Tag - Eres

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:SNTA), CV Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:CVTX) and James River Coal Co. (Nasdaq:JRCC) are among the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Deckers Outdoor Corp. (Nasdaq:DECK), Eresearchtechnology Inc. (Nasdaq:ERES), Blue Coat Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:BCSI), Regency Energy Partners LP (Nasdaq:RGNC), Golar LNG (Nasdaq:GLNG) and National Penn Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq:NPBC).

PetMed Express Inc (Nasdaq:PETS), Ness Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:NSTC) and American Commercial Lines Inc (Nasdaq:ACLI) are among the most actively traded companies in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Innophos Holdings Inc (Nasdaq:IPHS), Pharmasset Inc (Nasdaq:VRUS), Eresearchtechnology Inc (Nasdaq:ERES), Hansen Medical Inc (Nasdaq:HNSN), Finish Line Inc (Nasdaq:FINL) and STEC Inc (Nasdaq:STEC).

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Jim Oberweis is president and lead portfolio manager of Oberweis Asset Management and president of The Oberweis Funds. Oberweis Asset Management, Inc. is a growth equity investment management firm that manages approximately $1.5 billion in micro, small, and small/mid capitalization growth strategies globally, primarily for institutional investors and its own proprietary mutual fund family. Oberweis is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He earned an MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois.

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

“We look for companies that are growing at very rapid rates and are doing so by creating new products that are innovative a way that no one has been in the past. Our favorite type of company is one that comes in with a new product or service and is able to either create a new market or create significant market share by winning market share from competitors. We like industries where there’s the ability to integrate a set of new providers of services.

“We’re generally looking for a minimum growth rate of 30% annually. In many cases we’re looking for growth rates much faster than that. The average company in our portfolio is probably growing faster than 50% a year. You can understand why a 200- or 300-basis-point change doesn’t have as much impact on a company that’s growing 50% a year. Those companies are doing something different and not just trying to grow earnings at a rate commensurate to the overall economic environment. 

“We pay a lot of attention to valuation. If we can buy companies with those high growth rates during periods in which nobody loves them and valuations are sharply below their historical norms, that is a terrific opportunity. Few people actually do it because usually the times when valuations are lowest are falling periods in which the area has reentered the form without marketplace. It’s those times when few . . .

Small-cap stocks took flight Wednesday, as investors embraced a spate of relatively positive earnings results and another slide in crude oil as a sign that the market may have weathered the worst of the summer storm. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) jumped 24.39, or 3.68%, to 686.75, notching the fourth-largest one-day advance of the year, powered by gains in financial and tech stocks.

The impressive rally topped off a picture perfect validation of a bullish chart pattern from Tuesday’s recovery bounce off fresh move lows, and further upside action this week would cement the most powerful technical analysis bullish signal in months. In addition, the heightened volatility in recent days fits with similar whipsaw price action at the lows back in January and March.

The market was also able to carve out today’s sizable gains despite another serving of bearish economic headlines. When the market starts to work higher in the face of bearish news, it is considered a classic show of strength — especially if the move is powered by more than just short-covering amid oversold conditions. While we wait for further confirmation of the recovery off Tuesday’s lows, let’s recap what the market overcame on the data front today.

The big report this morning was the Consumer Price Index release. For the second consecutive day, the market was slapped in the face with sobering inflation news. The headline figure for CPI came in at plus 1.1%, which was the largest monthly advance in 26 years. What’s more, the year-over-year increase was at a whopping 5%, which is the largest rise in consumer prices since 1991. In short, the CPI news was every bit as troubling as Tuesday’s Producer Price Index report, where the year-over-year figure was the highest since June 1981. And the inflation data simply adds to the woes from slumping housing, GDP and labor market reports of recent months.

So, if we are truly mired in a slow growth, rising unemployment, escalating inflation world, then why on earth did small caps put together such an impressive rally today? The easy part of that question is that crude oil prices tumbled down to . . .

Orion Energy Systems Inc (Nasdaq:OESX), Alto Palermo SA (Nasdaq:APSA) and eResearch Technology Inc (Nasdaq:ERES) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Chimera Investment Corp (Nasdaq:CIM), Nymagic Inc (Nasdaq:NYM), Approach Resources Inc (Nasdaq:AREX), USANA Health Sciences Inc (Nasdaq:USNA), Heritage Financial Group (Nasdaq:HBOS) and Navigators Group Inc (Nasdaq:NAVG).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

eResearch Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:ERES) is down more than 13% today after analysts at Leerink Swann downgraded the company to “underperform” from “market perform.” The Philadelphia-based company provides technology and services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. In today’s trading, eResearch is at $14.36 at 10:21 a.m. ET, down $2.32 from Tuesday’s close. Trading volume is more than 100,000 shares above the average. The stock has ranged from $8.53 to $18.85 during the past 52 weeks.

Behind the scenes of the cumbersome drug discovery and approvals process, there is a mini-industry that does not manufacture drugs but provides technologies and services to make drug testing more efficient.

One of the most promising companies in the sector is Philadelphia-based eResearch Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:ERES), whose software products automate the collection and interpretation of clinical data, particularly cardiac safety data, for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as drug device makers. After an extended period of little or no growth, eResearch is now on a roll.

The 31-year-old company in May said its revenues from a series of software products and consulting services rose to $33.7 million, or 59.7% from the year-ago period while EPS nearly tripled to $0.11 from $0.04.

This sudden growth spurt reflects multiple new product launches and upgrades internally as well as the acquisition late last year of Covance Cardiac Safety Services Inc. (CCSS) from Covance Inc. (NYSE:CVD).

Conditions in the industry eResearch Technology serves can vary widely, depending on competition from a very fragmented group of players as well as government regulations covering the drug approvals process. But most existing signs point to the company’s good fortune continuing for some time. CEO Michael McKelvey recently said the pipeline of new opportunities was strong, reflecting a continued emphasis on cardiac safety in drug development.

Shares of eResearch have more than doubled over the past year and, at a closing price of $17.06 on Monday, they are just shy of their 52-week high of $18.85. Although the company is still not widely covered by financial analysts, two who do track its revenues project total sales will grow to $140.7 million this year and $163.2 million next year, compared with $98.7 in 2007. Three analysts who . . .

Exactech Inc (Nasdaq:EXAC), Vivus Inc (Nasdaq:VVUS) and Finish Line Inc (Nasdaq:FINL) are among the new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Ezcorp Inc (Nasdaq:EZPW), Diamond Foods Inc (Nasdaq:DMND), Eresearchtechnology Inc (Nasdaq:ERES), Cyberonics Inc (Nasdaq:CYBX), Allos Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:ALTH) and Pegasystems Inc (Nasdaq:PEGA).

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

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq:VNDA), Eresearchtechnology Inc (Nasdaq:ERES) and Fuel Tech Inc (Nasdaq:FTEK) are among the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq:CSIQ), IPG Photonics Corp (Nasdaq:IPGP) and China Natural Resources Inc (Nasdaq:CHNR) are also among the most actively traded companies.

Here are the most actively traded companies among small caps:

Bovie Medical Corp. (AMEX:BVX), ZOLL Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:ZOLL) and Jinpan International Ltd. (AMEX:JST) were among the new 52-week highs established during Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations or values under $750 million.

eResearch Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ERES), Quaker Chemical Corp. (NYSE:KWR) and Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:SIRT) were also among the 52-week small-cap highs.

Here are Wednesday's 52-week small-cap highs:

Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (Nasdaq: MFLX), BioSphere Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: BSMD) and 1st Independence Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: FIFG) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million.

Here are today's biggest percentage gainers: