Tag - Bagl

Oneida Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:ONFC), C&F  Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CFFI) and Central Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:CEBK) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thurday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: HF Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:HFFC), Middleburg Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:MBRG), Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BAGL), Xyratex Ltd. (Nasdaq:XRTX), Colony Bankcorp Inc. (Nasdaq:CBAN) and Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ASTI).

Brooks Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:BRKS), Knot Inc. (Nasdaq:KNOT) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BAGL) are among the biggest percentage losers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Horsehead Holding Corp. (Nasdaq:ZINC), Aceto Corp. (Nasdaq:ACET), Diedrich Coffee Inc. (Nasdaq:DDRX), Diodes Inc. (Nasdaq:DIOD), Luminex Corp. (Nasdaq:LMNX) and Colfax Corp. (Nasdaq:CFX).

Pharmasset Inc. (Nasdaq:VRUS), ABM Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:ABM) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BAGL) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: BNC Bancorp (Nasdaq:BNCN), iPCS Inc. (Nasdaq:IPCS), TNS Inc. (Nasdaq:TNS), PDL BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq:PDLI), Associated Estates Realty Corp. (Nasdaq:AEC) and Superior Well Services Inc. (Nasdaq:SWSI).

Stocks extended losses during midday trading today, pushed down by poor housing data and by lackluster comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

At 12:01 pm ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 6.17, or 1.68%, at 361.63, while the S&P 500 is down 0.79% to 695.25 and the Dow is still below 7,000, currently down 0.46% at 6,732.23.

According to new data released by the National Association of Realtors this morning, the number of homebuyers purchasing existing homes fell 7.7% to a new low of 80.4 in January. Economists were predicting a January reading of 85.1.

Also this morning, Bernanke reiterated to Congress that any semblance of economic recovery hinges on the U.S. government’s ability to stabilize ailing financial markets. The comments did little to soothe investor fears.

Small caps seeing solid rises today included Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq:BRKR), up over 6% after releasing Q4 2008 results and issuing FY 2009 revenue guidance above analysts’ predictions. Also Southern Community Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:SCMF) is up 20% on very light volume, and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group (Nasdaq:BAGL) is up 18% after its Q4 EPS beat the Street.

On the downside, ICT Group careened 23% after rejecting Aegis’ acquisition offer.

Lending Profits

It is a strange sight to see the Dow Industrials trading at 6,700. That’s still a level from 1997. And it still indicates that people don’t want to own stocks. At this point, it seems to be as much about available capital for investment as a willingness to invest.

Valuations are low, the Dow is trading with a P/E of around 20. But that’s still not as low as it’s been during past recessions.

Still, it might be helpful to add some flavor to the current P/E ratio of the Dow. Consider that Citigroup and Bank of America don’t have earnings. Neither do Ford, GM, Alcoa. It’s safe to say that earnings at JP Morgan, American Express, . . .

Small-cap stocks finished off an up and down session with a jolting afternoon decline, as pressure from tumbling commodity stocks, weak profit reports and money flow away from equities toward credit instruments offset support from airlines and insurance companies. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed down 7.42, or 1.53% at 479.17 and is now down 37% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow is off 35% for 2008, and the S&P 500 down 40%.

The market tried to stand tall through another batch of dreary economic data, but came up empty in the afternoon. The weekly unemployment claims report showed that 554,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week, which might have been a drop from last week’s 26-year high, but was still a gloomy number in its own right. The four-week moving average for claims rose to 543,750, which itself ranks as the highest level in more than a quarter of a century. Data on mid-east manufacturing and leading economic indicators was predictably sour, but not a surprise.

Speaking of the economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said that the Fed “will not shy from pursuing every practicable means of supporting the functioning of financial markets and stimulating the economy back to a steady state by employing new techniques that fit the current circumstances.” What that means is that the Fed isn’t necessarily out of bullets just because interest rates are now effectively zero. Fisher said that the Fed would expand purchases of mortgage backed securities if that seems like a productive path. He also predicted that GDP would shrink 4% to 5% in the fourth quarter and that contraction was possible through the first half of 2009, with unemployment possibly rising beyond 8%. Fisher said that recent moves are starting to gain traction in credit markets but intimated that operations are still far from normal.

The yield on benchmark 10-year notes approached 2% today, reaching the lowest point in 50 years as investors continue to gobble up credit products as a safe-haven in a difficult environment for stocks. The 10-year yield (which moves inverse . . .

Crosstex Energy LP (Nasdaq:XTEX), Ness Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:NSTC) and Lydall Inc. (Nasdaq:LDL) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: CNB Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CCNE), Crosstex Energy Inc. (Nasdaq:XTXI), OfficeMax Inc. (Nasdaq:OMX), SuccessFactors Inc. (Nasdaq:SFSF), Oneida Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:ONFC) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BAGL).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Sciele Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq:SCRX), International Shipholding Corp. (Nasdaq:ISH) and West Marine Inc. (Nasdaq:WMAR) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Union Drilling Inc. (Nasdaq:UDRL), UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA), PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq:PACW), Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (Nasdaq:CTB), DineEquity Inc. (Nasdaq:DIN) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. (Nasdaq:BAGL).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks were treading water near steady levels, unable to sustain an opening bounce that was tied to short profit-taking from traders who caught the slide yesterday and by decent weekly chain store sales. At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.19, or 0.03%, at 716.40.

The weekly chain store sales report was up 1.4% versus the same week last year and reflected a solid showing by Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Costco (Nasdaq:COST), which could provide a lift throughout retailer shares this morning. However, Wal-Mart was basically flat early on, and Costco was down about 1.5%. On the plus side on the retail front, plastic shoe maker Crocs Inc. (Nasdaq:CROX) jumped 24% on the opening after investors embraced the company’s outlook for the rest of the year. Crocs has been sinking like a rock since February, which puts today’s rally in a different perspective.

On the economic data front, the weekly claims data came in slightly better than the median forecast at 365,000 versus 375,000, but the report had very little impact on the market. The 10:00 a.m. ET wholesale inventories report came in soft at down 0.1% compared with the forecast for a gain of 0.5%. However, the wholesale inventory report is for March data, is considered dated by many traders and had almost no impact on prices when released.

Price action for small caps was bleak yesterday, with the Russell 2000 generating a bearish outside reversal on daily charts and faltering near a familiar zone that stopped the recovery back in early February. Some of the short-term players . . .

Shares of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group (Nasdaq:BAGL) are spiking in pre-market trading after the bagel franchise posted first-quarter results after Wednesday’s close that trumped the consensus on Wall Street. The firm noted that despite a difficult operating environment characterized by heavy cost pressure from agricultural commodities and soft consumer spending, it was able to outperform.

Shares surged 18%, or $2, to $13 in pre-market trading. For detailed price information and recent news stories about Einstein Noah Restaurant, click BAGL.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) rebounded after three consecutive losses as investors cheered upbeat earnings news from Goldman Sachs. The small-cap index advanced 15.00 points, or 2.03%, to 754.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) rose 65.27 points, or 0.50%, to 13,232.47.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 is down 4.24%, while the Dow is up 6.08% and the S&P 500 has added 2.71%.

Small-cap stocks began and ended the session on a bullish note following news that investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit and beat Wall Street’s expectations.

Unlike many of its rivals, Goldman Sachs has not been seriously affected by the meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector. However, the New York-based company cautioned that some of the world’s capital markets will remain in turmoil in the near future.

Investors apparently disregarded the warning, just like they did news that U.S. housing starts in November declined 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.187 million, according to the Census Bureau.

That’s the slowest pace in 16 years but a whisker above the annual rate forecasted by economists. November housing starts are 24.2% below the revised annual rate of 1.565 million units in November 2006.

The same report also showed that building permits, a sign of future construction, fell 1.5% to an annual rate of 1.152 million. That decline is in line with economists’ projections.

Separately, the International Council of Shopping Centers announced that U.S. retailers saw chain store sales grow 1.4% for the week ending Dec. 15.

“Unfortunately, retailers were battered by several forces this past week, including storms and a procrastinating consumer,” said Michael Niemira, the trade association’s chief economist, in a statement. “According to an ICSC-UBS household holiday-tracking survey, consumers are completing their holiday shopping slower than they have in the last four years since these surveys have been taken.”

CyberSource Corp. (Nasdaq: CYBS), Authorize.Net Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANET) and LaserCard Corp. (Nasdaq: LCRD) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers: