Tag - VECO

SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq:SPSS), Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO) and Virgin Mobile USA Inc. (Nasdaq:VM) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: LaserCard Corp. (Nasdaq:LCRD), Universal Travel Group (Nasdaq:UTA), Summit Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SMMF), EnerNOC Inc. (Nasdaq:ENOC), Lacrosse Footwear Inc. (Nasdaq:BOOT) and Immunomedics Inc. (Nasdaq:IMMU).

USG Corp. (Nasdaq:USG), Live Nation Inc. (Nasdaq:LYV) and Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO) are among the  among 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Hadera Paper Ltd. (Nasdaq:AIP), Crosstex Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:XTXI), Oplink Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:OPLK), Patriot Coal Corp. (Nasdaq:PCX), Rockwood Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:ROC) and J Crew Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JCG).

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

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO) are soaring more than 20% today after reporting after Monday’s close that it had swung to a profit during the second quarter. For the quarter ended June 30, net income was $4.2 million, or $0.13 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.08 per share, for the same period a year earlier. Revenues were $114.4 million, up from $98.8 million a year ago and above the Woodbury, N.Y.-based guidance of $102 million to $110 million. The company said better sales in its LED and solar process equipment helped buoy sales along with the purchase of Mill Lane Engineering.

In today’s trading, shares are at $18 at 10:16 a.m. ET, up $3.06 from Monday’s close. Shares have ranged from $12.04 to $20.50 during the past year. The stock is up more than 6% since January.

Small-cap stocks pushed higher, recouping some of Monday’s big decline amid lower crude prices and positive economic data. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 9.95, or 1.43%, at 706.06.

The consumer confidence report came out at 51.9, which was above the forecast of 50 and which sparked a quick jump in the U.S. dollar while extending the morning rally in equities.

Earlier this morning, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index slipped at a record pace to minus 15.8% in May, which wasn’t a surprise to the market, but is sobering news to home owners who have seen four years of home equity wiped out during the recent downturn in housing.

Crude oil futures were pushing lower this morning, which provided some support to the stock market. The market for black gold was off nearly $2 dollars a barrel into the U.S. stock market open, backing down below $124 amid concerns about the demand picture. OPEC president Chakib Khelil said that current prices for crude were “abnormal” and that prices could fall to $70 to $80 dollars in the long-term picture if the U.S. dollar strengthens and political tensions ease. The greenback was up this morning about 0.6% against both the euro and the yen.

Traders will keep a close watch on the financial arena again today following news overnight that Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) announced plans to write-down $5.7 billion in debt and raise $8.5 billion in capital through new stock sales. Shortly after the open, MER shares were down 1%. Also within the financial spectrum, Citigroup (NYSE:C) was the target of negative analyst comments overnight and slumped 2.5% on the open.

Coming into the opening today, stock markets around the world were on tilt, sinking to two-week lows as the MER news sparked renewed fears about the credit crunch. Although European shares bounced off the lows, they were hit hard at times overnight, and Asian markets had a decidedly bearish result, with Japan down 1.4%, Hong Kong down 1.8%, China down 1.8%, Taiwan down 3.0%, Australia . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) closed in the green following news that Warren Buffet has offered to help bond insurers. The small-cap index advanced 5.73 points, or 0.82%, to 705.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 133.40 points, or 1.09%, to 12,373.41.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has declined 7.90%, while the Dow has retreated 6.72% and the S&P 500 has lost 8.14%.

The bulls completely dominated trading today as small-cap stocks opened higher and stayed positive throughout the session following news that billionaire investor Warren Buffett has offered to have his company, Berkshire Hathaway, assume responsibility for $800 billion of municipal bonds guaranteed by bond insurers MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI), Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) and Financial Guaranty Insurance Co.

There have been concerns recently that the three companies could be downgraded due to write-downs from insuring subprime debt. The bond insurers would welcome relief for their entire portfolio, but Buffett is only offering help for their relatively safe municipal bond holdings.

Nevertheless, investors were in a buying mood, which was also bolstered by news that ailing carmaker General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) swung to a fourth-quarter net loss that was not as severe as analysts had forecasted.

Also helping the bulls was news after the start of trading that St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole thinks the U.S. economy will likely avoid recession.

Small-cap stocks touched their peak of the session at about 2 p.m. ET before easing to their close level.

Here are the day’s biggest percentage gainers and losers, along with top volume leaders, among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Data storage company Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) expects third quarter revenue to be in the range of $92 million to $97 million and a loss in the range of $0.25 to $0.18 per share, CEO John Peeler reiterated during a morning conference call. The company also expects bookings in the range of $100 million to $115 million for the three months ending Sept. 30.

“Clearly the third quarter of ‘07 is a transition quarter for Veeco as we are being impacted by the introduction of critical new products that have slow growth margins,” Peeler said during the call. “Certain other new tools have acceptances which have been delayed until the fourth quarter, accounting for the relatively low revenue guidance being provided.”

The company’s bookings for the third quarter are flat, but Peeler acknowledged during the call that the guidance is conservative.

Before the opening bell, Veeco reported lower second-quarter revenue of $98.8 million, from $111.6 million in the year-ago period. The company recorded a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.08 per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with a profit of $3 million, or $0.10 per share, a year earlier. The earnings were below Veeco’s guidance range of a $0.03 loss per share and earnings of $0.02 per share.

Excluding restructuring charges of $1.3 million, amortization expenses and using a 35% tax rate in both periods, Veeco reported earnings of $0.05 per share in the second quarter, compared with $0.18 per share in second quarter 2006.