Tag - WGOV

Trina Solar Ltd. (Nasdaq:TSL), LDK Solar Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:LDK) and Citi Trends Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Texas Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:TXI), Scholastic Corp. (Nasdaq:SCHL), Gibraltar Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:ROCK), GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq:SOLR) and Woodward Governor Co. (Nasdaq:WGOV).

GMX Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:GMXR), K12 Inc. (Nasdaq:LRN) and Penn Virginia Corp. (Nasdaq:PVA) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: National Western Life Insurance Co. (Nasdaq:NWLI), Integral System Inc. (Nasdaq:ISYS), Ladish Co Inc. (Nasdaq:LDSH), Trex Co Inc. (Nasdaq:TWP), Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:SASR) and Woodward Governor Co. (Nasdaq:WGOV).

Interwoven Inc. (Nasdaq:IWOV), ICT Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ICTG) and NVE Corp. (Nasdaq:NVEC) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNH), Psychiatric Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq:PSYS), Palm Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM), American Physicians Service Group Inc. (Nasdaq:AMPH), Woodward Governor Co. (Nasdaq:WGOV) and Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS).

Hallwood Group Inc. (Nasdaq:HWG), Woodward Governor Co. (Nasdaq:WGOV) and Ship Finance International Ltd. (Nasdaq:SFL) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ampco Pittsburgh Corp. (Nasdaq:AP), Perfect World Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:PWRD), Psychiatric Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq:PSYS), WSFS Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:WSFS), Atlas America Inc. (Nasdaq:ATLS) and W&T Offshore Inc. (Nasdaq:WTI).

Woodward Governor Co. (Nasdaq:WGOV), Ampco Pittsburgh Corp. (Nasdaq:AP) and Ship Finance International Ltd. (Nasdaq:SFL) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Perfect World Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:PWRD), GMX Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:GMXR), Telvent GIT SA (Nasdaq:TLVT), Chart Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:GTLS), Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (Nasdaq:CRZO) and Seaspan Corp. (Nasdaq:SSW).

Small-cap stocks are expected to open lower, following yet another decline in stock markets around the world overnight and by a startling rise in unemployment claims in the U.S. Further weakness could be tied to a slide in crude oil prices and further investor flight out of stocks and into credit instruments. It should be noted however, that the market is oversold, Libor rates were lower and Swiss central bankers cut rates, which could help limit early losses. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Ultrapar Participacoes  SA (Nasdaq:UGP), Randgold (Nasdaq:GOLD) and Gymboree (Nasdaq:GYMB).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The chart structure for small caps is awful right now, with the Russell 2000 in freefall mode through support points that date back more than five years.
• Yields on two-year notes hit record lows overnight, and the yield on T-bills is now near the panic lows from October.  
• The yield on benchmark 10-year notes was down a stunning 5.2% into the stock market open, reaching the lowest level since June 2003.  
• Crude oil prices were off some $3 a barrel into the stock market open, slipping below $50 for first time since January 2007.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Ultrapar Participacoes  rose 16% as the fuels distribution and chemical firm rose on light volume buying. See (NYSE:UGP).  
• Randgold up 7.4% in pre-market on news that it aims to swallow assets of rivals. See (Nasdaq:GOLD).
• Retail sales lift Gymboree fiscal 3Q profit, analyst upgrades small cap to "overweight" from neutral." Shares climb about 5% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:GYMB).  
• NICE Systems wins $20 million order from an EMEA government agency; shares climb slightly higher in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:NICE).

Small Cap Losers:

• Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. is down 29% on sour earnings news. See (NYSE:STP).
• Woodward Governor Co. lost 27% as the energy solution provider took an earnings lump. See (Nasdaq:WGOV).  
• VeriFone Inc. tumbled 26% as the electronic payment firm made a preliminary comment on quarterly results. See (NYSE:PAY). 
• Oil and gas exploration company Linn Energy down 3% in pre-market as the majority of stocks in the energy sector are being hurt by falling crude oil prices. See (Nasdaq:LINE).

Small-cap stocks tumbled to new lows on the open, pressured by a gloomy report on employment in the United States and sinking equities around the globe. Safe haven flows continue to pummel stocks as investors move money into credit products. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 11.07, or 2.68%, at 401.31.

The weekly unemployment claims report produced another sour picture of the nation’s jobs situation. More people filed for unemployment insurance last week than any previous 16 years. What’s more, the four-week moving average was at a 25-year peak and continuing claims – the number of people remaining on unemployment insurance – reached 4.012 million, the highest in nearly 26 years. When the claims report came out, stock index futures were only off about 0.5%, but tumbled to 2% losses by the opening as the market absorbed the claims numbers.

In addition to the gloomy claims report, data on manufacturing from the Philly Fed Survey came out below expectations at 39.3 and the leading indicators report came in at minus 0.8%, below the forecast for a drop of 0.6%.

Around the globe, stocks were in retreat mode once again. In Japan, the market was down 6.9% as the world’s second-largest economy reported that exports to its Asian trading partners was down for the first time in six years, yet another sign of slowing activity among emerging economies. Speaking of emerging markets, Russia and Turkey were off some 4% heading into the U.S. open, and the whitewash for emerging market equities has been brutal, with those countries down a combined 62% for the year. Elsewhere overnight, Hong Kong was down 4%, Taiwan off 4.5%, Australia off 4.1%, Singapore down 3.1%, South Korea down 6.6% and India down 3.6%.

Crude oil prices were in full retreat mode again this morning, pulling down energy and commodity stocks as well. Crude oil prices were off some $3 a barrel into the stock market open, slipping below $50 for first time since January 2007. Copper futures were limit down in Shanghai overnight; copper is seen as a barometer of . . .

Today concludes SmallCapInvestor.com’s Roundtable. In this final installment, our experts examine the alternative energy sector, compare the tech bubble burst with the current implosion of financials and take the temperature of the current state of the credit market. Taking a look at the international investing landscape, our experts still perceive the emerging nations, particularly China, to be the hottest destination for investment. And lastly our experts on average forecast the small-cap index Russell 2000 will end the year higher than it is today. (This is part five of a five part series.)

What do you think about alternative energy? Do you think that energy prices need to remain inflated for the alternative energy space to remain profitable? 

Oberweis: “No, the key for alternative energy is the subsidies, quite frankly. The real danger to buying solar stocks right now is there’s some momentum in the Spanish and German markets, which are the two of the large consumers and drivers of the adoption of solar energy, to reduce or remove the subsidies that are making the technologies economical and affordable. That’s probably a much bigger and more important driver of the success of solar companies than the actual price of oil.”

O’Halloran: “Alternative energy is an industry where we have very strong forces helping the companies. We have three holdings in solar energy: SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq:SPWR), Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENER) and JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:JASO). This year we have more wind energy companies in the portfolio because wind energy is just starting to ramp up aggressively like solar did over the past couple of years. 

“American Superconductor (Nasdaq:AMSC) and Woodward Governor Company (Nasdaq:WGOV) — whose equipment is used to adjust turbine-generated power for conveyance to electrical grids — are a couple. There are also companies such as RBC Bearings Inc. (Nasdaq:ROLL) and Kaydon Corp. (NYSE:KDN), which make bearings for the wind turbines. Another is ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ITC), which is in the process of rebuilding electrical transmission lines as part of a federal government initiative. These upgrade lines will help take energy from [wind farms], put it on to the electrical grid and get it into homes. Fuel cells and their technology and ethanol are either too early or not profitable enough for us to be involved with . . .

After what seemed to be an ephemeral spring rally, stocks were pummeled last week with oil’s skyward climb, the Fed’s bleak outlook and unwelcoming economic data. However, once the credit kinks are worked out and the dust clears, small caps may be the place to park your money, according to Bill Greiner, chief investment officer for UMB Asset Management and UMB Bank, and chief economist for Scout Investment Advisors.

“There are a number of factors that have led me to believe that small-cap equities will probably do well going forward — and those factors center on how bad things are right now,” Greiner said in an interview with SmallCapInvestor.com.

Greiner points to economic indicators for signs of probable future success for small caps. First he examines consumer sentiment. According to the veteran investor, when you analyze the consumer sentiment data, you look at the trend over the last 30-year period. When the read on consumer sentiment has been below a level of 96, the following 12-month period of time small-cap companies have outperformed large cap companies by close to 1,000 basis points, Greiner said. The latest read on the consumer confidence index was below 76.

“When the consumer’s been this negative before, it’s been a great time to buy small-cap companies,” he said.

Next, Greiner looks at economic coincident indicators, a coincident economic indicator is one that moves at the same time the economy does. The latest read for coincident economic indicators overall was 0.56%. 

“The last time we were in this environment was back in the early 2000’s, right before the start of the big rally in stocks in general,” said Greiner. “That leads me to believe that small-cap companies are probably positioned relatively well.” 

According to Greiner, when coincident indicators have been at this stage historically, small-cap stocks on average generated returns of 25.6% for the next 12-month . . .