Tag - Aspm

A couple of today's Top Gainers made the list due to buyouts. Aspect Medical Systems (Nasdaq:ASPM) jumped 55% after Irish healthcare tech company Covidien's $210 million buyout offer was accepted.

And GenTek (Nasdaq:GETI) was up 40% on a $411 million buyout from private investment firm American Securities.

The biggest percentage gainer for the day was Tri-Valley (AMEX:TIV). Tri-Valley is a oil and mineral exploration company from California. It has oil properties in California and Alaska. And its recent demonstration that new extraction technology could make "tens of millions" of barrels of oil recoverable in California appears to be what's driving the stock higher.

Unfortunately, the company's press release doesn't say whether we're talking about 20 million barrels of oil or 90 million. And the difference is an important one...

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (Nasdaq:SVA), Nanometrics Inc. (Nasdaq:NANO) and Aspect Medical Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:ASPM) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Internet Gold-Golden Lines Ltd. (Nasdaq:IGLD), Blue Nile Inc. (Nasdaq:NILE), Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (Nasdaq:BGFV), Evercore Partners Inc. (Nasdaq:EVR), Radian Group Inc. (Nasdaq:RDN) and Broadpoint Gleacher Securities Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BPSG).

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:


• Fuqi International, Inc. (Nasdaq:FUQI), up 19% to $7.25 on news of an improved first-quarter and full-year 2008 guidance.
• Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASPM), up 19% to $6.52 on news it expects second-quarter earnings above Wall Street’s projections.
• Metalico Inc. (AMEX:MEA), up 18% to $14.15.


• AMCORE Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMFI), down 30% to $13.71 on news of a first-quarter loss.
• Epicor Software Corp. (Nasdaq:EPIC), down 27% to $7.85 on news it projects first-quarter earnings below analysts’ consensus.
• Alto Palermo S.A. (Nasdaq:APSA), down 15% to $14.25.

Fuqi International, Inc. (Nasdaq:FUQI), Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASPM) and Provident Bankshares Corp. (Nasdaq:PBKS) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Cano Petroleum, Inc. (AMEX:CFW), Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:TCBI) and Knoll, Inc. (NYSE:KNL) are also among the top small-cap percentage gainers.

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

Small-cap futures are expected to open lower this morning, with overnight futures trading down about 0.50%. Overseas markets were higher in Asia Wednesday night in line with Wednesday’s gains in U.S. equities, but the move was not as impressive (Europe equities were mixed), which might have sparked profit-taking from short-term traders.

Futures markets wafted through the Weekly Claims report this morning with little change, as the number was close enough to the market consensus to have very little impact on the morning action.

There is further event risk this morning from the Philly Fed survey and Leading Indicators, which both hit the wires at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Philly Fed report is expected to sport five consecutive contraction readings for the first time since the 2001 recession. The Leading Indicators report is a compilation of mostly-known . . .

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are falling fast on poor economic news that makes a recession more likely.

At 10:13 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 7.33 points, or 1.10%, to 659.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had shed 133.02 points, or 1.10%, to 11,977.22.

Stocks are falling across the board following news before the start of trading that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in February, while the labor market is showing weakness.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported this morning that sales dropped 0.6% to $380.2 billion, defying economists’ forecasts for an increase of 0.2%. Sales in January posted an upwardly revised gain of 0.4%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department announced that the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged at 353,000 for the week ended March 8. According to the same report, the number of workers claiming jobless aid increased 7,000 to 2,835,000 for the week ended March 1. That’s the highest level in more than two years.

Aspect Medical Systems (Nasdaq: ASPM), which manufactures an anesthesia monitoring system known as the BIS system, reported after Wednesday’s close that a researchers found in a prospective study that the potential for the Bispectral (BIS) Index to reduce the risk of anesthesia awareness produced no benefit. Shares plummeted 22.1%, or $2.27, to $8 ahead of the opening bell.

For detailed price information and recent news stories about Aspect Medical Systems, click ASPM.

The Russell 2000 small cap index is leading a Wall Street rally sparked by news that core U.S. inflation barely rose in May.
 
At 10:01 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 11.09 points, or 1.32 percent, to 848.21. Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 89.50 points, or 0.66 percent, to 13,643.22.

The core consumer price index, which excludes the cost of food and energy, increased just 0.1% in May, the U.S. Labor Department said before the market open. That’s less than the expected rise of 0.2%.

Overall, U.S. consumer prices increased 0.7% in May, the most since September 2005. Prices increased 0.4% in April. The rise was primarily due to higher energy costs.

The numbers suggest that underlying inflation is tame, easing concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve will look to raise interest rates in the future.

The following were the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The following are the most actively traded companies in Friday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 and the other major U.S. indices are up following news of better-than-expected retail sales in May. At 11:27 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 had gained 4.29 points, or 0.52%, to 826.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 61.18 points, or 0.46%, to 13,356.19.

Urban fashion apparel retailer Citi Trends, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTRN) has priced an underwritten secondary public offering of 2,135,000 shares of its common stock at $37.92 per share. All of the shares will be sold by shareholders, which means that Citi Trends will not receive any of the proceeds, the Savannah, Geo.-based company announced before the opening bell. Its stock is up $1.37, or 4%, to $39.29.

The following small-cap companies are making news in after-hours trading Monday:

American Science and Engineering, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASEI) reported revenues at $45.9 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, up 13% from the previous year's quarter. Net income was $0.60 per share, up $0.09 from the comparable period in 2006. Billerica, Mass.-based American Science, a supplier of X-ray inspection systems, was up $2.77, or nearly 6%, in after-hours trading, at $50.75.

The Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA) said its president and CEO Joel Walter will step down from his positions on Feb. 1, 2008, when his current agreement is set to expire. Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based Wet Seal is an apparel retailer geared to young women. The company will release its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Shares of Wet Seal were little changed after the announcement, down nearly $0.03 at $5.72.

Interim study results from the BRITE trial in major depression, presented today at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, suggest that Aspect Medical Systems' (Nasdaq: ASPM) EEG-based research technology is a "significant predictor of patient response to treatment of depression with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) after one week of treatment," the company said. The Norwood, Mass.-based company, which specializes in brain monitoring technology, had planned a conference call for 5:00 p.m. ET. BRITE, an acronym for Biomarkers for Rapid Identification of Treatment Effectiveness, presented the findings at the APA meeting in San Diego. In after-hours trading, shares of Aspect Medical were down $0.11 at $15.66.