Tag - Cnmd

Astoria Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:AF), Quidel Corp. (Nasdaq:QDEL) and JAKKS Pacific Inc. (Nasdaq:JAKK) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Encore Wire Corp. (Nasdaq:WIRE), Omniture Inc. (Nasdaq:OMTR), CONMED Corp. (Nasdaq:CNMD), Benchmark Electronics Inc. (Nasdaq:BHE), Brown Shoe Company Inc. (Nasdaq:BWS) and Wesbanco Inc. (Nasdaq:WSBC).

PrivateBancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:PVTB), Encore Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:EBTX) and Capital City Bank Group Inc. (Nasdaq:CCBG) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Cedar Fair, L.P. (Nasdaq:FUN), AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (Nasdaq:AHS), Capital Bank Corp. (Nasdaq:CBKN), CONMED Corp. (Nasdaq:CNMD), Boston Beer Company Inc. (Nasdaq:SAM) and Princeton National Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:PNBC).

CONMED Corp (Nasdaq:CNMD), Mercantile Bancorp (Nasdaq:MBR) and Digi International Inc (Nasdaq:DGII) are among the new 52-week lows in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Small-cap stocks climbed back from a morning slide, and made a secondary run at positive territory before gravitating slightly lower at mid-session as a rally in energy and homebuilder stocks was offset by losses in financial and airline shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVAV), AeroVironment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOPE) and Multi-Fineline Electronix (Nasdaq:MFLX).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The chart picture retains a positive slant after Friday’s solid close above important resistance points.  
• In overseas action, European markets rose more than 1%, while Asia also gained about 1%.  
• Within the commodity theme, crude oil prices slipped into negative territory ahead of the U.S. open, giving back decent overnight gains amid geopolitical tensions.  
• Mining shares were firm overnight and remain a sector to watch in U.S. trading today.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Grand Canyon Education, Inc. and AeroVironment, Inc. established new 52-week highs shortly after the opening. (See Nasdaq:AVAV, Nasdaq:LOPE)  
• Multi-Fineline Electronix is up 23.5% to $15.17 after raising its Q1 sales outlook this morning. (See Nasdaq:MFLX)  
• Teradyne is up 10.3% to $5.15 after Barclays Capital this morning upgraded the company from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight." (See NYSE:TER)
• Eagle Bulk Shipping and DryShips Inc. are posting gains of 10.2% and 5.1%, respectively, in pre-market trading. (See Nasdaq:EGLE, Nasdaq:DRYS)

Small Cap Losers:

• CONMED Corp. and Digi International established new 52-week lows in early trading. (See Nasdaq:CNMD,Nasdaq:DGII)  
• GSI Commerce, Inc. is down 14.6% after a downgrade this morning by Stifel Nicolaus. (See Nasdaq:GSIC)  
• Helen of Troy Limited is down nearly 11% to $15.80 after a downgrade by JPMorgan. (See Nasdaq:HELE)  
• Varian Semiconductor Equipment is down 5.4% to $17.60 in pre-market trading after issuing revised rev and earnings estimates for Q1. (See Nasdaq:VSEA)

CONMED Corp (Nasdaq:CNMD), RC2 Corp (Nasdaq:RCRC) and Digi International Inc (Nasdaq:DGII) are among the biggest percentage losers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc (Nasdaq:TCI), Nara Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:NARA), GSI Commerce Inc (Nasdaq:GSIC), PacWest Bancorp Ord Shs (Nasdaq:PACW), UCBH Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:UCBH) and Helen of Troy Ltd (Nasdaq:HELE).

Small-cap stocks edged lower this morning, pulled down by ideas Friday’s gains were overdone, by ongoing worries about the credit crisis and the economic recession and by a batch of soft earnings announcements in the small-cap sphere this morning. Losses were limited by optimism about fiscal stimulus plans when President-elect Obama takes office later this month. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVAV), AeroVironment, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOPE) and Multi-Fineline Electronix (Nasdaq:MFLX).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The chart picture retains a positive slant after Friday’s solid close above important resistance points.  
• In overseas action, European markets rose more than 1%, while Asia also gained about 1%.  
• Within the commodity theme, crude oil prices slipped into negative territory ahead of the U.S. open, giving back decent overnight gains amid geopolitical tensions.  
• Mining shares were firm overnight and remain a sector to watch in U.S. trading today.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Grand Canyon Education, Inc. and AeroVironment, Inc. established new 52-week highs shortly after the opening. (See Nasdaq:AVAV, Nasdaq:LOPE)  
• Multi-Fineline Electronix is up 23.5% to $15.17 after raising its Q1 sales outlook this morning. (See Nasdaq:MFLX)  
• Teradyne is up 10.3% to $5.15 after Barclays Capital this morning upgraded the company from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight." (See NYSE:TER)
• Eagle Bulk Shipping and DryShips Inc. are posting gains of 10.2% and 5.1%, respectively, in pre-market trading. (See Nasdaq:EGLE, Nasdaq:DRYS)

Small Cap Losers:

• CONMED Corp. and Digi International established new 52-week lows in early trading. (See Nasdaq:CNMD,Nasdaq:DGII)  
• GSI Commerce, Inc. is down 14.6% after a downgrade this morning by Stifel Nicolaus. (See Nasdaq:GSIC)  
• Helen of Troy Limited is down nearly 11% to $15.80 after a downgrade by JPMorgan. (See Nasdaq:HELE)  
• Varian Semiconductor Equipment is down 5.4% to $17.60 in pre-market trading after issuing revised rev and earnings estimates for Q1. (See Nasdaq:VSEA)

An aging population and increased spending on medical care has meant big money for CONMED Corporation (Nasdaq:CNMD).

The Utica, N.Y.-based medical device maker has been around since 1973 when it was known as Consolidated Medical Equipment. Its first product was a disposable ECG monitoring electrode. The company went public in 1987 and in 1989 it acquired Aspen Labs from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) to bolster a growing electrosurgery line of products. Today CONMED stands at a market cap of $920 million and derives approximately 60% of its revenue from powered surgical instruments and devices used in the orthopedic surgery market.

The company’s arthroscopy segment, which accounts for nearly 40% of the firm’s revenue, manufactures arthroscopes, tissue repair sets and video imaging systems used in surgery. CONMED’s powered surgical instruments business makes powered saws, drills and related disposable accessories that are used in various surgical procedures. Each of CONMED’s business segments have shown the ability to adapt to changing trends and a push toward disposable instruments. Approximately 75% of the company’s revenue comes from the sale of single-use products.

The company is fresh off of a record quarter. Last month, it reported second-quarter results that included a 34% surge in EPS on a 13.9% rise in sales versus the year-ago quarter. The company benefited from strong growth in its arthroscopy and electrosurgery product lines, which grew 18% and 16.7%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. CONMED was also able to improve its gross margin percentage and expand sales internationally. This performance has helped propel the company’s stock price. Year to date, shares of CONMED are up 38.47%.

The rise in price of this stock has been a pleasant surprise to one analyst. Back in April, when the company announced its first-quarter results, Mark Mullikin, a senior research analyst for Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC), set a price target of . . .

American CareSource Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:XSI), Transcat Inc (Nasdaq:TRNS) and Overhill Farms Inc (Nasdaq:OFI) are among the new 52-week highs in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Here are the new 52-week highs among small caps:

With the onset of a warming trend in the market, small caps may once again be the best place to park your money, according to a May 31 article in The Wall Street Journal.

Although investors are usually drawn to the safety of large caps during the worst of economic times (especially within the last two years), sentiment has recently changed now that the bear market looks to be over. Small caps have pulled ahead of their large-cap brethren, up 4.2% in May compared with 1.6% for the Russell 1000, according to the article, titled “In a Rebound, Small-Cap is Beautiful.”

If the past is any indication of the future, it looks like small-cap issues are on the road to recovery as they not only tend to outdo large caps by a decent margin during a market rebound, but their strong endurance usually lasts for several years after, the article said.

According to Ned Davis Research Inc., since 1979 the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) has returned a median 19.6% in the first three months after a market bottom, versus 13.6% for the Russell 1000. After the 2002 bear market ended, for example, small caps dominated for three straight years.

But why exactly do the little guys tend to come out on top after a darker economic period? A myriad of factors come into play, but the article essentially said it's because small caps are usually unglamorous (meaning they are undervalued), their post-downturn profit bouncebacks have a larger impact than at big companies, and they are more nimble and take quicker advantage of a better economy.
 
Steven DeSanctis, small-cap strategist at Merrill Lynch, was quoted as naming companies with international exposure as the best investments when coming out of a downturn. In the first quarter, small caps that possessed this bargaining chip rose 13%, while their competition that played in a more domestic field were down 10%.

Health care was mentioned as a sector with high profit potential, due to its tendency to be mostly unaffected by economic cycles. Small-cap tech plays could also be promising, as DeSanctis said that tech did well in the 1990 to 1991 downturn, but failed to bounce back from the 2000 to 2002 bear market only because the sector was still recuperating from the pop of the late-90s’ bubble. He pointed out that foreign exposure for U.S. tech companies is strong.

Investors should keep in mind that small caps are already getting costlier, the story said, partly because of their recent modest rally; the small-cap index trades at 18 times trailing earnings, while the large-cap benchmark is at 16.5 times. Another caveat could be that if severe inflation returns, DeSanctis said, small caps suffer the most as small companies have fewer resources to deal with increasing costs.

Neverthless, surgical instrument maker Conmed Corp. (Nasdaq:CNMD) was named as a promising small cap in the health-care sector. Half of the company’s revenue comes from international sales, and although restructuring has hurt margins, causing it to trade at a high-end 18 times earnings, Conmed has cut debt and is seeing double-digit revenue growth.

Within the tech sector, The Wall Street Journal named cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. (Nasdaq:CELL), whose stock is changing hands at 15 times earnings. "They have a 10% global market share," said Chris Guinther, manager of RidgeWorth Small Cap Growth Fund, in the story.