Tag - Apkt

ACME Packet Inc. (Nasdaq:APKT), Mariner Energy Inc.(Nasdaq:ME), Berkshire Bancorp (Nasdaq:BERK) and Hong Kong Highpower Technology (Nasdaq:HPJ) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

 

Also included among the results: Washington Banking Co. (Nasdaq:WBCO), Spartech Corp. (Nasdaq:SEH), Carolina Trust Bank (Nasdaq:CART), Old Line BancShares (Nasdaq:OLBK) and Gliii Apparel Group (Nasdaq:GIII).

Acme Packet Inc. (Nasdaq:APKT), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ) and ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CKSW) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Trailer Bridge Inc. (Nasdaq:TRBR), Digimarc Corp. (Nasdaq:DMRC), Mexco Energy Corp. (Nasdaq:MXC), Diedrich Coffee Inc. (Nasdaq:DDRX), Savannah Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:SAVB) and Force Protection Inc. (Nasdaq:FRPT).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE) and Sierra Wireless Inc. (Nasdaq:SWIR) are among the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAG), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (Nasdaq:AMCC), Acme Packet Inc. (Nasdaq:APKT), S1 Corp. (Nasdaq:SONE) and Force Protection Inc. (Nasdaq:FRPT).

Spectranetics Corp. (Nasdaq:SPNC), Volt Information Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:VOL) and Blyth Inc. (Nasdaq:BTH) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Opnext Inc. (Nasdaq:OPXT), Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:HOV), Houston American Energy Corp. (Nasdaq:HUSA), Acme Packet Inc. (Nasdaq:APKT), Northern Oil and Gas Inc. (Nasdaq:NOG) and Diamond Management & Technology Consultants Inc. (Nasdaq:DTPI).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks edged lower Thursday, unable to match gains registered in large-cap indices as the specter of record high oil prices and high unemployment were enough to hold back the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM). The Russell closed down 6.56, or 0.98%, at 665.78, the lowest daily close since March 19.

Despite the negative finish, the market did mount a modest solid bounce off the morning lows, finding support above 660, which is the next big test for an index that is once again back in bear market territory and flirting with a hard retest of the March trough.

Even though there seemed to be a little disconnect between the news and price action today, some traders weren’t that surprised with the overall trends. “I think a portion of Wednesday’s sell-off was linked to jitters over the employment report. The market was bracing for a payroll number closer to minus 100,000,” Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research with MF Global, said in an email interview.

Also, Kalivas said that the weak performance in small caps compared to the Dow and S&P 500 was tied to a wave of profit-taking in small-cap energy shares, which were up sharply in the second quarter.

In some ways, price action today was relatively unsettling as headline figures on monthly employment and a rate hike by the ECB would seem to be bearish, but were embraced as far better than the “whisper” numbers bandied about in a worst-case scenario. In the case of employment data, the headline figure came out at minus 62,000, which was relatively close to the median forecast for a loss of 60,000. However, when the ADP report came out Wednesday at minus 79,000, it prompted some talk that the Labor Department figure could be closer to minus 100,000, which meant that losing “only” 62,000 non-farm jobs suddenly didn’t seem all that bad. It’s a little more tricky to shrug off the 5.5% unemployment rate however, which analysts expected to dip to 5.4% or even better after last month’s dramatic 0.5% leap was supposedly a statistical quirk. Regardless, the market chose to take . . .

After opening lower, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) remains shallowly in the red on thin trading in a shortened trading session amid a mixed jobs report, a lower-than-anticipated ISM services reading and climbing crude prices.

While the small-cap index remains in the red, the larger-cap indices are climbing higher late morning. At 11:52 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 was down 2.25, or 0.33%, to 670.09, while the Dow was up 103.16, or 0.92%, to 11,318.67. Equity markets will close at 1 pm ET, ahead of the Independence Day Holiday.

The Labor Department reported before the opening that the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.5% in June from May, a hair higher than the forecasted decline to 5.4%. However, non-farm payrolls tumbled 62,000, which was lower than the median forecast for a decline of 50,000. Employers remain cautious amid high energy prices and a sluggish economy. Construction, manufacturing and financial services were among the areas hardest hit, while education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and government showed gains.

“The unemployment rate stayed higher in June after soaring in May. This suggests that May’s surge in joblessness was more of a catch-up to the slow rise in the prior six months than a seasonal adjustment difficulty. Regardless, over the past year the number of unemployed has increased by 1.5 million to 8.5 million and the unemployment rate has increased by one percentage point to 5.5%. In the post-World War II period, every time the unemployment rate has jumped by a full percentage point in the course of a year, the economy has slipped into recession,” Steven Wood, chief economist with Insight Economics, said in an email.

The ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey came in at 48.2, below the median forecast of 51.5. A reading below 50 signals contraction, while a reading above 50 signals expansion. In addition, the prices paid index was the highest since the . . .

Acme Packet Inc. (Nasdaq:APKT), TranS1 Inc. (Nasdaq:TSON) and ARYx Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:ARYX) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Pyramid Oil Company (AMEX:PDO), Gushan Environmental Energy Limited (NYSE:GU), Security Bank Corp. (Nasdaq:SBKC), ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited (Nasdaq:CXSP), Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:VLTR) and Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq:FSYS).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks turned lower, unable to sustain an opening bid. The early rise in stocks — particularly large caps, appeared to take its a cue from a surging dollar in the wake of jobs data that failed to deliver a feared knockout blow and an ECB rate hike that also didn’t crank out the worst scenario. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 10.86, or 1.61%, at 661.48. Price action in small caps was noticeably lagging large-cap index products early today, which is a caution sign for the overall market.

The ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey came out at 10:00 a.m. ET, with the headline number at 48.2, which was well below the median forecast. In addition, the prices paid index was the highest since the data began in 1997. The ISM data pushed all of the major stock index products into negative territory, wiping out the surprising opening rally after soft employment data.

This morning’s initial rally in large-cap stocks and the U.S. dollar was all about the way expectations play into the reality of news. Although the jobs report and weekly claims figures look bearish on the surface, the “whisper” numbers for the report were far worse. A similar situation was in play for the greenback, as the ECB raised rates “only” 25 bps, when the worst-case scenario called for a 50-bp rate hike.

Looking at the real details on the employment report, we see that non-farm payrolls tumbled 62,000, which was slightly worse than the median forecast for a decline of 50,000. However, the unemployment rate remained flat at 5.5% when everyone expected the rate to dip back to 5.4% — perhaps even lower. Remember last month when the market gasped with disbelief at the huge jump to 5.5% from 5%? Remember how everyone said it was a data “quirk” that seasonally counted teens too soon? Well, the Labor Department number crunchers did not deliver a seasonal adjustment “save” for the unemployment rate, which is not good news for the economy.

“The unemployment rate stayed higher in June after soaring in May. This suggests that May’s surge in joblessness was more of a catch-up to the slow rise . . .

Acme Packet Inc. (Nasdaq:APKT) dropped more than 16% ahead of the bell Thursday after the company provided an updated second-quarter earnings outlook that fell below Wall Street expectations. The Burlington, Mass.-based telecommunications company forecast second-quarter earnings between $0.2 million and $1.2 million, or below $0.01 to $0.02 per share. It expects revenue of $24.5 million to $25.5 million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $34 million, Thomson Financial reported.

Shares of Acme Packet fell 16.5% in pre-market trading on Thursday to $6.40 apiece, about $1.28 below Wednesday’s close.

Small-cap stocks took flight Monday, with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) climbing to the highest daily close since Jan. 3, as investors shifted out of a range of other assets to pour money into equities. In addition, the rally likely triggered a wave of buy-stop orders from shorts that were unwilling to take a stand as the market once again approached fresh move highs. The Russell finished out Monday’s action up 13.18, or 1.83%, at 733.23.

The market appeared to embrace overnight gains in overseas equities, especially a rise in the largest European bank, HSBC, which was seen as a sign that the credit crunch worries are subsiding. On the U.S. side of things, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was up over 2.2%, but Citigroup (NYSE:C) shares struggled to hold ground. In addition, there was a renewed gush of merger giddiness on reports that Electronic Data Systems (NYSE:EDS) was a takeover target for Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ). EDS was up nearly 28% before an afternoon trading halt, while HPQ was off about 5%.

Small-cap issues clearly paced the way on Monday’s rally, a move that was foreshadowed Friday when small caps eked out a minor gain even though large-cap indices lagged in the red. In recent years, small caps have tended to lead the way on rally moves, especially during the bull market run from 2002 to 2007.

The dollar jumped against the yen, but lost ground versus the euro. In all, the currency market action Monday appeared to be a net positive for equities, with some traders explaining away the lost ground against euro as a result of carry trades into high yielding FX markets.

Stock market investors also appeared to breathe a sigh of relief that crude oil prices were tame to start the week, with crude oil down about $2 a barrel from a fresh morning record peak. Given a large mass of economic data still to come this week, it will be interesting to see if equities can look past the crimped consumer purchasing power stoked by record-high energy prices.

Speaking of the data smorgasbord, the first big number of the week comes out Tuesday morning in the form of retail sales. In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak on liquidity measures before the opening. With more . . .

Radyne Corp (Nasdaq:RADN), Nautilus Inc (Nasdaq:NLS) and Acme Packet Inc (Nasdaq:APKT) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Collective Brands Inc (Nasdaq:PSS), Crawford & Co. (Nasdaq:CRD.B) and Primedia Inc (Nasdaq:PRM) are also among the biggest percentage gainers.

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are a hair below the close level on Thursday and the small-cap index will probably open lower.

There is little in the way of economic news today, so stocks will probably be looking for direction. Officials from the U.S. Federal Reserve are set to speak later today and investors will be looking for clues about future monetary policy.

The buyers emerged again on Thursday, lifting the Russell 2000 10.29 to 702.78, just above the 20-day moving average. Key support remains at 688 and 680, but if the latter is breached, the market could slide quickly toward 671. On the upside, resistance comes in today at 712 and 721.

The release of the wholesale inventories data at 10:00 a.m. ET shouldn’t generate much of a response from the stock market, leaving traders time to focus on fundamentals, technicals and election issues into the weekend.

Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. (Nasdaq: NSTK), MasTec, Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) and Industrial Services of America, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDSA) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage losers: