Tag - Dde

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) is posting gains following upbeat news from the technology sector.

At 10:11 a.m. ET, the small-cap index had advanced 5.02 points, or 0.71%, to 715.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 22.14 points, or 0.18%, to 12,449.40.

Small-cap stocks got off to a bullish start on news that networking products maker and tech sector heavyweight Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” by Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C).

In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 16 fell 9,000 to 349,000 from the preceding week’s upwardly revised total of 358,000.

Economists were expecting a rise to 349,000 from an originally reported 348,000.

However, the more stable four-week measure increased 10,750 to 360,500, the highest average in more than two years.

Shares of casino and gaming companies are the top gainers this morning. Among them are small-caps Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: DDE) and Chester, W.Va.-based MTR Gaming Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNTG).

Elsewhere, wireless broadband access solutions provider Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVTL) is seeing its stock drop more than 20% on news that its fourth-quarter profit soared to $0.34 per share, compared with $0.09 per share a year earlier.

On the flip side, Valassis Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VCI), which offers marketing services to consumer packaged goods manufacturers, is higher on news of a rise in fourth-quarter profit.

If the names Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon ring a bell, then so should the name Dover Downs, the site of Dover International Raceway (or the “Monster Mile”) a long-time fixture on the NASCAR circuit. To race fans, Dover is synonymous with racing. 

But Dover is more than a racing – much more. In fact, two companies stand where there was once one: Dover Motorsports (NYSE: DVD) and Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment (NYSE: DDE). For investing fans, the latter holds the greater intrigue. 

Dover Downs Gaming ($247 million in annual revenue) consists of Dover Downs Slots – a 97,000 square-foot video lottery (slots) casino complex; the Dover Downs Hotel – an admixture of luxury accommodations,  conference hall, banquet, fine dining, ballrooms and concert hall facilities; and Dover Downs Raceway – a harness racing track with parimutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races.  

An appropriate description of Dover Downs is that it's not too hot (Las Vegas) and it's not too cold (Deadwood, South Dakota).  It splits the market, though tacking more toward a luxurious Vegas flare. Most of its customers are drawn from the densely populated Mid-Atlantic states.  Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. are all located within a two-hour drive. 

Besides benefiting from a favorable geographic, Dover Downs also benefits from favorable legislative diktats. Only three existing horse racing facilities in Delaware are permitted a gaming license, while slot-machine operations are verboten in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

B. Riley & Co. downgraded footwear retailer The Finish Line, Inc. (Nasdaq: FINL) to “neutral” from “buy” with a target price of $15, from $13.

Vical Inc. (Nasdaq: VICL) reported that preliminary late-stage trial results showed a drug candidate successfully treated the blood flow disease ischemia by increasing the size of blood vessels.

These are the biggest percentage losers in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million: