Tag - Jblu

Medicines Co. (Nasdaq:MDCO), Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AAWW) and GT Solar International Inc. (Nasdaq:SOLR) are among the most actively traded companies in Wednesday's trading among companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion.

Also included among the results: Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:VNDA), Geron Corp. (Nasdaq:GERN), Century Aluminum Co. (Nasdaq:CENX), A Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:APWR), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq:CSIQ) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq:JBLU).

DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq:DRYS), SI International, Inc. (Nasdaq:SINT) and JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU) were the most actively traded small caps in pre-market trading. All three stocks were showing gains.

Shares of small cap airline stocks are seeing substantial upside in pre-market trading after oil futures have tumbled some $8. Shares of United Airlines parent company UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA) jumped 17%, while shares of Jet Blue Airways (Nasdaq:JBLU) are up 10%.

For detailed price information and news stories on these airlines, click UAUA and JBLU.

Small-cap stocks continued to climb Thursday, powered by a solid performance in financial, retail and airline stocks, by yet another “good news” economic report and by a sudden downdraft in crude oil prices. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) gained 14.85, or 2.03%, to 747.79 and is now down 2.38% on the year.

Small caps were strong relative to the S&P 500 and also broke free of a close pattern they had been keeping with tech stocks. The S&P 500 was up 1.48% and is down 11.4% for 2008, while the Nasdaq was up 0.78% and is off 8.1% for the year. Meanwhile, the Dow was up 1.85% and is down 11.6% for the year.

On the financial front, investors continue to gain confidence in government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), which has become a source of great relief for banks, insurance firms and a host of other financial shares. FNM rose another 22% today has recovered over 50% from last week’s lows when investors were concerned that all the share equity in GSEs would be rendered worthless. A shakeup in management at FNM and talk that the firm’s balance sheets were not as bleak as feared powered the latest recovery move today.

The ripple effect throughout financials was easy to see, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund climbing 3.8% and the PHLX KBW Banking Index up 4.0%. Big-name firms such as Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) both registered gains in the 5% range.

Some of the bullish psychology for today’s action was tied to this morning’s upside surprise on the GDP report, which came in at 3.3%, well above the forecast for a rise of 2.7%. The GDP report was just the latest in a friendly string of data surprises this week, including consumer confidence Tuesday and durable goods Wednesday. On its own merit, second-quarter GDP is somewhat dated since we’re nearly two-thirds of the way through the third quarter, but when the market is rallying, it’s . . .

Small-cap stocks posted a solid rally Tuesday, bolstered by sinking crude oil prices, a strong dollar and enthusiasm over a steady spate of merger and acquisition activity. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) rose 19.19, or 2.75%, to 716.82, marking the 9th-largest one-day gain of the year.

The recovery bounce in stocks from a morning slide was clearly paced by small caps as the Russell 2000 moved into the green well ahead of its large-cap brethren — and even well before the crude oil collapse gained momentum.

“Crude was helpful to sectors in the market, but today’s action was also dominated by a wave of earnings. The lack of material downside follow through in the financial sector post Wachovia, Keycorp and American Express sparked a bid. The market was able to shrug off the initial bearish news with surprisingly little downside, which is a big positive. In addition, M&A activity is perking up,” said Nick Kalivas, vice president, financial research with MF Global.

Kalivas said that the deal by Brocade Communications Systems (Nasdaq:BRCD) to purchase Foundry Networks Inc. (Nasdaq:FDRY) helped secure a positive tone for the market, particularly in small caps. FDRY gapped higher on huge volume today, and added some 30% to its market cap on the news.

Several airline stocks are in the small- to mid-cap range, and those stocks really took flight today as crude oil tanked. The AMEX Airline Index shot 22% higher today, and small-cap carrier US Airways (NYSE:LCC) jumped a whopping 59% despite reporting huge — but not surprising — quarterly losses. Small-cap firm Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was up 19%, while JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq:JBLU) rallied 20% and UAL Corp. (Nasdaq:UAUA) gained some 63%.

As for crude oil, the market for black gold went into a tailspin, sinking some 3% to 6-week lows. Clearly, the rise in the U.S. dollar went hand-in-hand with the plunge in crude, but one could argue that the dollar rally also played in a role in pulling down commodity prices across many markets. For instance, corn was down 3%, sugar down 3%, orange juice down 2.7% and even gold reversed overnight gains to . . .

JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU) reported a net loss that beat analyst estimates ahead of the opening today, sending shares up 8% in pre-market trading. For the second quarter, the airliner posted a net loss of $7 million, or $0.03 per share, compared with a net income of $21 million, or $0.11 a share, for the same quarter a year ago. The company said operating revenues were $859 million, up 18% from the same period a year earlier. Despite the loss, Forest Hills, N.Y.-based JetBlue beat analyst estimates; Wall Street was expecting a net loss of $0.07 per share on revenues of $856 million. Record-high gas prices coupled with less traveling have hit the airline industry hard. JetBlue is down more than 34% since January.

In today’s pre-market trading, shares are at $4.21, up $0.32 from Monday’s close.

Travelzoo Inc. (Nasdaq:TZOO) shares were down 8% Tuesday as many of the Internet media company’s clients’ stocks dropped. Travelzoo connects travelers with airlines, hotels and cruise lines, and many of those providers are struggling as the economy remains weak and the price of crude oil has driven up gas prices. Rental car company Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE:CAR), one of Travelzoo’s clients, hit a year low on Tuesday because of rising fuel costs. JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU), another of Travelzoo’s clients, fell 3%, coming close to the airline’s 52-week low.

Travelzoo shares dropped 8% Tuesday, falling to $7.87 apiece. Earlier in the day, Travelzoo shares fell to $7.82, a 52-week low for the New York-based company.

Small-cap stocks are expected to open higher, underpinned by a decline in crude oil prices during overnight trading and a stronger-than-expected showing on durable goods orders. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up about 0.3% in after-hours action, which would translate to a cash opening near 736.

The durable goods report came in at minus 0.5%, better than the forecast for a loss of 1%. In addition, the ex-transportation component was up 2.5%, well above the median analyst expectation for a rise of 0.5%. The ex-trans figure was the best showing since last July. In the immediate aftermath of the report, stock index futures products extended overnight gains. The MBA Mortgage Application survey also came out this morning, and reflected slack demand, with the index down 4.6% and the purchase index off 17.4%. This is a volatile data base and appeared to be overshadowed by the durables surprise.

Large-cap stocks of note overnight included UPS (NYSE:UPS), which was up about 2.8% on an analyst upgrade. In addition, Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) was expected to climb after being named to move into the S&P 500. On the downside, JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq:JBLU) was off about 1% as the company said . . .

Over the past several years, civil aviation has seen more than its fair share of turbulence. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, terrorism fears crippled the industry, leaving domestic air travel virtually grounded and sending most airlines into a tailspin. An economic downturn, coupled with Iraq uncertainties that caused a surge in oil prices, didn't help matters.

Quickly losing altitude, the nation's largest carriers scrambled to gain stability: United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAUA), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) sought bankruptcy protection. Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) and American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) avoided Chapter 11 reorganization but raised fares, eliminated jobs and cut employee wages and benefits.
 
With the fear of flying having receded and the economy rebounding, the big boys are in their best shape in years. But now there is a new challenge to contend with: low-cost competition. Discount carriers like Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) and Midwest Express (AMEX: MEH) have siphoned away passengers from full-service airlines. 
 
One high-growth small cap, Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company (Nasdaq: ALGT), is flying high, while carving out a cut-rate niche at underserved airports. Allegiant Air flies budget-conscious travelers from about 50 small U.S. cities to world-class leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Nev., Phoenix, Ariz., Orlando, Fla., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.

Allegiant is a low-fare outfit which has a fleet of MD-80 series jets (with comfortable seating and spacious overhead luggage bins), offers ticketless "open seating" and prides itself on providing superior customer service. The company also sells bundled hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel-related services through Allegiant's other subsidiary, Allegiant Vacations, to drive ancillary revenues.

The airlines industry has suffered extreme turbulence since 9/11, from which it has not recovered. Toss in the rapidly rising fuel costs since the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, and you have a double whammy smackdown that has brought many major carriers a trip through bankruptcy.
 
Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: FRNT) and other smaller, regional carriers have fared better. But even with marketing tools such as 50 images of wildlife like grizzly bears, hares and wood ducks gracing the tails of its aircraft and the catchy slogan, “A whole different animal,” Frontier is having a bear of a time in keeping analysts from lumping it indiscriminately with some of its more troubled peers.
 
There are some changes in the air for Denver-based Frontier, however. CEO and President Jeff Potter announced last Thursday that he was resigning, effective September 6, to take another chief executive position outside of the airline industry. The next day Frontier's stock rose nearly 4% to $5.22, lifting the price from the $5.00 52-week low earlier in the week. A few days before that, Sam Addoms, company chairman and co-founder, said he planned to retire at the same time, when Frontier holds its annual shareholders’ meeting. Potter, 47, who rose through the ranks at Frontier, will remain on the company’s board.

Analysts had a neutral to negative view of Frontier before it reported results on July 26 for the quarter ended June 30, the first period in its fiscal 2008 year, and it doesn’t appear as if that report swayed their opinion. The company posted a net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.10 a share, compared with a profit of $4 million, or $0.10 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Still, sales grew 13% to $344.8 million.
 
Maybe industry observers need to lighten up, because Frontier is – lightening up, that is. As fuel costs continue to rise, seemingly without a pause, Frontier is in the midst of swapping out the seats in its youthful fleet of Airbus jets with a lighter variety. The company estimates that it can save $5.4 million a year in fuel costs with the switch – and it’s going to be able to add four seats to each plane. Of course, there’s a capital expenditure for the project, which cost it $1.4 million in the quarter in accelerated depreciation costs.