Tag - Cnqr

Celera Corp. (Nasdaq:CRA), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (Nasdaq:CETV) and Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (Nasdaq:ENER) are among the most actively traded companies in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Focus Media Holding Ltd. (Nasdaq:FMCN), Concur Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:CNQR), Sigma Designs Inc. (Nasdaq:CPHD), SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA) and DrdGold ADR (Nasdaq:DROOY).

What looked like a sleepy, mild opening dip turned into an ugly downside press, with small-cap stocks pulled down this morning by sloppy corporate profit reports, declines in Asian equities and yet another weak tone on the commodities front. Today’s small-cap gainers are Concur Technologies (Nasdaq:CNQR), General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) and GT Solar (Nasdaq:SOLR).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Copper and aluminum prices tumbled to 3-year lows during London’s trading session.  
• There are no economic reports on tap today in the U.S., but banks and government offices are back at work after the Veteran’s Day holiday, which could help volume levels.  
• At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 was down 6.28, or 1.30% at 476.00, slipping through intraday chart support along the 480 line.
• What looked in advance like a sleepy, mild opening dip in the Russell 2000 turned into an ugly downside press.

Small Cap Gainers:

• Concur Technologies sees 2009 revenue growing 25%; shares climb 12% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CNQR).  
• House speaker Nancy Pelosi pushes legislation that would help bail out the embattled U.S. automakers; General Motors Corp. is up 9% on the news. See (NYSE:GM).  
• GT Solar appoints Jacobs Engineering Group chairman Noel G. Watson to board of directors; shares tread nearly 4% higher in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:SOLR).  
• Nice Systems up 3% in pre-market on a rise in Q3 net profit, revenue. See (Nasdaq:NICE).  


Small Cap Losers:

• JA Solar posts loss on Lehman, cuts forecast; shares dive 24% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:JASO).
• J Crew Group Inc. is down 13%, sinking to 52-week lows. See (JCG).  
• Canadian Solar downgraded to "hold" from "buy" by Deutsche Securities; shares down 7.6% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CSIQ).  
• Sausage and restaurant operator Bob Evans Farms Inc. lowered its outlook and was off about 2.5% in pre-market trading. See (Nasdaq:BOBE).  

Tom O’Halloran is a partner and director of Small Cap Growth Investments at Lord Abbett. He is responsible for managing the firm’s small-cap and micro-cap growth products, overseeing the investment teams, and directing the investment strategies.

O’Halloran has been in the investment business for 20 years. Prior to joining Lord Abbett, O’Halloran was an executive director and senior research analyst at Dillon Read/UBS Warburg from 1988 to 2001. Before beginning his career in the financial services industry, he was a trial lawyer from 1980 to 1986. O’Halloran earned an MBA from Columbia University, a JD from Boston College and an AB from Bowdoin College. He also is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

What qualities do you look for in a small-cap stock? Have your criterion changed given the current macro environment?

“There are 3,000 stocks that we look at that we could own. We try to screen out 80% of those through growth hurdles and size parameters in terms of market cap, and financial strength in terms of debt-to-asset ratios. Then we look at the 600 or so, or 20%, of the names. The first inquiry is a two step process after that. First we identify the best businesses then we pick stocks based purely on their growth, not on takeover potential, turnaround potential or valuations. Organic growth is the best kind of growth, but if there’s a strategy of acquisitions that is multi year and sensible to supplement their organic growth, then that’s fine. We require 12% minimum top-line growth, and we want earnings to be growing at least as fast. Our portfolio on average is growing closer to 25%. 

“In terms of what represents a good business, we’re looking at four things: the first two at the microeconomic level, or inside the doors of the company, and three and four are considering the environment in which they function.

1) “When we saw Morningstar at $750 million on the IPO, we said, ‘This is like Moody’s. Moody’s is $20 billion. This is a jewel of a business.”  We saw Mercadolibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI) at $1 billion and we said, “This is the eBay of South America. This is a great business.’  

2) “Is it a good business? Does it have a strong management team? Is the management competent and credible? It’s very important at the small-cap level to have good management. [In terms of] competency, we look at Mickey Drexler at J. Crew. He worked magic at The Gap. He redefined casual clothing in America. He’s a genius of a retailing executive and an example of a highly competent . . .