Tag - Gass

Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:CLDX), US Global Investors Inc. (Nasdaq:GROW) and Fauquier Bankshares Inc. (Nasdaq:FBSS) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Monday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Kirklands Inc. (Nasdaq:KIRK), StealthGas Inc. (Nasdaq:GASS), Amerigon Inc (Nasdaq:ARGN), I-Flow Corp. (Nasdaq:IFLO), CPI Corp. (Nasdaq:CPY) and CPI International Inc. (Nasdaq:CPII).

Small-cap stocks remained higher into mid-session, bolstered by a big acquisition on the pharma front, which sparks hope that small caps are undervalued overall. If there are deals being done for large caps, then there should be attractive acquisitions for a bevy of smaller companies. In addition, a surprisingly strong showing on existing home sales also provided a lift to the market. Some of today's small-cap gainers were RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:RXII), WellCare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE:WCG) and StealthGas (Nasdaq:GASS).

Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Looking at sector activity today, metals and mining stocks were the strongest performing group in the S&P.  
• Energy prices and stock market direction have been trading hand-in-hand of late, so the rise in equities clearly supported crude oil.
• Energy stocks were on a roll today, up 2.9%, mirroring a 3% climb in cash crude oil prices.  
• Small caps remained higher, bolstered by a big acquisition on the pharma front, which sparks hope that small caps are undervalued overall.  

Small Cap Gainers:

• RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. jumped 31% on news that the firm will enter a research collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. See (Nasdaq:RXII).  
• WellCare Health Plans Inc. rallied about 19% as the firm updated its 2008 forecast and said it would pay in fall outstanding term loan balances. See (NYSE:WCG).
• StealthGas climbs 15% in pre-market after announcing a rise in Q3 profit; declaring dividend. See (Nasdaq:GASS).
• Homebuilder stocks were going well today, with the ISE Homebuilders Index up 4.6%, with small-cap builder Lennar Corp. rising 11%. See (NYSE:LEN). 

Small Cap Losers:

• Wyeth withdraws from Crucell takeover talks; Crucell tumbles 15% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CRXL).
• AMN Healthcare Services Inc. was down 13% sinking to 52-week lows. See (NYSE:AHS).  

Small-cap stocks pushed higher after a flat open, underpinned by bullish enthusiasm stoked by news that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) would pay $68 billion for Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) in one of the biggest pharma M&A deals in years. In addition, economic data on home sales and leading indicators topped expectations, fueling the rise in equities. Some of today's small-cap gainers were RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq:RXII), WellCare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE:WCG) and StealthGas (Nasdaq:GASS).
  
Other Market Watch highlights today included:

• Crude prices pushed about $1 a barrel higher, which should underpin energy shares if the firm tone persists.  
• Even though much of the early news today seemed soft (outside of the econ data), the market was holding together reasonably well.  
• Leading indicators came in at +0.3%, better than the projection for -0.3%. This marked the first rise in leading indicators since June 2008.
• Existing home sales came in at an annual rate of 4.74M units, above the forecast of 4.4M. Sales were up 6.5%, compared with a slide of 9.4% in Nov.

Small Cap Gainers:

• RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. jumped 31% on news that the firm will enter a research collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. See (Nasdaq:RXII).  
• WellCare Health Plans Inc. rallied about 19% as the firm updated its 2008 forecast and said it would pay in fall outstanding term loan balances. See (NYSE:WCG).
• StealthGas climbs 15% in pre-market after announcing a rise in Q3 profit; declaring dividend. See (Nasdaq:GASS).
• AngioDynamics Inc. was up 12%, gapping higher and pushing toward multi-month highs. See (Nasdaq:ANGO).  

Small Cap Losers:

• Wyeth withdraws from Crucell takeover talks; Crucell tumbles 15% in pre-market. See (Nasdaq:CRXL).
• AMN Healthcare Services Inc. was down 13% sinking to 52-week lows. See (NYSE:AHS).  

Alto Palermo SA (Nasdaq:APSA), Oceanaut Units (Nasdaq:OKN.U) and Imergent Inc. (Nasdaq:IIG) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Oceanaut Inc. (Nasdaq:OKN), StealthGas Inc. (Nasdaq:GASS), Maxcom Telecom ADR Rep 7  (Nasdaq:MXT), Lindsay Corp. (Nasdaq:LNN), Sadia ADR Rep. (Nasdaq:SDA) and Bovie Medical Corp. (Nasdaq:BVX).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

StealthGas Inc. (Nasdaq:GASS), Independence Holding Co. (Nasdaq:IHC) and Providence Service Corp. (Nasdaq:PRSC) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Gladstone Commerical REIT (Nasdaq:GOOD), Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq:PKOH), Flotek Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:FTK), Tortoise North American Energy Corp. (Nasdaq:TYN), Zoltek Companies Inc. (Nasdaq:ZOLT) and Templeton Emerging Markets Income(Nasdaq:TEI).

Here are the biggest percentage gainers among small caps:

StealthGas Inc. (Nasdaq:GASS), RMR Hospitality & Real Estate Fund (Nasdaq:RHR) and CombiMatrix Corp. (Nasdaq:CBMX) are among the biggest percentage losers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Interoil Corp. (Nasdaq:IOC), Perfumania Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:PERF), Gladstone Commerical REIT (Nasdaq:GOOD), Hughes Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:HUGH), Penn Virginia GP Holdings L P (Nasdaq:PVG) and Omega Navigation Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq:ONAV).

Here are the biggest percentage losers among small caps:

i2 Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITWO), StealthGas Inc. (Nasdaq: GASS) and Local.com Corp. (Nasdaq: LOCM) were among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

International shipping companies are benefiting from steadily increasing global trade, rising imports/exports from China and other Asian countries, and expanding global demand for oil, coal, agricultural products and other commodities that are generally shipped via ocean tankers and container vessels.

Robust growth in shipping industry volume is evidenced by the increase in container shipments bringing products into China. More than 58 million containers passed through China’s ports in 2004. This number is forecast to more than double to 120 million containers by 2010. In addition to booming China traffic, container shipments are increasing because of above average GDP growth in the U.S. western coastal states. Industry investment in expanding U.S. terminal capacity is forecast to rise 5.1% annually between 2004 and 2010.

Accelerated offshore drilling activity is heightening demand for offshore supply vessels. These vessels transport dry and liquid cargos, including drilling equipment, pipe and drilling fluids to and from the offshore site. Day rates for these vessels have risen dramatically, from approximately $15,900 per day in 2004 to $30,400 per day in 2005 and $48,600 per day in 2006. In the first few months of 2007, day rates have averaged around $53,300.

Contract rates for the large oil tankers that move oil from one country to another also benefit from rising global oil demand and the limits of a fleet consisting of only about 6,800 vessels worldwide. Oil companies own some of these tankers but the vast majority are independently owned and operated. Charter rates for the larger tankers have risen significantly due to increased long haul trade to Asia and the United States and increased U.S. imports. One-year rates rose from $24,800 per day in 2003 to peak at $34,900 in 2005. While rates have since declined to $31,000 per day in early 2007, they remain at historically high levels.