Tag - Aai

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:OREX), Oriental Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:OFG) and Imation Corp. (Nasdaq:IMN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. (Nasdaq:CHIC), AirTran Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAI), Overstock.com Inc. (Nasdaq:OSTK), Fulton Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:FULT), Terremark Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq:TMRK) and Martin Midstream Partners LP (Nasdaq:MMLP).

Hooker Furniture Corp. (Nasdaq:HOFT), Old Second Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:OSBC) and Citi Trends Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRN) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Pantry Inc. (Nasdaq:PTRY), Neutral Tandem Inc. (Nasdaq:TNDM), Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SKH), AirTran Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAI), Flexsteel Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:FLXS) and Volt Information Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:VOL).

Pegasystems Inc. (Nasdaq:PEGA), Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:GSBC) and Pharmaxis Depository Receipt (Nasdaq:PXSL) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: AirTran Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAI), MannKind Corp. (Nasdaq:MNKD), Caribou Coffee Co Inc. (Nasdaq:CBOU), ArcSight Inc. (Nasdaq:ARST), SIGA Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGA) and Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:CRTX).

ARCA biopharma Inc. (Nasdaq:ABIO), AirTran Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAI) and California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (Nasdaq:CPKI) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

RC2 Corp. (Nasdaq:RCRC), Destination Maternity Corp. (Nasdaq:DEST) and AirTran Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAI) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. (Nasdaq:PFCB), Temple-Inland Inc. (Nasdaq:TIN), GMX Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:GMXR), Diedrich Coffee Inc. (Nasdaq:DDRX), Perry Ellis International Inc. (Nasdaq:PERY) and Andersons Inc. (Nasdaq:ANDE).

AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AAI) is up more than 11% today despite two downgrades. Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded AirTran to “neutral” from “outperform” and Moody’s Investor Services downgraded the Orlando-based airline’s credit rating to a low junk status – to CAA2 from B3. During today’s trading shares of AirTran sunk more than 19% on the news, but near the close, shares have rebounded, up 11% from Monday’s close. The stock was lifted by falling crude prices.

At 3:25 p.m. ET, shares of AirTran are at $1.54, up $0.16 from the prior day’s close.

AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI), Clayton Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:CLAY) and Quixote Corp. (Nasdaq:QUIX) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (Nasdaq:CBLI), Hardinge Inc. (Nasdaq:HDNG) and The Standard Register Co. (NYSE:SR) are also among the top small-cap percentage gainers.

Here are Monday's biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI) shares are soaring more than 34% after the airline operator said after Friday’s close that its liquidity has improved to $358 million in investment and cash holdings, compared with $326 million a year earlier. The Orlando, Fla.-based firm said it anticipates liquidity further improving during the second quarter of 2008.

In Monday morning trading, AAI shares are up 31.23%, or $1.29, at $5.42. For detailed price information and recent news stories about AirTran Holdings, click AAI.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) and the Dow are trading in the red. At 3:11 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 1.45 points, or 0.20%, to 709.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 70.28 points, or 0.56%, to 12,584.08.

Small caps have surrendered their earlier gains and fallen into negative territory with less than an hour left in the session.

Airline companies are currently the worst-performing industry group. Among the losers is Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AAI), while shares of Allegiant Travel Co. (Nasdaq:ALGT) are bucking the trend, up about 1%.

On the other hand, gold and silver companies are currently the best-performing industry group. Among the winners is Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp. (AMEX:TRE), which is primarily engaged in gold properties in Tanzania.

Shares of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI) are gaining altitude on news before the start of trading that the airline is reducing ticket prices. The Orlando, Fla.-based company announced that it is introducing lower fares on one-way tickets purchased by midnight today.

At 11:15 a.m. ET, the stock had added $0.29, or 4%, to $6.89.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) fell for the first time this week on news of an unexpected decline in February orders for durable goods. The small-cap index lost 3.16 points, or 0.45%, to 702.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was off 109.74 points, or 0.88%, to 12,422.86.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has shed 8.34%, while the Dow is down 6.35% and the S&P 500 has decreased 8.66%.

Stocks small and large opened in negative territory and never looked up on news before the start of trading that orders for manufactured durable goods fell 1.7% in February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Economists were . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) and the Dow have added to their earlier gains. At 3:02 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had climbed 16.61 points, or 2.50%, to 680.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 251.23 points, or 2.08%, to 12,350.89.

Stocks small and large are rising on news after the start of trading that a key factory index came in better than expected. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its index of regional manufacturing activity showed a reading of -17 in March, while economists had forecasted -20. The reading for February was -24.

The numbers show continued weakness and represent the longest period of contraction in five years.

Shares of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI) are losing altitude following news before the start of trading that the low fare airline has signed a two-year $4 million contract with telecommunications giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). The deal extends a previous agreement that gives Orlando-based AirTran network and calling services covering all of its 45 locations nationwide.

At 3:46 p.m. ET, shares were down $0.24, or 4%, to $5.87.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) reversed earlier losses and posted a solid gain as investors embraced news of a report that the end of writedowns is near. The small-cap index climbed 12.43 points, or 1.86%, to 679.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) advanced 35.50 points, or 0.29%, to 12,145.74.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has shed 11.26%, while the Dow is down 8.44% and the S&P 500 has decreased 10.41%.

Stocks small and large opened with steep declines but managed to recover midway through the session on news of a report by rating agency Standard & Poor that said the end is in sight for writedowns stemming from the mess in the subprime mortgage sector.

Also helping the bulls establish their dominance was news of a bill proposed by House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank that would allow the U.S. Federal Housing Administration to refinance mortgages that have been written down by lenders.

Small-caps confidently moved into the green at about 12 p.m. ET and never looked back.

The bearish mood in the morning was partially due to news from the U.S. Commerce Department before the opening that retail sales dropped 0.6% in February, defying economists’ forecasts for an increase of 0.2%.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is firmly in negative territory midway through the session. At 1:49 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 14.59 points, or 2.13%, to 669.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had lost 120.89 points, or 0.99%, to 12,134.10.

The bears are running the show on news that residential mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc. (NYSE: TMA) and investment company Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd., which has made residential mortgage-backed securities, have failed to meet margins calls.

A “margin call” is when banks call in their loans to investors, who are in turn forced to sell off assets to raise cash, leading to a reduction in the price of those assets and more margin calls and losses.

Separately, a report by the U.S. Labor Department before the start of trading showed that jobless claims for the week ended March 1 fell 24,000 to 351,000, from an upwardly revised 375,000 the preceding week. Economists were expecting to see a smaller decline.

However, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits increased 29,000 to 2.83 million, the highest level in two years.

With stocks small and large falling, shares of airline companies are leading the way down.

Among small-cap airlines, Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: RJET) is flying at a lower altitude.

A strong rally in the last hour of trading lifted the Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices in the green. The small-cap index rose 7.26 points, or 1.03%, to 712.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 146.24 points, or 1.16%, to 12,735.31.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has lost 7.04%, while the Dow is down 3.99% and the S&P 500 has declined 4.03%.

An uneven day of trading ended on a bullish note as investors went hunting for bargains late in the session.

Small-cap stocks had no clear direction much of the time, as the bears and bulls struggled and sought to gain a perspective on the state of the U.S. economy. The Russell 2000 spent the early morning near the flat line but slipped and fell at about 11:30 a.m. ET. It bottomed out shortly after 2 p.m. ET as investors reacted to news that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is predicting a recession.

The New York-based investment bank wrote in a note to its clients that it expects gross domestic product to decline in the second and third quarters, prompting the Fed to keep lowering the federal funds rate until it hits 2.5%.

The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, currently stands at 4.25%.

The airlines industry has suffered extreme turbulence since 9/11, from which it has not recovered. Toss in the rapidly rising fuel costs since the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, and you have a double whammy smackdown that has brought many major carriers a trip through bankruptcy.
 
Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: FRNT) and other smaller, regional carriers have fared better. But even with marketing tools such as 50 images of wildlife like grizzly bears, hares and wood ducks gracing the tails of its aircraft and the catchy slogan, “A whole different animal,” Frontier is having a bear of a time in keeping analysts from lumping it indiscriminately with some of its more troubled peers.
 
There are some changes in the air for Denver-based Frontier, however. CEO and President Jeff Potter announced last Thursday that he was resigning, effective September 6, to take another chief executive position outside of the airline industry. The next day Frontier's stock rose nearly 4% to $5.22, lifting the price from the $5.00 52-week low earlier in the week. A few days before that, Sam Addoms, company chairman and co-founder, said he planned to retire at the same time, when Frontier holds its annual shareholders’ meeting. Potter, 47, who rose through the ranks at Frontier, will remain on the company’s board.

Analysts had a neutral to negative view of Frontier before it reported results on July 26 for the quarter ended June 30, the first period in its fiscal 2008 year, and it doesn’t appear as if that report swayed their opinion. The company posted a net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.10 a share, compared with a profit of $4 million, or $0.10 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Still, sales grew 13% to $344.8 million.
 
Maybe industry observers need to lighten up, because Frontier is – lightening up, that is. As fuel costs continue to rise, seemingly without a pause, Frontier is in the midst of swapping out the seats in its youthful fleet of Airbus jets with a lighter variety. The company estimates that it can save $5.4 million a year in fuel costs with the switch – and it’s going to be able to add four seats to each plane. Of course, there’s a capital expenditure for the project, which cost it $1.4 million in the quarter in accelerated depreciation costs.