Tag - Ddmx

G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (Nasdaq:GIII), Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. (Nasdaq:HTV) and Movado Group Inc. (Nasdaq:MOV) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Microsemi Corp (Nasdaq:MSCC), Dynamex Inc (Nasdaq:DDMX) and Layne Christensen Co (Nasdaq:LAYN) are among the new 52-week lows in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Breeze Eastern Corporation (Nasdaq:BZC), Hawkins Inc (Nasdaq:HWKN), GMX Resources Inc (Nasdaq:GMXR), T 3 Energy Services Inc (Nasdaq:TTES), i2 Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:ITWO) and Berry Petroleum Co (Nasdaq:BRY).

Small-cap stocks hovered near steady levels into mid-session trading, with support from retail, homebuilder and financial shares countered by sinking energy and technology shares. Some of today’s small-cap gainers are ParkerVision, Inc.  (Nasdaq:PRKR), Tidelands Bancshares (Nasdaq:TDBK) and Insulet Corp. (Nasdaq:PODD).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• The slide in physical markets took a toll on energy stocks as well, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund down 3.3%.  
• Crude oil prices tumbled to near four-year lows amid worries about a global recession, finding little comfort in a fresh string of rate cuts  
• In a familiar theme this week, homebuilder shares were still a hot item today. The ISE Homebuilders Index was up more than 7%.  
• The International Council of Shopping Centers said that November sales plunged a record 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Small Cap Gainers:

• ParkerVision, Inc. and LG Innotek enter into joint development agreement; PRKR pops 60%. See (Nasdaq:PRKR).
• Tidelands Bancshares up 47% on light volume. See (Nasdaq:TDBK).  
• Insulet Corp. rose 23% as the medical device company that specializes in diabetes continues to climb after bottoming out in late November. See (Nasdaq:PODD). 
• Buckle Inc. rose 22% as the apparel and accessory merchant registered a 15% jump in comp store sales. See (NYSE:BKE).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Dynamex Inc. dropped 21%, gapping lower as the delivery and logistics provider also took a lump after reporting earnings. See (Nasdaq:DDMX).  
• Diamond Foods Inc. gapped lower and tumbled 20% as investors weren’t impressed with earnings results from the snack foods distributor. See (Nasdaq:DMND).  
• Movado Group Inc. is down 15% as the boutique operator and fashion distributor took a hit after releasing earnings. See (NYSE:MOV).

United Rentals Inc (Nasdaq:URI), i2 Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ITWO) and Dynamex Inc. (Nasdaq:DDMX) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Diamond Foods Inc. (Nasdaq:DMND), AngioDynamics Inc. (Nasdaq:ANGO), Argon St Inc. (Nasdaq:STST), James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC), Movado Group Inc. (Nasdaq:MOV) and Arena Resources Inc. (Nasdaq:ARD).

Small-cap stocks started out Thursday’s trading session in the red, but quickly bounded back into positive territory showing similar resilience to “bad” news that was seen during Wednesday’s rise. So far today, investors were juggling a raft of disappointing profit reports against the bullish scenario from a fresh batch of rate cuts around the world. At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 7.20, or 1.59%, at 460.96.

Several big companies announced plans to reduce workforce numbers this morning, reinforcing the concept that the jobs picture will get uglier before it gets better -- a numbing thought ahead of Friday’s big monthly employment release. There was a bevy of companies that either missed the profit forecast this morning, or lowered the outlook, but the one that seemed to spark the biggest response in pre-market trading was E I du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE:DD), as chemical manufacturer DuPont said it now expects to lose money this quarter versus a previous projection for a profit. In addition, DuPont said it would cut 2,500 jobs. AT&T (NYSE:T) said it would slash some 12,000 jobs.

Economic data on weekly unemployment claims came in better than feared, but the expectations were so terrible that the upside surprise on claims didn’t have much kick. After all, the headline figure still came in above 500,000, which is a big number historically. What’s more, the number of Americans extending unemployment insurance because they can’t find a job rose to the highest point in 26 years. Simply put, firms are laying off employees and they can’t find work. The factory orders report this morning came in at minus 5.1%, which was worse than the forecast for a drop of 3.8% and which was the biggest decline in more than eight years.

In overnight action, central bankers around the world were busy slashing interest rates to help bolster sagging economic activity. The European Central Bank sliced 100 basis points off their benchmark rate, bringing it down to 2%. Meanwhile, . . .

Although record fuel costs have hurt transportation stocks for the most part, Marten Transport (Nasdaq:MRTN) and Dynamex (Nasdaq:DDMX) are faring better than most due to their focus on niche markets and should be among the first to recover when the economy strengthens.

Marten Transport is a leading transporter of food and other goods that require a temperature-controlled environment. Approximately 80% of the $560 million in revenues Marten generated in 2007 were from deliveries of temperature-controlled products. The company’s main transport routes are between the midwest and west coast, southwest, southeast and the east coast. Average haul length is around 900 miles.

Marten’s fleet includes over 2,400 company and independent contractor tractors. Its track record of 99% on-time delivery is a major selling point to customers shipping perishable goods. 

During the first six months of 2008, Martin boosted truckload revenues 5.5% year over year to $255.2 million from $241.9 million and logistic revenues, which consisted of brokerage and intermodal operations, logistics revenue increased 69.7% year over year to $48.2 million from $28.4 million. However, net income fell to $6.1 million, or $0.28 per share, for the six-month 2008 period from $8.9 million, or $0.41 per share, one year earlier due to soaring fuel costs, Marten is addressing fuel cost challenges by expanding its asset-light logistics business, reducing fuel consumption per load through shorter hauls and regional routes, and installing auxiliary power units on rigs that provide heat, air conditioning and electricity to its drivers without running . . .

AeroVironment Inc. (Nasdaq:AVAV), Hawaiian Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:HA) and DXP Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:DXPE) are among the new 52-week highs in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

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

Sometimes, tomorrow just doesn’t come soon enough. When a business has a package that has to be delivered in the metropolitan region before the end of the day, who is it you’re going to call? One of the best choices is Dallas, Texas-based Dynamex Inc. (Nasdaq:DDMX), a leading same-day delivery service that is proving to hold up even in a tough economy.

Dynamex has a series of business centers in major business regions throughout the United States and Canada, employing a fleet of delivery trucks and a computer-tracking system to keep things moving quickly. That makes it a good choice for hurried businesses that need reliable delivery from a company that has been around for more than a dozen years.

Its competition is mainly mom-and-pop shops or in-house delivery systems. Outsourcing to a reliable service is a cheaper alternative in a tough economy. “The economic cycle is still favorable for Dynamex,” said Michael Friedman with Noble Financial Group.

On March 6, Dynamex delivered strong earnings for the second quarter of its 2008 fiscal year. Revenue increased 10.9% to $112 million, beating analysts’ estimates of 6% to 10% growth. Net income of $3.4 million was down from the year-ago quarter of $3.7 million because of hardware and software upgrades and lower interest income. But earnings per share of $0.33 beat the consensus of $0.31 and reflected a 27% increase over last year’s adjusted EPS.

Its stock price, however, has reflected investor concerns about the economy, perhaps too much so. Its 52-week (and all-time) high was $30.47 in late October. It then dropped to a 52-week low of $21.55 in early March as investors retreated on economic news. In his March 6 report, Alexander Brand at Stephens Co. wrote: “The stock has pulled back from $30 to $22 for no fundamental reason, and we think fundamentals will continue to be solid going forward.”

Since then it has partially recovered, closing at $26.21 on Monday. Friedman recently downgraded his target price to $31 from $33, hedging in case the economy drags . . .