Tag - Bki

Radian Group Inc. (Nasdaq:RDN), Cardtronics Inc. (Nasdaq:CATM) and UQM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:UQM) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Buckeye Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:BKI), Hill International Inc. (Nasdaq:HIL), T 3 Energy Services Inc. (Nasdaq:TTES), Commonwealth Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:CWBS), Kindred Healthcare Inc. (Nasdaq:KND) and GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq:SOLR).

Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq:NKTR), RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:RXII) and Insight Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Buckeye Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:BKI), Interval Leisure Group Inc. (Nasdaq:IILG), Safe Bulkers Inc. (Nasdaq:SB), TRW Automotive  (Nasdaq:TRW), American Apparel Inc. (Nasdaq:APP) and Rockwood Holdings Inc .(Nasdaq:ROC).

Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena and another solid performance from energy and commodity stocks, which helped offset weakness in financial shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS), Excel Maritime (NYSE:EXM) and Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq:EGLE).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Poorest performers so far today: real estate investment trusts, air freight couriers, food retail firms and railroads.  
• Physical commodity markets turned up from a morning slide, bolstered by a pullback in the U.S. dollar.  
• Top performers so far today: aluminum, steel, coal, oil and gas drillers, semiconductors, life insurers and automotive retailers.  
• Small-cap stocks were hovering near steady levels into midday trading, drafting off a surprising show of strength in the technology arena. 

Small Cap Gainers:

• Ocean shippers have been a recurring source of strength this week: Dryships is up 45%, Excel Maritime up 41%, Eagle Bulk up 40% and Genco up 27%. See (Nasdaq:DRYS), (NYSE:EXM), (Nasdaq:EGLE) and (NYSE:GNK).  
• Exco Resources Inc. jumped 40% as the oil and natural gas company announced results on the completion of a Louisiana well. See (NYSE:XCO).  
• International Assets reports Q4 results; shares pop 23%. See (Nasdaq:IAAC).
• KMG Chemicals up 22% after reporting Q1 results with 145% increase in revenues, reaffirming FY 2009 guidance. See (Nasdaq:KMGB).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Pep Boys falls 23% after company posts unexpected Q3 loss. See (NYSE:PBY).  
• Buckeye Technologies lowers guidance, cuts production in Florida. Shares tumble 22%. See (NYSE:BKI).  
• Universal Stainless & Alloy Products slumped 15% as some steel companies saw a correction off the big rally Monday. See (Nasdaq:USAP).
• Baird downgrades diversified industrial manufacturer Actuant Corp. to "neutral" from "outperform," halves its price target on the stock. Shares fall over 14%. See (NYSE:ATU).  

Small-cap stocks started out the week in the red, but the early dip in equities did not live up to the selling interest suggested by overnight trends and a surprisingly stout ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey sparked a bout of buying that lifted stocks back toward steady levels. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was down 1.05, or 0.1%, at 724.69.

The ISM Non-Manufacturing Survey came out at 52%, which was well above the median forecast of 49.5%, and the highest point since December. The reading also snapped three consecutive months of contractions, which is a plus for the economic outlook.

The market had a bit of the merger blues this morning after weekend news that Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) pulled out of negotiations for a takeover bid of internet services company Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO). Yahoo shares took it in the chin on the news, sinking 18% in early trading Monday. The deal was reportedly close to fruition and the failure to close might take some excitement out of the M&A picture — at least in the short run. That said, wireless phone company Sprint (NYSE:S) was up 7% on news that the firm could be a takeover target.

Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:MVL) shot up nearly 8% this morning . . .

The South Financial Group (Nasdaq:TSFG), Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG) and Monaco Coach Corp. (NYSE:MNC) were among the new 52-week lows established during Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

Western Refining, Inc. (NYSE:WNR), Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) and Marlin Business Services Corp. (Nasdaq:MRLN) were also among the 52-week small-cap lows.

Here are today's 52-week small-cap lows:

Stocks managed to eek out gains for the first day after two straight sessions of red, as investors shrugged off Ambac Financial Group Inc.'s (NYSE:ABK) lackluster outlook and embraced better-than-expected results from a range of technology companies.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) ended the day up 4.40 points, or 0.66%, to a level of 708.11, while the Dow gained 42.99 points, or 0.34%, to a level of 12763.22.

Trading was choppy for the day as investors digested a slew of earnings news from technology, industrial, tobacco, banks and commodity producers.

A large percentage advance was registered early today in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SIRT), with the stock up a whopping 82% on news that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) would buy the company for $720 million . . .

Daktronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:DAKT), The South Financial Group (Nasdaq:TSFG) and Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG), Wavecom S.A. (Nasdaq:WVCM) and Monaco Coach Corp. (NYSE:MNC) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Wednesday's biggest percentage losers among small caps:

Small-cap stocks are slightly higher after fluctuating during morning trading. At 11:37 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 5.1, or 0.72%, at 708.81, as the market trimmed away opening gains in choppy action.

A large percentage advance was registered early today in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SIRT), with the stock up a whopping 82% on heavy volume on news that GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) would but the company for $720 million in cash. ANADIGICS Inc. (Nasdaq:ANAD) was up 24% following earnings results yesterday, and Silicon Graphics (Nasdaq:SGIC) was up about 23% after a heavy sell-off on Tuesday.

On the downside, Daktronics (Nasdaq:DAKT) was down 23% after sloppy earnings. Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) was down 22% after the maker of cellulose-based specialty products cut its third-quarter earnings forecast to below Wall Street expectations. Rimage Corp. (Nasdaq:RIMG) was down 21% after releasing . . .

Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BKI), manufacturer and marketer of specialty fibers and non-woven materials, said this morning that it expects its earnings for the October though December quarter to clock in above the consensus on Wall Street. Additionally, the firm said it is downsizing at its facility near Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Memphis, Tenn.-based company said it expects earnings to be in the range of $0.34 to $0.36 per share, above the consensus of three analysts polled by Thomson Financial of $0.30 per share. Buckeye had earnings of $0.10 per share for the same period last year.

Buckeye said its rosier earnings expectations are a combination of higher pricing, higher wood volume and cost control. In comparison with its first quarter, the small cap said its operating earnings performance improved due to high operations reliability and higher wood specialty shipments.

The company, however, capped a caveat on its earnings guidance, stating that while the current quarter’s earnings performance will be difficult to repeat, it does anticipate strong performance in the third quarter of 2008.

Second quarter net sales climbed 14% to $210.59 million from $184.73 million in the second quarter last year. Two analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were on average forecasting sales of $201.23 million.

Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:


• CompuCredit Corp. (CCRT), up 29%.
• Buckeye Technologies Inc. (BKI), up 24% on news it will lay off between 20 and 25 employees at a production facility in Canada. That’s up to 16.6% of the plant’s workforce.
• Stanley Furniture Co. (STLY), up 22%.


• Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI), down 44% on news of serious side effects from a study of a hepatitis C drug. Shares have been downgraded by analyst.
• First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (FCFS), down 35% on news it has lowered its full-year earnings forecast.
• The PMI Group, Inc. (PMI), down 15%.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are still in negative territory on fears of an economic slowdown. At 2:27 p.m. ET, the small-cap index had fallen 4.35 points, or 0.58%, to 744.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was missing 113.15 points, or 0.87%, to 12,896.99.

The U.S. index of leading economic indicators for October unexpectedly fell 0.5%, the Conference Board announced after the start of trading. That’s more than the projected decline of 0.4% and a sign that the economy might be headed for an abrupt slowdown in 2008. The index increased a downwardly revised 0.1% in September.

Only three of the leading ten indicators that make up the index rose in October, the business organization said.

The news raised fears that consumer spending will decline as the slump in the U.S. housing sector and higher energy costs take their toll.

Worries of a coming economic slowdown are what caused stocks to open lower.

On Tuesday the U.S. Federal Reserve forecasted that growth will slow in 2008 and unemployment will creep up slightly from the current level of 4.7% while inflation remains in check.

Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BKI) shares are edging down despite the maker and distributor of cellulose-based products’ announcement before the bell that its first-quarter profit tripled on a tax benefit. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company’s first-quarter profit totaled $13.5 million, or $0.34 per share, above analyst estimates of $0.28 per share and compared with $3.8 million, or $0.10 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 3% to $197.4 million, slightly below Wall Street projections of $197.59 million and from $191.4 million a year earlier.

“The earnings improvement is a combination of higher prices, better mix and cost control,” CEO John B. Crowe said in a statement. “Non-wovens shipments were especially strong with net sales up 10% compared to the same period last year. Strong cash flow enabled us to reduce debt by $26 million during the just completed quarter.”

The firm’s selling, general and administrative expense rose to $11.47 million, from $11.2 million in the prior-year period.

In morning trading, BKI shares were down 1.02%, or $0.18, at $17.49. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have ranged from $9.52 to $18.78.