Tag - Icfi

Kirklands Inc. (Nasdaq:KIRK), ICF International Inc. (Nasdaq:ICFI) and Neutral Tandem Inc. (Nasdaq:TNDM) are among the new 52-week highs in Friday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

A strong rally in the last hour of trading lifted the Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices in the green. The small-cap index rose 7.26 points, or 1.03%, to 712.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) added 146.24 points, or 1.16%, to 12,735.31.

On a year-to-date basis, the Russell 2000 has lost 7.04%, while the Dow is down 3.99% and the S&P 500 has declined 4.03%.

An uneven day of trading ended on a bullish note as investors went hunting for bargains late in the session.

Small-cap stocks had no clear direction much of the time, as the bears and bulls struggled and sought to gain a perspective on the state of the U.S. economy. The Russell 2000 spent the early morning near the flat line but slipped and fell at about 11:30 a.m. ET. It bottomed out shortly after 2 p.m. ET as investors reacted to news that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is predicting a recession.

The New York-based investment bank wrote in a note to its clients that it expects gross domestic product to decline in the second and third quarters, prompting the Fed to keep lowering the federal funds rate until it hits 2.5%.

The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, currently stands at 4.25%.

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices have fallen deep into negative territory as economic concerns take center stage. At 2:46 p.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 9.55 points, or 1.35%, to 695.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) had lost 27.56 points, or 0.22%, to 12,561.51.

The U.S. economy will experience a recession this year and the Federal Reserve will respond with aggressive rate cuts, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS). The New York-based investment bank wrote in a note to its clients that it expects gross domestic product to contract in the second and third quarters, prompting the Fed to lower the federal funds rate to 2.5%.

The federal funds rate, the rate at which commercial banks make overnight loans to each other, was lowered on Dec. 11 to 4.25% from 4.50%. On Jan. 29, the Fed begins a two-day meeting, with most economists currently expecting that it will not move to cut interest rates before then.

However, William Poole, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, does not see a recession.

“Will housing sector problems push the economy into recession?” Poole asked the Financial Planning Association of Missouri and Southern Illinois in a speech earlier today. “It is too early to tell right now.”

The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) and the other major U.S. indices are moving up and down with no clear direction.
 
At 10:27 a.m. ET, the small-cap index was down 1.88 points, or 0.27%, to 702.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) was up 37.23 points, or 0.30%, to 12,626.30.

With little news on the economic front, stocks are looking for meaning and direction in today’s trading.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported before the start of trading that mortgage loan application volume for the week ended Jan. 4 increased 32.2%. But the statistics are misleading, because the preceding included the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The four-week moving average, a more stable measure, is down 4.1% to a reading of 624.4 from 650.8.

Here are the current biggest percentage gainers and losers among companies with a market cap between $100 million and $750 million:

Biggest percentage gainers:

• BabyUniverse, Inc. (KIDS), up 17%.
• Tredegar Corp. (TG), up 13%.
• ICF International, Inc. (ICFI), up 12% on news of an analyst upgrade.

Biggest percentage losers:

• Spectrum Control, Inc. (SPEC), down 36% an analyst has reduced the stock’s target price.
• Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (PRXI), down 22% on news it expects fiscal 2008 earnings to be below expectations.
• West Coast Bancorp (WCBO), down 13% on news it will suffer a pre-tax provision for credit losses of $30 million.

The following were the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

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

The following are the most actively traded companies in Tuesday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

Calymont, Del.-based Claymont Steel Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLTE), a non-union mini mill that manufacturers steel plates, reported after Monday’s close that it lost $8.8 million, or $0.50 per share, in the first quarter of 2007, primarily because it incurred $14.6 million of after-tax refinancing charges.  Analysts expected earnings of $0.48 per share.  Nevertheless, the stock is up $0.19, or 1%, to $22.23.

Shares of ICF International, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICFI) are trading higher on news after Monday’s close that the Fairfax, Va.-based consulting company reported earnings that beat expectations.

The following are the most actively traded companies in pre-market trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:

STEC Inc. (Nasdaq: STEC) fell $0.83 a share, or more than 10%, to $7.30 in after-hours trading after issuing second quarter revenue guidance that fell short of analysts’ expectations. STEC, which uses Flash memory and DRAM technologies for memory applications, said after the close that it expects revenues of $41 million to $43 million in the second quarter ending in June, compared with analyst estimates centered at $49.2 million. For the first quarter ended March 31, STEC said it earned $6.71 million, or $0.13 a share, up from $104 million, or $0.02 a share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting an average per-share profit of $0.06. Revenues rose to $47.2 million in the first quarter, compared with $40.4 million a year earlier and analyst estimates of $45 million.

ICF International (Nasdaq: ICFI) was trading at $26.13, up $2.41, or about 10%, in after-hours trading, after beating expectations with first-quarter results and guiding analysts to more profitability in the second quarter. For the three months ended March 31, net income was $0.60 per diluted share, compared with $0.11 a year earlier. Revenue was $151.7 million, dwarfing the year-ago quarter’s revenue of $53.4 million. Analysts had been looking for earnings per share of $0.45, and revenue of $129.35 million. The Fairfax, Va.-based consulting company also says it expects second quarter 2007 revenue to range from $135 million to $145 million, and full year 2007 revenue to range from $530 million to $550 million to $43 million.