Tag - Gtiv

ArvinMeritor Inc. (Nasdaq:ARM), Drew Industries Inc (Nasdaq:DW) and Isilon Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:ISLN) are among the biggest percentage gainers in Friday trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Stone Energy Corp. (Nasdaq:SGY), Nanosphere Inc. (Nasdaq:NSPH), Genoptix Inc. (Nasdaq:GXDX), Glen Burnie Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:GLBZ), Tenneco Inc. (Nasdaq:TEN) and Gentiva Health Services Inc. (Nasdaq:GTIV).

It’s like this: would you rather spend your remaining days in your own bed with your cat at your feet, or in a sterile room with a sing-along piano across the hall? What if the home choice comes with health care that is cheaper than that in the room without a view? Gentiva Health Services (Nasdaq:GTIV) is betting on the cat.       

And why not? Gentiva, which provides comprehensive home health care, has excellent odds. First, there is the aging U.S. population, the megatrend behind everything from teeth whiteners to new knees. Then there’s the growth in cost-effective home health care: in this multi-trillion-dollar business, home care continues to be the fastest growing component of all personal health-care spending, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

There are comforts of home and there are comforts of cash. A one bedroom spot in an assisted living facility will average $3,008 monthly in 2008. Nursing homes, which provide constant care, are more expensive, averaging $76,460 for a private room, according to the Genworth Financial annual survey. Medicare-certified home care, which can include nurse visits, is $38 per hour, and costs are much lower for non-skilled-related home services.

Gentiva offers a lot more than direct home nursing. Services include specialty programs, such as orthopedics rehabilitation, and therapy for patients with balance issues and cardiopulmonary needs. The Melville, New York-based company also integrates home-care services for care facilities and performs administrative functions. Hospice and other services are available as well. 

Operating 400-plus direct service delivery units in 36 states, Gentiva has more than 17,000 clinical and administrative employees. It has a size advantage in a highly fragmented industry where there are 13,000 providers, and it has been actively acquiring smaller businesses.
 
Gentiva’s focus is to grow Medicare admissions, expand its specialty programs and increase its dominance organically and through acquisitions. More than . . .

Gentiva Health Services Inc (Nasdaq:GTIV), CryoLife Inc (Nasdaq:CRY) and Computer Task Group Inc (Nasdaq:CTGX) are among the new 52-week highs in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: LHC Group Inc (Nasdaq:LHCG), Overhill Farms Inc (Nasdaq:OFI), Ness Technologies Inc (Nasdaq:NSTC), Allos Therapeutics Inc (Nasdaq:ALTH), Parlux Fragrances Inc (Nasdaq:PARL) and National Research Corp (Nasdaq:NRCI).

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

Shares of Gentiva Health Services Inc. (Nasdaq:GTIV) are up 13% today after the company’s second-quarter profits beat Wall Street expectations. Net income for the second quarter was $12 million, or $0.41 per share, compared to $9 million, or $0.31 a share, for the same period a year earlier. Revenue grew to $346.2 million, up 13% from a year ago. Wall Street was expecting earnings per share of $0.32 on revenues of $329.1 million. The home health services company said its earnings were helped by higher admissions in its home-health sector.

Shares of the Melville, N.Y.-based company are at $25.39 at 10:00 a.m. ET, up $2.98 from Wednesday’s close. Trading volume is well below average. Shares have ranged from $17.03 to $26.41 during the past year.

Someone once said “There’s no place like home,” which doesn’t only ring true for wanderers far from Kansas. Many of today’s elderly, disabled or ailing may not choose to spend countless months in hospitals or clinics, and they now they have the option of in-home care by companies including Almost Family Inc. (Nasdaq:AFAM), Gentiva Health Services Inc. (Nasdaq:GTIV) and LHC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:LHCG).

Home health-care providers will benefit from expanding Medicare enrollments, which are forecast to increase to 76.8 million by 2030 from 39.6 million in 2000. Rising home health-care spending, which is expected to grow nearly five-fold to $155 billion by 2017, reflects America’s patient preferences for care delivered at home, and the cost advantages of home health care. Costs for a day in a hospital or at a skilled nursing facility, for example, are estimated at $3,800 and $490, respectively, whereas a typical homecare visit costs around $100.

Almost Family, Inc. provides home health-care services in the Mid-West, East Coast and South. The company’s visiting nurse division supplies Medicare-certified home health nursing services to patients in need of recuperative care, while the personal care division provides in-home patient care on an as-needed, hourly or in-live basis. At year-end 2007, Almost Family operated 33 Medicare-certified home health agencies with 51 locations and 22 personal care locations.

The market reacted favorably to Almost Family’s June announcement that it was acquiring East Coast competitor Patient Care in a move that expanded the company’s presence in the Northeast with eight new locations; shares hit a 52-week high. The deal enables Almost Family to expand its footprint via new start-ups and will be . . .

Pharmanet Dev Group (Nasdaq:PDGI), FGX International Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:FGXI) and Gentiva Health Services (Nasdaq:GTIV) are among the biggest percentage losers in Thursday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $750 million.

Elizabeth Arden (Nasdaq:RDEN), Faro Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:FARO) and ShutterFly, Inc. (Nasdaq:SFLY) are also among the top small-cap percentage losers.

Here are Thursday's biggest percentage losers among small caps: