Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX) Big Winner in Market RallyStocks rallied today with the Dow breaking 9,000 for the first time since January 6th. The Dow closed up 188 points to finish the day at 9,069 with a short high at 9,096. The Nasdaq was up 47 points to close at 1,973 and the S&P 500 close up 22 points to finish trading at 976.
Much of today's drive was based on reports that home sales had increased 3.6 percent, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) reporting a $2.3 billion Q2 profit, and the price of crude oil going up 2.7% on the NYMEX to $67.17.
The Russell 2000, a well followed barometer of the health of small-cap stocks, was up 17 points today to close at 546.
Small-cap gainers were lead by Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:SOMX) up 94%. Earlier in today's trading SOMX had been up 133% before trading began taking profits. Based in San Diego, California, Somaxon is a specialty drug manufacturer focused on development of a drug to help patients suffering from insomnia.
Other small-cap gainers include Digirad Corporation (Nasdaq:DRAD) up 57%; Cerus Corporation (Nasdaq:CERS) up 49%; and TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) up 40%.
*****The steady march of positive earnings reports continues to move stock prices higher. Except for a select few, revenues aren't growing. But profits are. That obviously can't continue, because earnings growth from the recent quarter is largely a result of cost-cutting. Now, without a rise in revenues, earnings growth will stagnate. So will stock prices, if we're lucky. Prices could also move lower… Even though the outlook for profits might be questionable, investors seem to be glad that profits have returned. Because rising profits mean that companies have a cash-cushion. This is especially significant for banks.
Loan losses and write-offs continue to mount for banks. They need to be able to absorb these losses without falling into a precarious situation that will further impair credit markets and investor confidence. (It may be distasteful that they are often doing it with taxpayer money. But don't ignore the early read on Goldman Sachs' (NYSE:GS) TARP repayments - The Wall Street Journal reports that the government has made 23% so far in interest and warrant appreciation.)
*****Losses must be taken for the U.S. economy to recover. Even though Goldman's last quarter was a blowout, it took an $850 billion loss on a loan it made to a company that has since gone bankrupt. And it was reported that Goldman also took a $700 million loss in commercial real estate.
Banks still have losses to take on mortgages, too. 500,000 more existing homes were sold in May than analysts were expecting. The rise in sales is easy to understand - losses on bad mortgage loans have been taken, which means that banks can unload foreclosed properties at prices that make sense.
In other words, rising sales are the result of cost-cutting, just like corporate earnings. The cost-cutting in the housing market is a temporary fix. But it sets the stage for the permanent fix - real estate pricing that makes sense and makes room for appreciation.
Of course, unemployment rates are a key factor in both the need for housing prices to fall and the potential for housing prices to appreciate in the future. So long as unemployment rises, there will be more foreclosures and re-sales at lower prices. Eventually, when unemployment peaks and actually starts falling (hard to imagine, I know), then home prices can actually appreciate from lower levels.
This is the very essence of a deflationary spiral.
*****We used the current strength in the stock market to take some more profits at SmallCapInvestor PRO. Our readers had the opportunity to make 65% on a shipping stock and 20% on an oil exploration stock.
So far this year, we've recommended 15 stocks and averaging just about 30% per recommendation. That's darn good and we're looking forward to a strong finish to the year. First on our list are oil stocks. We've made some nice gains on oil stock, including 142% on one. And we'll be going back for more over the next few weeks. For more information on how you can profit from oil's next move up, click here.
Best Regards,
Ian Wyatt
Editor
SCI Daily 
Digirad Corp. lowers 2007 guidanceShares of Digirad Corp. (Nasdaq: DRAD) are sagging on news before the start of trading that the maker of medical imaging products for the detection of cardiovascular disease has cut its 2007 outlook. The Poway, Calif.-based company announced that it projects revenue for the year ended Dec. 31 at about $74 million, which is below the range of between $74.5 million and $75.5 million forecasted on Oct. 25. Two analysts polled by Thomson Financial are calling for revenue of $74.8 million. “The revenue shortfall was due primarily to greater-than-expected physician cancellations during the holidays and the radioisotope shortage experienced when the nuclear reactor in Canada was out of service for an extended period,” said CEO Mark Casner in a statement. Digirad, which also provides in-office nuclear cardiology imaging services to physician practices and hospitals, reported that it expects to see a consolidated net loss of between $1.3 million and $1.5 million. The company had previously forecast that it will breakeven or post a net loss of up to $1 million. The numbers include stock-based compensation expenses. The sole analyst covering the company could not be reached for comment. “Although full-year 2007 results were clear improvements over the prior year, they were nevertheless below our previous expectations,” said Casner. At 3:23 p.m. ET shares of Digirad Corp. (DRAD) had shed $0.53, or 15%, to $3.09. The 52-week low of $2.94 was set on Aug. 20, 2007, while the 52-week high of $4.88 was reached on Feb. 27, 2007.
Digirad: Condition stabilizingIf succeeding in the medical device market were as simple as launching a superior product, or introducing a faster and cheaper way to perform tests, then Digirad Corp. (Nasdaq: DRAD) would have already won over shareholders. Instead, the Poway, Calif. provider of cardiovascular imaging products and services suffered a loss of investor faith from the very day it went public in June of 2004, when it debuted at $12 and then closed at $11.77. It’s been a downhill ride for much of the time since then as Digirad faced challenges from a host of competitors and ran up against some hurdles in the way insurers reimbursed patients for healthcare, which limited the adoption of its equipment. Those problems have weighed heavily on the company’s stock, which has not traded above $5 since June 2006. Recently, however, the company’s condition has started to stabilize. The story of Digirad today is not that of a stunning turnaround so much as a company that has repeatedly shown its ability to overcome some challenging hurdles and gradually, doggedly grow its business. After reporting fiscal 2005 revenues of $68.2 million that were flat with the year before, the company in 2006 pushed sales up to $71.9 million, and recently forecast that it would reach between $77 million and $80 million in the current fiscal year. And, after two years of net losses, the company is reasonably optimistic that it will be profitable in 2007. Its current net income forecast ranges from a loss of $500,000 to a profit of $2.5 million. spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer
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