Tag - WXS

First California Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:FCAL), Wright Express Corp. (Nasdaq:WXS) and Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:MIPI) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Alyst Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq:AYA), Summit Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SMMF), Warwick Valley Telephone Co. (Nasdaq:WWVY), W Holding Co Inc. (Nasdaq:WHI), Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq:HLIT) and Bancorp Bank (Nasdaq:TBBK).

Greenbrier Companies Inc (Nasdaq:GBX), Wright Express Corp (Nasdaq:WXS) and Yucheng Technologies Ltd (Nasdaq:YTEC) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Jones Apparel Group Inc (Nasdaq:JNY), BPZ Resources Inc (Nasdaq:BPZ), Thermadyne Holdings Corp (Nasdaq:THMD), Taylor Capital Group Inc (Nasdaq:TAYC), Bank of the Ozarks Inc (Nasdaq:OZRK) and Cascade Bancorp (Nasdaq:CACB).

Small-cap stocks jumped higher on the opening, a welcome sign after the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) suffered the largest one-day loss of the year on Monday. Buying interest was stirred by optimism for a bail-out of beleaguered U.S. automakers, anticipation for another round of global rate cuts and just a plain old oversold bounce after Mondays’s rout. At 9:57 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 was up 5.14, or 1.23%, at 422.21.

Investor eyes will be on our nation’s capital today as auto industry executives gather in Washington with hands held out begging for a rescue package to avert potential failure. In a turnabout from last month’s embarrassment when the executives showed up on their chartered jets asking for taxpayer money, this time around the top dog at General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) said he was willing to work for just $1. CEOs from the Big 3 also were either flying commercial or driving to Capital Hill. The general perception is that after some browbeating, lawmakers will come up with an aid package for automakers in the $25 billion range. Shortly after the open, GM stock was up 6%, while Ford was up 5%.

Today’s meetings in Washington will coincide with monthly figures for vehicle sales, which are expected to be among the worst in a quarter-century. Overnight, news on the auto front was bad around the world, with new vehicle registrations in Germany down 17% for the month of November and down 28% in South Africa. Toyota and Tata (India’s top carmaker) announced plans to slash annual production to avoid building up inventory of unsold vehicles.

Financial shares were in bounce mode this morning after getting absolutely hammered Monday. Investors were hopeful for another round of global rate cuts to stimulate the world out of recession. The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed 100 basis points off their benchmark rate last night, which was much more aggressive than expected. In addition, the Bank of Japan expanded lending, and rate cuts are expected out of the United Kingdom, eurozone and New Zealand soon, and out of Sweden . . .

Small-cap stocks jumped higher on the opening, a welcome sign after the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) suffered the largest one-day loss of the year on Monday. Buying interest was stirred by optimism for a bail-out of beleaguered U.S. automakers, anticipation for another round of global rate cuts and just a plain old oversold bounce after Mondays’s rout. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE:MRX), Wright Express Corp. (NYSE:WXS) and Clinical Data Inc.  (Nasdaq:CLDA).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• New data out: retail sales down 0.4% on a year-over-year basis for the week, down 0.9% in Nov. from last year, while off 1.1% from Oct.  
• On the open, crude oil prices were up about $0.40 a barrel, and energy stocks were up about 2.4%.  
• Commodity markets stabilized this morning, which was a big relief after crude oil collapsed 9% Monday.  
• The Reserve Bank of Australia slashed 100 basis points off their benchmark rate last night, which was much more aggressive than expected.
• Investors were hopeful for another round of global rate cuts to stimulate the world out of recession.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. gapped higher and was up about 17% as the skin treatment firm resolved a patent dispute to license a generic version of it’s acne drug. See (NYSE:MRX).  
• Wright Express Corp. rose 13% as the payment processing firm basically recovered Monday’s big slide. See (NYSE:WXS).
• Clinical Data Inc. rose 11% as the biotech company bounce off Monday’s severe decline amid a dearth of fresh news. See (Nasdaq:CLDA).
• America's Car-Mart Q2 earnings rise; shares climb 6.3% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CRMT).


Small Cap Losers:

• Palm Inc. tumbled 34% as the smart phone maker lowered quarterly projections. See (Nasdaq:PALM).
• Enzon scraps spinoff of biotech division; shares tumble 16% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:ENZN).
• Solarfun Power swings to Q3 loss; shares drop nearly 13% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:SOLF).  
• Skyworks Solutions Inc. gapped lower and slumped 13% after the analog semiconductor firm lowered guidance. See (Nasdaq:SWKS).  

Small caps closed up nearly 2%, embracing the Fed’s rate cut, a thaw in credit markets and a bounce in commodity-tied stocks. Today’s small-cap gainers are Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SVNT), Savvis (Nasdaq:SVVS) and Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The rate cut by the Fed coincides with global easing; just last night, central bank officials in China cut rates by 0.27% and European leaders hinted that further rate cuts are possible. 
• It’s possible that the bulls were corralled a little bit today, leery to take a big bullish stand ahead of Thursday’s GDP report.
• Commodities were a key part of the story today, which may explain some of the relative strength in small caps, which have shown a tendency to more closely track commodity trends in recent weeks.
• Crude oil prices jumped some 9%, or more than $5 a barrel, bolstered by oversold conditions and a slide in the U.S. dollar, which tumbled some 1.4% against the euro.
• Copper has soared some 14%, which is particularly interesting because copper is often seen as a proxy for economic activity around the globe. Copper has collapsed in recent weeks, but a stabilization in that market would be a positive sign for the global economy.

Small Cap Gainers:

• BioMimetic Therapeutics reports promising clinical results using injectable bone graft. Shares close up 21%. See (Nasdaq:BMTI).  
• Tessera Technologies shares surged 30% after arbitration ruling. See (Nasdaq:TSRA).  
• Savient Pharmaceuticals announces data in treatment-failure gout . . .

Atlas Pipeline Holdings L. P (Nasdaq:AHD), VistaPrint Ltd. (Nasdaq:VPRT) and CTS Corp. (Nasdaq:CTS) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE), ECB Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:ECBE), Wright Express Corp. (Nasdaq:WXS), Williams-Sonoma Inc. (Nasdaq:WSM), Bruker Corp. (Nasdaq:BRKR) and Oceanfreight Inc. (Nasdaq:OCNF).

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

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-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).  

Shares Wright Express Corporation (NYSE:WXS) are up 16% today after the company announced its second-quarter earnings had beat Wall Street expectations. For the second quarter, the South Portland, Maine-based company had a net loss of $24.4 million, or $0.63 per share, compared to a profit of $16.4 million, or $0.40 per share, for the same period a year ago. Revenues grew 29% from a year ago to $111 million. The company’s adjusted net income was $0.57 per share, while analysts were expecting earnings per share of $0.54. 

At 2:44 p.m. ET, shares of Wright Express are at $27.88, up $3.88 from Tuesday’s close. The stock has ranged from $22.14 to $41.12 during the past year.

Barrett Business Services Inc (Nasdaq:BBSI), Trex Co In (Nasdaq:TWP) and American Commercial Lines Inc (Nasdaq:ACLI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Image Sensing Systems Inc (Nasdaq:ISNS), SAVVIS Inc (Nasdaq:SVVS), Starent Networks Corp (Nasdaq:STAR), Wright Express Corp (Nasdaq:WXS), Hutchinson Technology Inc (Nasdaq:HTCH) and Eagle Test Systems Inc (Nasdaq:EGLT).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps: