Tag - Beav

Pegasystems Inc. (Nasdaq:PEGA), NCI Building Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NCS) and BWAY Holding Co. (Nasdaq:BWY) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Astronics Corp. (Nasdaq:ATRO), WellCare Health Plans Inc. (Nasdaq:WCG), BE Aerospace Inc. (Nasdaq:BEAV), Altra Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AIMC), Geron Corp. (Nasdaq:GERN) and National Interstate Corp. (Nasdaq:NATL).

Stocks climbed higher into the midday despite a credit rating cut for large-cap benchmark General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE).

At 12:45 pm ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is up 11.02, or 3.01%, to 377.32. The Dow is up 1.8%, finally above the 7,000 mark, and the S&P 500 is up 1.94% to 735.39.

The cut on GE’s credit rating did little spark fear in investors, who had expected deeper cuts for the large-cap company. GE is currently up 12%. Small-cap automaker General Motors (NYSE:GM) is also helping to buoy the Dow this afternoon, after GM’s CEO reported the company will not need the $2 billion loan for March that it previously requested from the U.S. government.

Earlier this morning unemployment and retail sales numbers were released, causing stocks to open lower. The Labor Department said first-time requests for unemployment insurance increased to 654,000 from the previous week's figure of 639,000, above analysts' expectations. The government also reported that retail sales fell in February for the seventh time in the past eight months. Retail sales edged down 01% last month, less severe than the 0.5% drop that economists had expected. 

A 34% gain in seven days

As promised, SmallCapInvestor PRO readers took their gains on Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ARNA) on Wednesday. The final haul was 34%. Not bad for holding a stock for seven days. I expect we’ll re-buy Arena if it drops to $4.50 over the next few days.

I hope Small-Cap Daily readers were able to lock in some gains on the stocks we recently recommended here.

*****The next few days should be interesting for the stock market. I’m a bit surprised that the major indices finished in the green on Wednesday. I’ll be more surprised if they finish with gains today.

Congress will be discussing mark-to-market rules today. It’s a safe bet that some kind of easing of these rules will happen. That would essentially buy the banks some time that could be better spent than writing down assets and taking losses. And . . .

Small-cap stocks started out the week on the same bearish trajectory that was in play late last week, and some of the same themes were blamed for this morning’s ugly start, including worries over corporate profits, the deepening recession and delays on various government stimulus programs. Some of today’s small-cap gainers were Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX), B/E Aerospace (Nasdaq:BEAV) and Century Aluminum (Nasdaq:CENX).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Energy stocks were a soft spot for the market this morning, pressured by another decline in crude oil prices, off about $1.25/barrel.  
• The ISM Manufacturing Survey came in at 35.6, which was a little better than the projection of 33, but still historically low.
• Small-cap stocks started out the week on the same bearish trajectory that was in play late last week.
• For the year, personal income was up 3.7%, which marked the smallest rise since 2003. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. was up almost 28% amid news that the firm has found the HMS Victory shipwreck. See (Nasdaq:OMEX).  
• B/E Aerospace full-year 2008 and Q4 financial results; shares rise 5% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:BEAV).
• Century Aluminum rises 1.4% in pre-market on very light volume. See (Nasdaq:CENX).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Todd Shipyards Corp. fell 17% on a little early volume spike. See (NYSE:TOD).
• ADC Telecommunications Inc. was down 13% as the firm updated the outlook and announced job cuts. See (Nasdaq:ACDT).  
• DryShips down another 13% in pre-market today, extending a major slide that began Thursday morning. See (Nasdaq:DRYS). 

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), Geron Corp. (Nasdaq:GERN) and Palm Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Perfect World Co Ltd. (Nasdaq:PWRD), Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS), Ameristar Casinos Inc. (Nasdaq:ASCA), BE Aerospace Inc. (Nasdaq:BEAV), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq:CETV) and Iconix Brand Group Inc. (Nasdaq:ICON).

GSI Commerce Inc (Nasdaq:GSIC), BE Aerospace Inc (Nasdaq:BEAV) and Rent-A-Center Inc (Nasdaq:RCII) are among the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Wavecom Depository Receipt (Nasdaq:WVCM), Cyberonics Inc (Nasdaq:CYBX), Delta Petroleum Corp (Nasdaq:DPTR), Pantry Inc (Nasdaq:PTRY), First Advantage Corp (Nasdaq:FADV) and Intersil Corp (Nasdaq:ISIL).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:RIGL) and Atheros Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHR) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (Nasdaq:BWLD), Pan American Silver Corp. (Nasdaq:PAAS), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE), Genoptix Inc. (Nasdaq:GXDX), Hercules Offshore Inc. (Nasdaq:HERO) and BE Aerospace Inc. (Nasdaq:BEAV).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps: