Tag - ULTI

Small caps continue to trade sideways ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision due out at 2:15 p.m. Today’s small-cap gainers are Spectra Pharma (Nasdaq:SPPI), Denny's (Nasdaq:DENN) and  Arena Resources (NYSE:ARD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Part of the rally in commodities was tied to a pullback in the U.S. dollar, as higher dollar values can hinder demand for goods priced in dollar terms.  
• Also on the commodities front, copper was sharply higher, sugar and coffee were up, grains were called sharply higher, and gold and silver were up overnight.
• Energy shares were a big part of Wednesday’s epic stock market rally and could be a firm element in play again today.  
• Crude oil futures were in rally mode this morning, climbing some $4 a barrel on hopes that all these global rate cuts would bolster demand and put a foundation on sinking prices.  
• Small-cap stocks chopped back and forth near steady levels in a relatively calm open, in anticipation of the upcoming FOMC news.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Spectrum Pharma soars after announcing collaboration with Allergan on drug for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. See (Nasdaq:SPPI). 
• Denny's has vaulted 32% after being upgraded by a Merriman Curhan Ford to buy from neutral on good cost management in Q3  (Nasdaq:DENN) 
• Arena Resources gains after stating it will cut its cap-EX budget by 23% in 2008. See (NYSE:ARD).
• State Bancorp misses on Q3 earnings, yet shares are marginally higher. See (Nasdaq:STBC).


Small Cap Losers:

• Wright Express substantially lowers Q4 and full year guidance below the Street on fuel-price-related derivatives. See (NYSE:WXS).  
• CTS Corp. posts lower Q3 EPS, but EPS still beat the Street. Revenues declined from last year and missed estimates. See (NYSE:CTS).  
• KeyBanc Capital and Needham downgrade Ultimate Software to hold from buy. See (Nasdaq:ULTI).  
• VistaPrint plunges after cutting 2009 outlook, ThinkPanmure cuts rating to accumulate from buy. See (Nasdaq:VPRT).  

CTS Corp. (Nasdaq:CTS), Wright Express Corp. (Nasdaq:WXS) and VistaPrint Ltd. (Nasdaq:VPRT) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Williams-Sonoma Inc. (Nasdaq:WSM), Atlas Pipeline Holdings L P (Nasdaq:AHD), Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE), Ultimate Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ULTI), Vocus Inc. (Nasdaq:VOCS) and Stewart Information Services Corp. (Nasdaq:STC).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small caps are trading in a narrow range between positive and negative territory following a 50 basis point cut in the fed funds rate. At 2:33 p.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 1.64, or 0.34%, at 484.38.

The Federal Reserve concluded its two day federal open market committee meeting today with a widely expected 50-basis-point cut in the federal funds rate.

The Fed’s cut comes on the heels of a 0.27% rate cut in China. In Europe, the European Central Bank hinted that rate cuts are possible in the near-term. Rate cuts globally would help thaw the still tight credit markets around the world, easing the flow of credit.

Libor slipped for the 13th consecutive trading day, and commercial paper activity picked up dramatically following the Fed’s new program to purchase commercial paper. Evidence that the credit markets are showing signs of marginally loosening boosted the U.S. markets Tuesday and pushed overseas markets higher today.

In economic news, durable goods orders clocked in above expectations, with a gain of 0.8%, compared with the forecast for a drop of 1.1%. However, the favorable surprise couldn’t boost the market, as traders remain cautious on the dreary economic outlook...

Small-cap stocks chopped back and forth near steady levels in a relatively calm open, as support from gains in equity markets around the world were countered by mild profit-taking from short-term traders who caught the rally from Tuesday afternoon and weren’t willing to hold that risk through the big FOMC event later today. Today’s small-cap gainers are Silicon Labs (Nasdaq:SLAB), Savvis Inc. (Nasdaq:SVVS) and Odyessey HealthCare Inc. (Nasdaq:ODSY).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Part of the rally in commodities was tied to a pullback in the U.S. dollar, as higher dollar values can hinder demand for goods priced in dollar terms.  
• Also on the commodities front, copper was sharply higher, sugar and coffee were up, grains were called sharply higher, and gold and silver were up overnight.
• Energy shares were a big part of Wednesday’s epic stock market rally and could be a firm element in play again today.  
• Crude oil futures were in rally mode this morning, climbing some $4 a barrel on hopes that all these global rate cuts would bolster demand and put a foundation on sinking prices.  
• Small-cap stocks chopped back and forth near steady levels in a relatively calm open, in anticipation of the upcoming FOMC news.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Silicon Labs said Q3 revenue rose 29%, but was a shade lower than the Street. EPS jumped 50% and clocked in above Street. (Nasdaq:SLAB).  
• SAVVIS Inc. jumped 26% as the IT infrastructure services provider reported a 15% rise in revenue and a net loss of $0.01 a share. See (Nasdaq:SVVS).  
• Odyessey HealthCare Inc. is up 24% as net patient service revenue jumped 65%. See (Nasdaq:ODSY).
• ClickSoftware reports global reseller agreement with SAP, up 10%. See (Nasdaq:CKSW).

Small Cap Losers:

• Wright Express substantially lowers Q4 and full year guidance below the Street on fuel-price-related derivatives. See (NYSE:WXS).  
• CTS Corp. posts lower Q3 EPS, but EPS still beat the Street. Revenues declined from last year and missed estimates. See (NYSE:CTS).  
• KeyBanc Capital and Needham downgrade Ultimate Software to hold from buy. See (Nasdaq:ULTI).  
• VistaPrint plunges after cutting 2009 outlook, ThinkPanmure cuts rating to accumulate from buy. See (Nasdaq:VPRT).  

Small-cap stocks had an up and down session, grappling with the promise of an upbeat private employment survey versus the reality of a sudden updraft in energy prices. In the end, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 4.31, or 0.60%, at 718.86.

Small-cap stocks and tech stocks noticeably lagged the Dow and S&P 500, both of which benefited more from a jump in financial and consumer product large caps as well as money moving into big energy names. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) rallied 4% as energy markets staged a sharp recovery rally.

Crude oil prices shot some $4 dollars a barrel higher today, reversing course from recent sharp declines. The buying frenzy was set off when the weekly inventory tally showed a surprising drop in gasoline stocks. While a boon to some energy stocks, the jump in crude prices sent a chill through the overall stock market.

On the financial side of things, large caps embraced news that the Federal Reserve would extend access to its primary dealer credit facility window through Jan. 30, which helps to access cheap money needed to combat the credit crunch and raise low-cost capital amid debt write-downs. In addition, President Bush inked the rescue plan for mortgage financing firms, which will support Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), as the two firms own or guarantee nearly 50% of the country’s $12 billion in home mortgage debt. While both FNM and FRE posted solid gains today, they finished well off the morning highs. The SEC also extended a short-selling curb through Aug. 12, so when you combine that with the Fed extending the credit facility and the White House stamping approval on GSE funding measures, it sends a pretty clear message that government officials want to stabilize the financial landscape. Investors could easily see through that message and as a result, several large-cap financial firms were attractive to buyers today. Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) was up 2%, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) up 3% and Citigroup (NYSE:C) up nearly 2%.

The day started off with an unexpected bullish surprise as the ADP Employment Report showed a stunning increase in non-farm payrolls of 9,000 jobs in July, which . . .

Silicon Motion Technology Corp (Nasdaq:SIMO), LandAmerica Financial Group Inc (Nasdaq:LFG) and Online Resources Corp (Nasdaq:ORCC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: LECG Corporation (Nasdaq:XPRT), Ultimate Software Group Inc (Nasdaq:ULTI), Asbury Auto GP Ord Shs (Nasdaq:ABG), ICT Group Inc (Nasdaq:ICTG), Hanmi Financial (Nasdaq:HAFC) and Stewart Information Services Corp (Nasdaq:STC).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks pushed higher this morning, buoyed by a positive surprise on the ADP Employment Report, which heightened investor expectations for a bullish number on this Friday’s big Labor Department monthly employment release. At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 5.91, or 0.83%, at 720.46.

The headline figure on the ADP report was at plus 9,000, which was well above the forecast for a decline of 58,000 non-farm payroll jobs. The ADP report used to have a fairly nice correlation to the more extensive Labor Department release, but that correlation has broken down over the last year and the ADP figure has tended to only be a good predictor when it falls near the consensus estimate. Given that the market is looking for a slide of 75,000 jobs in Friday’s employment report, most economists viewed the ADP data this morning with skepticism. Still, it did spark a bounce in the U.S. dollar and stock index futures this morning while generating a slide in Treasuries. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was up about 1.6% this morning, suggesting money flow away from “safe-haven” products and toward stocks.

Lost in the positive glow of the ADP report was this morning’s MBA Mortgage Applications Survey, which was pegged at minus 14.1, the lowest level since December 2001. The combination of weak home sales and slumping home equity continue to take a toll on mortgage applications, despite moderating mortgage rates.

The greenback was up about 0.3% against the euro, rising to the highest point in four weeks. At the same time, crude oil prices were hovering near three-month lows and gold prices were near four-week lows, so the inflation picture was projecting a better tone this morning, and a strong dollar can attract foreign investors into U.S. assets.

Speaking of crude oil, the market was down about $1 dollar a barrel, slipping below $122, awaiting the weekly inventory data, which is expected to show a build in crude oil stocks. Rhetoric surrounding the direction of crude oil prices later this year is all over the map, with some pundits saying that crude oil could slide below $100 dollars, while some research firms are still calling for $150 dollars. Given recent stock market behavior, when prices get above $135 dollars, the stock market becomes . . .

The Ultimate Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ULTI) has sunk 27% in today’s pre-market trading after the company reported after Tuesday’s close it had swung to a second-quarter loss. For the quarter ended June 30, the Weston, Fla.-based company reported a net loss of $0.8 million, or $0.03 per share, compared with a net income of $6.4 million, or $0.23 per share, for the same period a year earlier. Revenues rose 19% from a year ago to $41.5 million.

Shares of the human resource, payroll and talent management software support company are at $24 at 8:34 a.m. ET, down $9 from Tuesday’s close. During trading hours, shares have ranged from $25.20 to $41.68 during the past year.

In the late 1990s, the tech world scoffed at the notion that corporate America would ever accept the concept of paying to download software from the Internet. But today, a growing number of small and medium-sized businesses are using on-demand software, or software-as-a-service (SaaS), for convenience and as an effective way to trim IT costs.

Market researcher IDC predicts that SaaS, which currently accounts for less than 2% of the global software market, will grow 25% annually and become a $14.5 billion industry by 2011. The popularity of on-demand software is growing so fast, in fact, that it is beginning to transform the business software industry. The rise of the SaaS delivery model has software giants Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT), Oracle Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCL) and SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) a little nervous; all are plowing billions into efforts to respond to the emerging SaaS threat.

The emergence of the on-demand software trend reflects companies' growing desire for less cumbersome and more economical means of using information technology (particularly, Web-based systems) to their advantage. For example, a new generation of Tech-savvy workers and global talent shortfalls have changed the face of human resources, which has become a hot segment for on-demand software specialists at a time when even a tiny company may have a tangled mess of disjointed IT.

San Francisco, Calif.-based Taleo Corporation (Nasdaq: TLEO) is a developer of on-demand software that helps companies manage their human resources operations. HR is an area that is often challenging for smaller companies with less manpower dedicated to the department and inefficient ad hoc systems — often based on Excel spreadsheets and emails. Taleo software, which is easy to install, manage and integrate with existing software, helps growing businesses bring their human-resources functions up to snuff by simplifying recruitment, screening and tracking chores. The company sells its software directly to customers and through HR outsourcers with which it has established partnerships.