Tag - Cbrl

Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS), Zhongpin Inc. (Nasdaq:HOGS) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (Nasdaq:CBRL) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq:CETV), MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:MAPP), Geron Corp. (Nasdaq:GERN), Bucyrus International Inc. (Nasdaq:BUCY), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY) and Huron Consulting Group Inc. (Nasdaq:HURN).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY) and Gibraltar Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:ROCK) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Tessera Technologies (Nasdaq:TSRA), Ciena Corp. (Nasdaq:CIEN), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq:CETV), Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq:EGLE) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (Nasdaq:CBRL).

Small-cap stocks opened higher, lifted by a rescue package for the nation’s No. 2 bank, which eased bank failure worries. In addition, optimism about President-elect Obama’s economic advisory team bolstered stocks Friday and remained in play today ahead of a news conference to announce his appointments. At 10:06 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 9.52, or 2.34%, at 416.06. The market appeared to add to the morning gains after the home sales report was released.

The existing home sales report came in at an annual rate of 4.98 million, which was basically in line with the forecast. October sales were off 3.1%, versus a 4.7% rise in September. The inventory of homes for sale was down 0.9% to 4.23 million units, representing 10.2 months of supply. The median price for a home tumbled 11.3%, the largest percentage drop since the data series was started 40 years ago.

The rescue package for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) includes $306 billion in loan guarantees on toxic debt assets and $20 billion in direct cash injection. Citigroup’s stock had been in a startling freefall in recent days, and there were concerns that the massive bank was in jeopardy of failure, which would carry broader systemic risk to the financial system, so today’s rescue news bolstered psychology across a wide range of financial stocks. Citigroup shares were up 41% shortly after the open. Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney said that she would maintain an “underperform” rating for Citigroup and that she was cautious about the bank’s futures losses and capital raising efforts. She also said that Citigroup shares at $5 represented a “speculative investment” that was appropriate for risk-tolerant investors.

President-elect Obama is slated to announce news on his economic team today at noon ET. The market already has embraced his apparent appointment of New York Federal Reserve Bank President Tim Geithner as the next Treasury Secretary. In a radio address this weekend, Obama said he wants a two-year stimulus plan to have a goal of creating 2.5 million new jobs. President Bush is also expected to make an announcement this morning around 10:35 a.m. ET after a morning meeting . . .

Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:OMRI), Hughes Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:HUGH) and Pan American Silver Corp. (Nasdaq:PAAS) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq:CETV), CBRL Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CBRL), Focus Media Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:FMCN), Cascade Bancorp (Nasdaq:CACB) and Zoltek Companies Inc. (Nasdaq:ZOLT).

Small-cap shares started out the second half of 2008 with a dramatic downward spiral, as the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) tumbled through the official 20% bear market line, endangering the bottoming premise built off the March through June rally. However, a bullish surprise on manufacturing data sparked a big recovery bounce about 30 minutes after the open. At 10:05 a.m. ET, the Russell was down 1.26, or 0.18%, at 688.40.

The fuel for today’s bearish flurry came from a familiar source: rising crude oil prices and slumping financial stocks. In addition, safe haven money flow away from equities toward credit instruments, physical instruments and cash exacerbated the stock market slide.

The ISM Manufacturing Survey, released at 10:00 a.m. ET, came out at 50.2, which was above the forecast for a reading of 48.6. The upside surprise on the ISM data sparked a sizable recovery bounce in stock index products, with the Russell 2000 shooting some eight handles off the morning lows. It should be noted that although the headline figure was a nice upside surprise for manufacturing activity, the index of prices paid climbed to 91.5, which marked the highest reading since 1979.

Just ahead of the stock market opening, crude oil prices climbed back above $143 dollars a barrel, jumping some $3 dollars from Monday’s U.S. close. The rise in energy markets sparked investor buying in gold, as the yellow metal hit 10-week highs. In addition, the U.S. dollar was taking a beating against the yen, down 0.8%, which makes commodity goods priced in dollars more attractive to Asian investors and end users.

The story in crude oil gathered steam amid heightened geopolitical tension in the Middle East, as rumors of a potential attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel remain on the front burner. Iran has threatened to take action on shipping through the Straight of Hormuz if attacked, and approximately 40% of the world’s fuel supply moves through that waterway. In addition, the International Energy Agency . . .

CBRL Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CBRL) dropped 14% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the company announced it had lowered its fiscal 2008 guidance. The company now expects earnings per share between $2.77 and $2.87, down from previous estimates of between $3.02 and $3.12 per share. The Lebanon, Tenn.-based holding company expects revenues to rise 1.5% from continuing operations in 2007. Previously, revenues were expected to increase 2%.

In pre-market trading Tuesday, CBRL Group was at $20.99, down $3.52 from Monday’s close.

Small-cap stocks pushed higher on the opening, lifted by another slide in crude oil prices overnight, and by a pleasant upward surprise on durable goods data ahead of the opening. At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 0.72, or 0.11%, at 735.11.

Crude oil prices have now tumbled more than 5% off last week’s record highs, and were pressured overnight by news that Saudi Arabia would increase production and that Asian demand could begin to ebb because of high price levels. In general, the commodity story was under pressure early today, with gold sinking about 2% and grains prices expected to tumble this morning.

There was some thought that traders might be unwinding some of the long crude oil/short dollar trades that have been so popular in recent months. The greenback was on a bid this morning, climbing 0.3% against the euro, and about 0.7% versus the yen. In general, a strong dollar at this stage of the economic cycle is seen as supportive to equities, reflecting investment flow demand and softening food and energy prices, which would bolster consumer purchasing power.

Back to the durable goods report, the headline figure came in down 0.5%, which was better than the forecast for a slide of 1%, but the real surprise was on the ex-transportation figure, which was up 2.5%, well clear of the median expectation for a gain of 0.5%. The MBA Mortgage Application survey also came out this morning, and reflected slack demand, with the index down 4.6% and the purchase index off 17.4%. This is a volatile data base and appeared to be overshadowed by the durables surprise. The economic data push for today is now out of the way; later . . .