small caps have calmed in afternoon trading. At 2:30 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 6.54, or 0.91%, at 724.42.

U.S. retail sales rose 1% in May, which beat the expected rise of 0.5%. Analysts saw the jump in retail sales as a sign that American consumers were spending their $50 billion in stimulus checks. The positive sales data overshadowed a rise in unemployment claims, which climbed 25,000 to 384,000. It marked the highest point for continuing claims since February 2004. Also, the import price data hit the forecast on the nose, but it still reflected the largest three-month increase since October 1990.

The Commerce Department also said business inventories in April rose by 0.5% in April, which doubled the 0.2% jump clocked in March.

In Thursday afternoon trading, crude oil is down to $135.12 a barrel. The U.S. dollar is up against both the yen and the euro.

Further fueling the bulls was news before the opening that Belgium beer company InBev NV launched an unsolicited bid to acquire Budweiser (NYSE:BUD) for $46.4 billion, or $65 a share or a 14% premium compared with Tuesday’s closing price.

Broad market sectors on the rise this morning included restaurant services, home improvement retailers, brewers, investment services and consumer financial services. Sectors attracting sellers include non-cyclical consumer crops, gold and . . .

Shuffle Master Inc (Nasdaq:SHFL), Downey Financial Corp (Nasdaq:DSL) and Talbots Inc (Nasdaq:TLB) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: China Medical Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:CMED), Western Refining Inc (Nasdaq:WNR), AuthenTec Inc (Nasdaq:AUTH), Palm Inc (Nasdaq:PALM), M I Homes Inc (Nasdaq:MHO) and Optical Cable Corp (Nasdaq:OCCF).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Shares of Shuffle Master, Inc. (Nasdaq:SHFL) got a boost in pre-market trading after the gaming supply company posted fiscal second-quarter revenues after Monday’s close that rose, despite that fact that the Las Vegas, Nev.-based firm continues to rely less and less on product sales as it builds its lease and service revenue base.

Revenues rose 10% quarter-over-quarter and trumped the consensus on Wall Street, while earnings slipped by a penny quarter-over-quarter.

Shares rose 10%, or $0.63, to $6.87 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Shuffle Master, click SHFL.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed with a remarkable gain following news that the U.S. Federal Reserve has lowered its target interest rate. The small-cap index rose 31.45 points, or 4.83%, to 681.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 420.41 points, or 3.51%, to 12,392.66.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has retreated 10.98%, while the Dow is down 6.57% and the S&P 500 has let go 9.37%.

Small-cap stocks soared higher than their larger counterparts and added to their earlier gains on news after the start of trading that the U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to lower its target interest rate 0.75% to 2.25%.

“Recent information indicates that the outlook for economic activity has weakened further,” the Fed said in a statement. “Growth in consumer spending has slowed and labor markets have softened.”

The market had priced a full 1% of the federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, but policymakers expressed concern about inflation.

Shuffle Master, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHFL), a maker of gambling-related products including automatic playing card shufflers and roulette chip sorters, announced after the closing bell that its third-quarter profit dwindled 63% to $2.7 million, or $0.08 a share, below analyst expectations of $0.13 per share and down from $7.3 million, or $0.20 per share, a year earlier.

Las Vegas-based Shuffle Master’s revenue for the three months ended July 31 was $45.1 million, slightly below Wall Street projections of $45.7 million and up more than 10% from $40.7 million in the year-ago period. Higher costs and expenses caused the lower quarterly profits. The company’s total costs and expenses for the quarter were $39 million, up 42% from $27.4 million a year earlier. Lease and royalty costs rose more than 58% to $4.6 million, from $2.9 million during the same three months of 2006.

The firm’s total number of installed shufflers increased 17% year-over-year to 24,572 units, from 21,001 units.

“To that point, we were pleased with our results as they underscored a material shift from selling to leasing in our utility and entertainment segments. We are also pleased to announce the reorganizing of our Las Vegas headquarters, including the formation of a corporate product group,” CEO Mark Yoseloff said in a statement. “This will better position Shuffle Master to centralize the Company’s worldwide product strategy, while fostering the product innovations that have continually transformed the industry.”

In after hours trading, shares of the small cap are nearing a 52-week low, down 10.04%, or $1.54, at $13.80. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $13.53 to $32.82.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) have each gained more than one percent as the rally on Wall Street continues. At 2:49 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 10.40 points, or 1.24%, to 850.37. The Dow had added 193.95 points, or 1.43%, to 13,771.82.

Shares of Progressive Gaming International Corp. (Nasdaq: PGIC) were dealt a lucky hand, rising $0.02, or 0.34%, to $5.97, following news the supplier of casino management solutions is selling one of its divisions to Shuffle Master, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHFL). Progressive has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to sell its Table Game division to Shuffle Master for an undisclosed sum, the two Las Vegas-based companies announced before the opening bell. After the completion of the deal, which is expected on or before Aug. 31, Shuffle Master will own the rights to Progressive's proprietary table game titles, including the popular Texas Hold ’em Bonus Poker.