Tag - Gpic

Targacept Inc. (Nasdaq:TRGT), Oneida Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:ONFC) and United Community Bancorp (Nasdaq:UCBA) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Innospec Inc. (Nasdaq:IOSP), Gaming Partners International Corp. (Nasdaq:GPIC), Summit Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:SMMF), MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:MKTX), Superior Well Services Inc. (Nasdaq:SWSI) and Methode Electronics Inc. (Nasdaq:MEI).

Washington Banking Co (Nasdaq:WBCO), Cogent Communications Group Inc (Nasdaq:CCOI) and Gaming Partners International Corp (Nasdaq:GPIC) are among the new 52-week lows in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Colonial Bancgroup Inc (Nasdaq:CNB), Timberland Bancorp Inc (Nasdaq:TSBK) and AEP Industries Inc (Nasdaq:AEPI) are also among the new 52-week lows.

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

Manufacturer and supplier of casino table game equipment Gaming Partners International Corp.  (Nasdaq: GPIC) this morning announced it will introduce a new brand of gaming chips, plaques and jetons using Canada-based EurasiaTrak, Inc.’s technology.

Shares of the Las Vegas-based company jumped 9.74% or $1.18 to $13.30 in morning trading.

The introduction of Gaming Partners’ (GPI) newest line of gaming equipment, titled “Bourgogne et Grasset,” embeds EurasiaTrak’s 13.56 MHz radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology. Specifically, EurasiaTrak’s technology encompasses a high frequency system that combines high-performance table automation with radio technology for gaming chips and plaques. The RFID technology, which places a microchip in the casino currency, assists in reducing counterfeiting.

GPI “continues to adapt its processes and products to produce chips, plaques and jetons which casino operators trust and demand while permitting the casino operators to select the RFID system which best suits their respective needs,” Gerard P. Charlier, President and CEO said. “We can now offer our products for low frequency 125 KHz RFID systems and for two different high frequency 13.56 MHz RFID systems.”

A few years ago, investing in gaming companies was almost a sure thing: the U.S. boom was catching fire as more states approved casino gambling. Investors were raking in their share of the dough as Las Vegas became a glittery sin city and gambling became entrenched in communities across the country. 

Casino operators must be ever vigilant to nail the cheats who mistakenly think that they’ve got a sure-fire way to rip off the house, whether they’re in Vegas or Iowa.

Meet Gaming Partners International Corp. (Nasdaq: GPIC), a Las Vegas company whose products are part of the global casino landscape. It supplies gaming chips, table layouts, plaques and jetons, roulette wheels, cards and dice.

GPI holds 70% of the world’s poker chip market, with sales of its chips increasing 30% to $75 million in 2006. While traditional chips remain in vogue, what’s really attracted the casino operators’ attention is the company’s chips embedded with RFID microchips, the improved version of which has been on the market for less than two years.

The Radio Frequency Identification Device, or RFID, technology places a microchip in the casino currency, in an attempt to cut down on counterfeiting, as well as counting errors or theft by casino employees. It tells the casino where the chips are at all times while in the establishment – or when someone tries to take them out the door.

These are the biggest percentage gainers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

The Russell 2000 ended the day with a new record high close, up 6.27 points, or 0.75%, to 839.92, topping the previous record close of 834.77 on May 9.  Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.93 points, or 0.02%, to 13,539.95.

These are the biggest percentage gainers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

U.S. stocks gained across all indices today on news of better-than-expected industrial production and mixed signals from the housing market.  Among small caps, personnel costs dragged down profit at Gaming Partners International Corp. (Nasdaq: GPIC), while record revenues lifted shares of International Assets Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: IAAC).

The Russell 2000 rose 6.02 points, or 0.74%, to 820.20.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 103.69 points, or 0.77%, to a second consecutive record close of 13,487.53.

These are the biggest percentage losers among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million:

These are the biggest percentage losers in mid-session trading among companies with market capitalizations under $500 million: