Tag - SOAP

Stocks reversed the downward course they were forging during Friday trading, and pared some losses after the U.S. government put rumors of bank nationalizations to rest. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Soapstone Networks (Nasdaq:SOAP), Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq:MXWL) and Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SCMP).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• A new report on consumer prices was released this morning. Economists predicted the Consumer Price Index likely rose by 0.3% last month, and the data turned out to be exactly in line with the predictions.  
• For the year, the Russell is down 17.72%, the Dow is down 16.07% and the S&P 500 is down 14.75%. 
• The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 5.75, or 1.38%, to 410.96, while the Dow topped off Friday down 1.34% to 7,365.67, and the S&P 500 fell 1.14% to 770.05.  
• Stocks reversed the downward course they were forging during Friday trading, and pared some losses after the U.S. government put rumors of bank nationalizations to rest.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Soapstone Networks up 18% after the company announced it was reviewing strategic alternatives. See (Nasdaq:SOAP).
• Maxwell Technologies posts higher 4th quarter sales and gross margin, buoying shares 16% higher. See (Nasdaq:MXWL).  
• Sucampo Pharmaceuticals reports its third consecutive year of profitability with record FY 2008 results. Shares climbed 12% higher on the news. See (Nasdaq:SCMP).  
• Analyst lifts Red Robin's target; 2008 revenue Up, com. sales down. RRGB up 12.5%. See (Nasdaq:RRGB).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Chiquita Brands' Q4 loss widens, freezes executive salaries. Shares plunge over 40%. See (NYSE:CQB).
• IT company CIBER, Inc. down 22% after announcing pricing of common stock offering. See (NYSE:CBR).  
• WellCare suspends Medicare enrollments; shares fall 22%. See (NYSE:WCG).  
• Residential and commercial building material manufacturer Owens Corning down 20% as investors digest earnings, small cap mulls job cuts. See (NYSE:OC).  

Soapstone Networks Inc (Nasdaq:SOAP), Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:CRBC) and United Community Banks Inc (Nasdaq:UCBI) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Independent Bank Corp (Nasdaq:IBCP), Downey Financial Corp (Nasdaq:DSL) and Sealy Corp (Nasdaq:ZZ) are also among the new 52-week lows.

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